“As a parent I had two precious gifts given to me – a daughter and a son,” she said.

“On March 31 this year the precious gift of our son Sam’s life was taken away from us.”

Father Michael and sister Sophie, along with Mrs Fitzgibbon and all of Sam’s family and friends, were devastated.

But, they are uniting together to take action to challenge the stigma surrounding mental health issues. 

The Fitzgibbon family are launching a campaign, called Let’s Talk, in conjunction with St John of God Hospital, Warrnambool. 

http://www.standard.net.au/story/4346009/our-shocking-suicide-rate

Mrs Fitzgibbon recalled Sam as a happy and proud young man.

She said he was a perfectionist and had made plans to travel and take over the running of the family farm.

“Sammy always had a big smile and was always on for a big chat,” Mrs Fitzgibbon said.

“He really cared about his family, his friends and the farm. He appeared to the outside world that he was very happy.

“Sam would never want to upset anyone or be the centre of attention.”

Mrs Fitzgibbon said he didn’t have any financial concerns and had “a great network of family and friends that loved him dearly”.

“Sam was a very proud person,” she said.

“Due to his pride, the silent illness of anxiety and depression spiraled and Sam took his own life.”

Mrs Fitzgibbon said Sam couldn’t talk about his mental health issues, but he did write about them.

“He couldn’t tell us that his mental health was taking over. He wrote that in a letter to us when he died,” she said.

“If Sam could have just told us or any of his friends how he was feeling, we would have done anything to assist in his road to recovery.

“It breaks my heart to say this, but Sam made a bad decision – a bad decision not to tell anyone how he was feeling.

“He kept those feelings locked inside. Anxiety and depression are treatable illnesses, but as Sam did not speak up to us, we could not save him.” 

Mrs Fitzgibbon said, as a parent, his death was heartbreaking.

The family have begun the Let’s Talk initiative and will present their story to schools, community groups and workplaces. 

The aim of the program is to reduce the shame surrounding mental health issues and encourage people to speak out. 

“We all need to unite together to change the stigma surrounding our mental health,” Mrs Fitzgibbon said.

“It’s all right to tell someone about your feelings or that you are feeling sad or lonely, if you are not sleeping, or if you are worried about something.”