Jacquie Lambie has spoken out about her mental health struggles, revealing she was so determined to take her own life that she wrote goodbye letters to her children – before waking up in a psychiatric ward.
The independent Tasmanian senator opened up about her personal struggles in a book called Profiles In Hope by former Liberal MP John Brogden, which also details the mental health issues of 14 other high-profile Australians, including James Packer.
Senator Lambie’s troubles began in 2000 when she was medically discharged from the Australian Defence Force after she injured her spine during a field exercise.
She spent about seven years embroiled in a court battle against the Department of Veterans Affairs, which tried to argue that she wasn’t injured – despite her crippling pain.
Ms Lambie eventually won the case, but lost almost everything in the process – living on welfare, a single mum with two kids, and addicted to painkillers.
In the book, she told Mr Brogden: ‘The reason I had the depression was the pain. I just couldn’t deal with it.’
‘By the middle of August 2009 I couldn’t live with the pain anymore. I’d had enough. I left the kids some letters.’
Senator Jacqui Lambie (pictured) has opened up about her mental health struggles in a new book
Jacqui Lambie sustained a serious spinal injury during a training exercise when she was in the military (pictured)
Ms Lambie said the letters were written three weeks beforehand because she knew she was going to try to take her own life, but hadn’t worked out how.
After her attempt, she woke up in hospital and found out she had been in an induced coma for 48 hours.
‘I had my two sons standing there and my father. And the looks on their faces, I’ll never forget it. It was ghastly. They were like, “Why?”,’ she recalled.
She said her life completely changed once she was admitted to a psychiatric ward and got the pain treatment she needed.
‘Once I got [the pain] under control, the depression just lifted,’ she said.
Ms Lambie has previously said she entered politics because she didn’t want anyone else to struggle the way she did.
On Monday morning, she spoke about a series of recommendations following a three-year Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide – which she contributed to in 2022.
‘As much as we’ve all gone out there and we’ve aired our grievances, [there are] many out there…who are still serving,’ she said.
Jacqui Lambie joined politics because she didn’t want anyone else to experience her ordeal
Senator Lambie is pictured with her son Dylan in 2016. She previously thanked him looking after her when her mental health spiralled
‘But the hard work starts today, that’s the truth of the matter.
‘We need somebody to make sure these recommendations are going to get through as quickly as possible and those recommendations, the legislation, is going to be right and it’s going to serve its purpose.’
Ms Lambie gave evidence to the Royal Commission in 2022, breaking down as she relived her experience.
She said: ‘I want to thank my two sons who went through a lot and watched their mother deteriorate so badly over a 10-year period and the ending of that.’
The senator told the inquiry that her youngest son, Dylan, struggled with meth addiction.
Directly addressing him in front of the cameras, she said: ‘To my youngest son, I know you have paid a very, very heavy price for what you had to do to care for me over that period of time, and I know you are still paying the price of that.
‘Thank you sincerely. And I will speak on your behalf and tell them what you went through and the impact that it’s had on your life. So, thank you very much.’
The results of the Royal Commission will be tabled in parliament on Monday.
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