For Marcus Pattie, there is a real difference between mental illness and mental health.
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When Mr Pattie was 12 years old, his father died by suicide.
It has taken the now 40-year-old more than three decades to finally forgive his father and come to terms with his own grief.
"He was a really good dad to me. He had personal stresses, that maybe he didn't know how to ask for help," he said.
"I remember him sobbing to me one night, asking for my forgiveness. But at the time I didn't know what it was all about. Soon after that he took his own life."
After his father died, it took Mr Pattie a long time to find the support he needed. He spent his teenage years working through his own mental illness. But after getting into a career in community services, he started to recognise ways to use his own experiences to help others.
This included a role as an outreach worker for Tasmania's StandBy Support After Suicide program and later, a position on it's national advisory board for lived experience.
A community-based suicide postvention program, StandBy aims to provide a coordinated response of support and assistance for people who have been exposed to, or bereaved through suicide.
On International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day, state program coordinator Michael Voumard said one of the most important things was to support people in telling their stories.
"In some ways we have gotten much better in recognising suicide as a thing - rather than a crime or a sin," he said. "But we still have a fair way to go in terms of people knowing where and how to seek help.
"The key is people often want to talk about it. They want to try and make sense of it and describe what they are feeling. We need to support that, not shy away from it."
Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44. For every death by suicide, it is estimated that as many as 30 people attempt to end their lives.
Now a dad himself, Mr Pattie said he had spent a lot time talking to his three sons about his experience, including how his father died.
"I have three boys and I just want to be a good dad to them," he said.
"I want them to have an understanding about suicide. Because people have mental illness and that's a big issue. But everybody has mental health and if you don't practice your mental health like you would your physical health - it slips."
StandBy crisis response team members provide face-to-face support and referrals to a system of local support services. Anyone can reach out to StandBy 24/7 on 0400 183 490.
- Lifeline 13 11 14.