The university student is the creator and illustrator of Motivating Giraffe, a series of hand-drawn pictures accompanied by inspirational quotes.

The 22-year-old started sketching her red and yellow cartoon companion to help work through her own depression and now thousands more are also benefiting from her creativity.

Ms Redshaw’s hand-drawn pictures quickly gained momentum online after the social science student began posting the drawings on Facebook.

The Motivational Giraffe Facebook page is growing in popularity every day, and currently boasts more than 4,500 likes.

“The more I started getting messages from people telling me the pictures had made their day or helped them through a tough time, the more I wanted to spread the message that it’s okay to not be okay,” Ms Redshaw said.

“It’s not okay that in 2015 we are still afraid to ask for help because of the stigma that goes along with it.”

The local student, who was planning to go into foreign aid after graduating, said she never expected to be an illustrator.

“I’ve never been good at drawing. I hadn’t picked up a pencil since art in Year 9,” she said.

“In fact the giraffe was actually going to be a cat before I realised I couldn’t draw cats.

“When Motivating Giraffe started gaining popularity someone suggested I make a book so I started a kickstarter and made $6500.”

Ms Redshaw used that funding to publish her first book containing about 100 sketches.

The young artist is preparing to release her second book in December this year.

“I’m going to continue to do this for a year after I graduate in December and then see where it goes from there,” she said.

“The world we live in is not nice a lot of the time. The internet is also full of things that are not nice. I guess Motivational Giraffe is a way to spread something kindness instead of cruelty, love instead of hatred, encouragement instead of criticism. It’s nice to make something good.”

Ms Redshaw shared her advice for other people who might be also struggling with their mental health.

“When I was a teenager I thought it would go away so I wouldn’t tell anyone,” she said.

“It won’t go away and you have to talk about it.

“Tell a doctor, tell a friend, tell your pastor, tell someone.

“I know there is someone reading this that is so afraid to make that call, to take that leap. Take a breath, my beautiful friend. You deserve so much more.”

Visit the ‘Motivating Giraffe’ Facebook page to see more of Ms Redshaw’s work.

This article first appeared on ‘Queensland Times’ on 10 October 2015.

Around the world today, social media will be buzzing with education, awareness and advocacy for mental health and the possibility of positive outcomes. Cyber space will be buzzing with mantras for improving global mental health.

One of the key vehicles through which these messages will be transported will be social media.

Social Media is Powerful, and like anything powerful we have to harness it and be respectful.

We all know about social media for bad:

• Cyber bullying
• Facebook parties
• An un-necessary distraction for kids doing their homework
• Killing the art of communication

But like it or not our digital world is here to stay. And it’s not just social media that is a culprit – it is the internet, Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft and any other company that has used technology to save time.

Social Media is the Conversation Currency of today –

• There are 2.1 Billion people on social media.
• There are 4.5 Billion Likes a Day
• 500 Million Tweets a day

So this social conversation can be used for good – we can use it for:

• Communication
• Education
• Inspiration
• Sharing

Positive Experiences and language is already being used to influence positive change via the world mental health month website – www.1010.org.au.

Today, you can go and make a personal mental health promise and share it with the world via social media.

Helping the world speak freely about mental health as an issue, and the conversations generated enable people suffering from mental illnesses to normalise them, to accept that they need help and where to find it.

The conversations generated always uncover people you would never expect sharing experiences about recovery and opportunity.

Yes, there will always be negativity – and everyone in this room is likely to have a story about social media for bad relating to someone they know, or even themselves. But that is not what today is about.

So how can we leverage the power of positivity in social media when it comes to mental illness? Here are my Top 6 Tips:

Create content for what your desired audience wants – not what you want to tell them.

1. PROMOTE THE OUTCOME not the PAIN in your messaging
2. DON’T SCARE THEM – they are already scared
3. BE POSITIVE DON’T PREACH – The Black Dog Institute is already working with the CSIRO to develop a tool that can isolate tweets that are suggestive of suicidal behaviour  so that they can intervene
4. PROMOTE CONTINUOUS OPPORTUNITIES FOR HELP – be always there to be there at the right time
5. ATTRACT THE FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES of people suffering
6. USE HASHTAGs – very useful tools for collating information into categories where they can start conversations and be found easily #bipolar #addiction #hugsnotdrugs

Days like today are one really important step in bringing valuable awareness to the forefront about the realities about, the prevalence of and the treatments available for mental health in Australia and around the world.

My father suffered from an often debilitating anxiety throughout his entire adult life that often had to be treated with medication – that he always hated taking. In his generation mental illness was simply never spoken of and he and many others had to suffer in silence – missing days of work and experiencing periods of social isolation while they managed their condition. My teenage daughter has diagnosed anxiety. My brother in law suffers from bi-polar.

Mental illness is all around us. And I have seen first hand the wonderful treatments and resources available to anyone in this country, no matter of their social or economic status. Initiatives like DRUG ARM who we are supporting today is just one example.

Mental illness is no longer a sentence of isolation, and in fact it can often go hand in hand with brilliance and creativity.

Social Media is a powerful tool, that provides us all with an opportunity to channel positivity for awareness and education. I encourage you all to embrace it, channel it and explore it as a tool for change – not without caution, but with clarity and purpose.

This speech was presented during Mental Health Week 2015 by Philippa Spork, award winning author of Rules of Social Engagement, a business mentor and speaker specialising in social content marketing. Philippa was voted the People’s Choice award winner and a National Digital Finalist in the 2015 B&T Women in Media Awards.

Follow Phillipa Spork on Facebook, Twitter  or visit her website.