Like many wonderful adventures, talk scrumptious. was born during a time of uncertainty and excitement.

Anxiety and depression are bloody awful. They disempower, they can shatter a person to pieces and they are scary concepts. My name is Emma. I lost myself during my battles with these terrors – I can happily say however, that these are battles which I won. So much of what talk scrumptious. is comes from my own experience, and food, in many ways, helped bring me back.

At the heart of talk scrumptious. is the belief in early intervention and community based programs to combat the youth mental health issue in Australia. It is about generating an actual understanding of what being depressed or anxious actually means, and being innovative in the ways they can be combatted.

So.

To those who are on their own journey (and yeah, as cringe-worthy as that may sound, it is definitely a journey) – on days you feel worthless, bake a cake. On days you feel hopeless, bang up a stir-fry. Step-by-step, a dish will come together before your very eyes – just like step-by-step, your life will start feeling like yours again.

To those who want to understand – have a conversation over a batch of homemade biscuits. Initiate a time to see that friend who has been isolating themselves, and have a chat over tapas about how they are doing. Most of the time, those suffering from anxiety and depression are trying to understand it all, too.

Youth mental health is ready to be understood. It has been ready for some time. It doesn’t want to be gazed over, or awkwardly chatted about anymore. It is time for it to be front-row centre, and talk scrumptious. wants to help it do just that.