15. What Fears Do You Have Going Into Politics

Here’s the third one from the beach walk!

Does Nigel have fears about going into politics? After 46 years of surviving life, he explains why fear isn’t part of the equation.

🎥 Full video available here: https://youtu.be/-YY2k2WZdrw?si=qIpRo47u3CyTp2Lm

In this episode, we’ve enhanced the audio by removing background noise from the beach to ensure better clarity. As a result, there may be brief moments where the sound is slightly distorted or digitized, but these minor artifacts should not affect the overall message. Thanks for listening! 

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Transcript

Episode Transcript: What Fears Do You Have Going Into Politics

[00:00:00]

Nigel McFall: There’s something I want to bring up—something someone close to me said. They asked, "What’s your biggest fear about getting into politics?"

To be honest, I don’t have any fear. I lived with crippling anxiety most of my life. There’s nothing worse than that. Now, I’m confident. I know my abilities. So, no, I don’t have fear.

[00:01:00]

But it’s a fair question because politics is brutal. My family and support network have fears. They worry my past will be used against me. When I had undiagnosed ADHD, my brain constantly searched for dopamine and adrenaline. Without boundaries, that put me in bad situations. I also couldn’t process thoughts properly—46 years of my life without clear thinking. Things are so much better now.

Politicians might bring up the fact that I’ve been personally bankrupt—twice. Back then, I couldn’t process things well enough to manage finances. Am I good with finances now? Yes, because I’m well. They might dig up a meme I shared or created. Some were offensive. At the time, when I couldn’t find dopamine, my brain sought adrenaline. That rush came from things like fighting, yelling, and—believe it or not—posting horrible memes.

[00:03:00]

I look back and think, "That’s crazy." But it was my reality. When people reacted, I got a rush that helped me function for the day. I’m lucky to have had good support because if I hadn’t, I could have become a statistic—whether through suicide or ending up in prison. It’s easy for mentally unwell people to end up in those places. I lasted long enough to get diagnosed. But many people can’t afford a diagnosis. They know they’re struggling, but there’s no help for them.

Imagine breaking your leg, going to the hospital, and being told, "There’s no funding for that. Just go home and hope it heals." That’s what mental health in New Zealand feels like.

[00:04:00]

Mental health issues change who you are. I spent years thinking I was some kind of monster—the same kind my father was. But I wasn’t. I was a good person trapped under the weight of mental illness. I always cared, had a big heart, looked out for people. But the internal conflict was constant.

Now, I’m free from that. I’m not angry all the time. Life is good. That’s why I’m driven to help others. People labeled as bad, neglectful, or uncaring are often just good people struggling with mental health. If we don’t intervene, it will pass down to their children, and their children, and so on.

[00:05:00]

Every now and then, a politician throws some money at an organization and calls it mental health funding. But that’s not real investment. We need proper diagnoses and therapies, especially for people whose brains push them into substance abuse.

Drugs like meth cause serious brain damage. They stop the brain from producing dopamine, which makes people even more reliant on the drug. Over time, they feel worse and worse. That’s why they keep using.

There’s promising research on psychedelics—magic mushrooms, MDMA—helping to repair dopamine production. If we can restore that, people can find happiness again and make real changes in their lives.

[00:07:00]

People trapped in addiction don’t want to be there. I never wanted to be there. But sometimes, there’s no way out. We need to help them.

It’s like I said the other day—we give plastic bottles more second chances than we do people. We recycle them, repurpose them, invest in them. But with people, we slap a label on them and throw them away. That needs to change.

[00:08:00]

So, while my loved ones fear what politics might do to me, I don’t. What matters is having these conversations. Mental health isn’t a choice. People need help. And help is possible—it just requires funding.

Right now, if you don’t have money, you don’t get help. That’s happening everywhere. But New Zealand was never like that. This government coalition is pushing us in that direction—stripping funding from the most vulnerable because they can’t fight back.

[00:09:00]

Honestly, I have no fears. I’m strong and confident. Sure, I have flaws. I sometimes struggle to articulate my thoughts because I think in pictures and have to translate them into words. Sometimes, I say the wrong word or leave something out because my brain is running a million things at once. But that’s okay.

In the past, I might have been more self-conscious about it. But now? It doesn’t matter. Everyone deserves a voice, no matter their challenges.

[00:10:00]

There is no "perfect." If what we have in government now is "perfect," then I don’t want to be perfect. Even opposition parties stick to their little box. They won’t step outside it for the good of New Zealand. They just follow the party line.

It’s time for change. It’s time for unity.

[00:11:00]

As we go on this journey, we’ll need more people. Right now, it’s just me. But every great movement starts with one person.

If you’ve read our policies, watched our content, and thought, "I want to be part of this," then reach out. I’d love to see this movement grow into something big—something that transforms New Zealand’s political landscape.

[00:12:00]

By the way, we aren’t registered yet. We need 530 financial members. Another example of how broken the system is—you can’t register a political party unless people pay to support you. At a time when people can’t afford to pay, the party fighting for them is locked out of the system.

If you want to help, even just with $1, it would mean a lot. The faster we register, the sooner people will take notice.

[00:13:00]

But don’t worry about big donations. Just $1 is enough.

We’re going to do this our way. We don’t need millions. We just need momentum.

Until next time, take care.