Three Key Learnings:
1. The Barriers Men Face in Recognising Neurodivergence
- How boys and men are conditioned to “be a man”.
- The impact of this conditioning on mental health and identity

2. The Lived Reality of OCD, Anxiety, and Depression
- My OCD struggle – an insight into Harm OCD and Pure O
- How embracing mental health helped me understand my neurodivergence

3. Using Lived Experience to Shift the Paradigm
- My therapy journey
- Using lived experience to reshape therapy for men


For many neurodivergent men, silence is survival. From birth, boys are conditioned to be tough, stoic, and unemotional. This leads to becoming an “Aussie bloke” where tears are seen as weakness, and Vulnerability is unacceptable. As a result, many boys and men suppress their emotions, masking pain with humour, anger, or the simple phrase: “I’m ok.”

This suppression is particularly damaging for men who are neurodivergent. Struggling against both internal distress and societal expectations, they often turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms—alcohol, drugs, withdrawal. When these options no longer work, the pain either erupts (violence) or implodes (suicide).

My name is Simon Rinne, and I have lived with co-occurring OCD, depression and anxiety for over 30 years. Between 8 and 28 years old, I suffered in silence. I told the world I was ok, but internally I was anything but ok. For 20 years, I didn’t talk about my mental health—because I didn’t know how to.

A diagnosis at 28 years helped change my life, but not immediately. It took another decade to remove my mask, breathe, and redefine what it means to be “a man”. Today I do this as an OCDer and lived experience therapist, I share my journey to break the stigma around talking about neurodivergence and mental health in men.