X-Factor star Omar Dean has signed up as an Ambassador for Lifeline to help promote a new service to help those in crisis through an innovative online service designed to target those in need.
Lifeline’s Online Crisis Support Chat Service is now available with extended hours, seven days a week.
Since X-Factor, Omar Dean’s career and popularity is soaring, but some people may not be aware he was significantly bullied at school and turned to music to cope.
Dean tells OUTinPerth how speaking about his own experiences helped him overcome the challenge, how he dealt with the pressure of appearing in front of millions of people on television, and his goals for the future.
What was your motivation for signing up to be an ambassador for Lifeline?
I think it’s just one of those sings I wanted to support since I went through what I went through in High School.
I’ve always wanted to be in the music industry but I also want to be more than a singer. I want to at least stand for something that I believe in and joining Lifeline has allowed me to do that. I’ve always wanted to give something back because I’ve been given so much support.
I’ve had these experiences and believe in what Lifeline stands for and everything they do. It’s a goal for me to do something like this.
When you were in High School and you had those experiences was it difficult to find help?
It was. I think, as a guy, you have this pride and you don’t want to really approach someone about the way you’re feeling. You think it’s normal. You think it makes you look weaker if you ask for help.
So I kept it to myself for a long time. I used music, writing songs about what I was feeling. I guess it was just eating me up. I started having anxiety attacks and finally started to talk about what was going on.
I opened up to them, it took a while though, but then I began to see the school councillor. I began to forget about ‘showing weakness’ and it was having the courage to speak about what I was going through, it made it so much easier. I just remember going to school, and even though stuff was still going on, I knew how to approach it better because I’d talked to someone about it.
It’s very true what you say, there are so many studies now that show that guys are reluctant to seek help, even for physical injuries. You hear about guys with displaced limbs refusing to go to the doctor because they’re tough.
I’m still a bit like that, my Mum will harass me to go see a Doctor. I’ve had anaemia for while now and my Mum will be chasing me to go get a blood test, and I’ll be like, “No, I’m Okay, I’ll be fine.”
You need someone to show toy that it’s okay, and really give you that little push. That’s what great about Lifeline that I can do that for people, encourage them to give it a go because I’ve done it and asked people for help. I’ve done it and it altered my life and let me achieve people that really weren’t possible for me at that time.
Did you think you’d end up on television with so much public support?
I had a vision in my mind for my life. I wanted to let my music be heard. Now that I’ve been on a TV show it allows me to go off onto other avenues with my career.
I auditioned for X-Factor a few times and I got rejected every single time. When I wen last year I’d worked on myself and built up the courage to stand up on stage in front of people and I got through and here I am. It has been a crazy dream.
That’s intriguing, because first you dealt with that rejection, but once you’re on the show I would imagine there’s a lot of pressure to deal with.
Of course, when you get rejected your like, “I really wanted to be on that show.” You watch other people do it and you think, “I want to do that.”
Then when you go through the show, you realise there is so much more to it. Just the pressure of performing live to millions of people, and the pressure of trying to prefect a song, and sometimes you get given a song that is really not for you. There’s nothing you can do about it, you’ve just go up on stage, smile and try and do the best you can do. There were a lot of times where it was difficult during the show. It taught me so much about the industry, now I understand now that it’s a business and it’s made me really strong. I’ve got a good mindset now going into all my gigs.
What’s the next step for you in your musical career?
Right now I’m writing a lot, I’m on the road all the time doing gigs. Even when I’m sitting on the edge of the stage I’m writing. I’m aiming to produce a single that’s really good. Once I do that I’ll release a single and get it to the iTunes shop. I just want to keep on doing what I do, focusing on getting better.
Recognising social media and online as a mainstream form of communication, Lifeline’s Online Crisis Support Chat Service is for anyone who would prefer to seek help and advice via a real time, one-on-one, online conversation.
Lifeline’s Online Crisis Support Chat offers a private one-on-one chat session with one of Lifeline’s Crisis Supporters. The service is available 365 days per year from 6:00pm – 2:00am at www.lifeline.org.au/crisischat.
