Lived Experience Forum

[Capricorn84]

Hi everyone 🙂

I’m Capricorn84 and signed up to this forum about a year ago. Long time sufferer of GAD and had a first episode psychosis in early 2015. Been on a range of medications to help both the GAD and psychotic symptoms.

had my first relapse this year after being well since 2018. I had a brain tumour removed august 2018 which, whilst a stressful emergency surgery, helped me realise that my mental illnesses are not the “fault” of my own doing.

Take Care everyone!

[imalittleteapot]

Hi all, I'm delighted to be a part of this uniquely supportive community!

I have lived experience as a consumer of mental health services since my early 20s (more than half my life) and a carer for my adult son for over a decade. I've been fortunate to meet some incredibly good people along the way but, sadly, very few within the Victorian mental health 'system'. From my point of view, the Mental Health Royal Commission was spot on in its findings and recommendations. I'm guessing other states and territories have similar issues but it would be interesting to share our experiences in this forum.

I also happen to be a health professional and recently made the HUGE mistake of accepting a clinical role in a local mental health service. I thought my lived experience would be helpful but it was exactly the opposite. I lasted less than 2 months before resigning in serious distress with no job to go to. I just couldn't be a part of it. 

Anyway, that's me. Looking forward to chatting with others with lived experience. 

Cheers

'ImALittleTeapot'

[imalittleteapot]

Hey Eyad, in my experience medication does work but not on its own (I've tried a lot of things over the years). Sounds to me like you are way too hard on yourself. You certainly haven't said ANYTHING wrong. This is a place where it's safe to be completely honest. Your family are lucky to have such a caring husband & father!

[tyme]

Good Evening @imalittleteapot ,

Welcome to the SANE forums family! I am also glad you have found us to be helpful here.

I am one of the peer support workers on SANE. Having received so much in return from a volunteer peer support role, I decided to step foot into the industry.

From what you've mentioned, clinical positions seem to be quite different from recovery-oriented, strength-based peer support roles.

Looking forward to seeing you around on the forums. 

As you browse around, feel free to drop by Mindful Mondays: New activity every Monday , JOIN US: Wednesdays’ Well of Wellness – Wellness Tips for Carers! , Daily Achievements! , The Weekly Friday Feast , The Ice-Memery .

See you around!

tyme

[WhiteRoseDurga]

Hey! My username is WhiteRoseDurga as you can see... Call me Durga. (It's actually the name of a Hindu deity.)

It's interesting being here and opening up. Mental health is such a personal and private thing to talk about. I have BPD traits among other medical diagnoses. It's weird opening up in online spaces like these, is it trustworthy? Can people be trusted? Can I? I think I am trustworthy. 🙂

Feel free to message me if you'd like to chat about anything. I am a medical scientist, aspiring mental health advocate and an expert in meditation. 🙂 I've been living in Australia for ~20 years. Happy to make connections/friends with anyone sincere, really.

I am looking forward to exploring this forum and connecting with others! Thank you to the SANE organisation and the online BPD Community for creating this space for people with BPD/BPD traits to seek support from others with lived experience. I am grateful, appreciative and consider it a blessing considering I feel I do not know where else to go for support, respect and compassion.

I call Lifeline often. *sigh* Sometimes I feel I am so distressed and in pain, I cannot live with my mind. Meditation helps me but I am not disciplined with it. (I use the technique Jangama Dhyana, if anyone was curious.)

Peers can help each other! I believe in this. This is why I aspire to become a mental health advocate if I am not one already. Just letting you know, I have started my TAFE Certificate IV in Mental Health and Mental Health Peer Work but deferred due to my health. I sincerely want to work in the field of mental health advocacy and possibly in a leadership role in the future too.

Nomoshkar! (This means, 'the divinity in my bows to the divinity in you.') I respect the sovereignty in you too. 🙂

Cheers.

[ShiningStar]

Hi @Capricorn84 

I just wanted to reach out to welcome you to the forums - it’s great to have you here 💜

I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been wrestling with so many mental health conditions and that you experienced a relapse earlier this year 💜 In my experience, a relapse can be an incredibly distressing and disheartening experience and I’m just so pleased that you decided to reach out to us for the care and support that you need and deserve 💜

Oh Capricorn84 💜 I’m so deeply sorry to hear that you underwent major surgery a few years ago and I can’t even begin to imagine what you experienced during this time in your life 💜

As I listened to this part of your story, I felt really curious when you shared that the surgery ‘helped me realised that my mental illnesses are not the ‘fault’ of my own doing’ and as such, I just ever so gently wondered how the surgery helped you to be able to understand this about yourself?

I wasn’t too sure if there was something in particular that may be helpful for you and so I’ve just shared a little bit of information about a few of our social threads that may be of interest to you 😊

In my experience, participating in some of our social threads can be a really lovely and gentle way to ease yourself into the community and meet some other wonderful people who like yourself, also live with a variety of mental health conditions 💜

I’ve included the links to a few of these threads below, just in case you would like to explore them further 💜

The good morning thread is a wonderful space, where community members can touch base with one another at the beginning of each day and share what lies in store for them 😊

https://saneforums.org/t5/Social-Spaces/Good-Morning/m-p/254524#M55848

The Friday Feast is a warm and friendly space where we gather at the end of the week to catch up with one another and enjoy a variety of delicious virtual meals!

https://saneforums.org/t5/Social-Spaces/The-Weekly-Friday-Feast/m-p/23308#M1274

The Ice-Memery is a wonderful light-hearted thread, where we can share some of the memes that we’ve found particularly amusing! If you’re in need of a giggle or some respite from the challenges associated with everyday life, then this may be of interest to you 😊

https://saneforums.org/t5/Social-Spaces/The-Ice-Memery/m-p/1117393#M266044

The final thread that I thought may be of interest to you, focuses on our daily achievements! This is a really inspiring space where we can share and celebrate each other’s achievements - no matter what their size 😊

https://saneforums.org/t5/Looking-after-ourselves/Daily-Achievements/m-p/1034243

Also, just while I remember, one of the things that really helped me when I was new to the forums and still finding my way around, was that if you would like to chat with another forum member, or reply to one of their posts, place @ in front of their username just like I did at the start of my post to you i.e. @Capricorn84  that way, they will receive a message that you have contacted them 😊

Please reach back if there’s anything in particular that I can help you with and I’ll do my very best to guide you in the right direction 💜

In the meantime please remember that you’re always welcome to reach out here whenever you need to 💜

I look forward to seeing you around the forums 💜

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar 💜

[Capricorn84]

Thankyou @ShiningStar  for your welcome!

I had a brain tumour removed in 2018 after CT and MRI scans during my first admission to my local mental health ward showed scarring ie: brain damage from birth. I only found out after the tumour was removed that I suffered epilepsy as a child but “grew out of them”.

I am just piecing together also that I repressed the memory of a sexual assault attack in December 2011 that I kept secret also contributed to my schizophrenia label/diagnosis.

[Paperdaisy]

@Capricorn84 Welcome, I am one of the peer support workers here at SANE. 

Your bravery in sharing this with us is noticed. I want you to know you don't have to go through this alone 💝and there are services available to you if you feel you need to talk about your past experiences. I'm wondering if you have any supports in place at the moment? 

I will leave these numbers here in case you feel they may be of use to you.

https://www.1800respect.org.au/ 

SANE support services 

Please take care,

Paperdaisy 💝

[ShiningStar]

Hi @WhiteRoseDurga 

I just wanted to reach out and welcome you to the forums - it’s wonderful to have you here 💜

In my experience, sharing our stories with other people can take an enormous amount of courage and as such, I just ever so gently wanted to say that I think that you’re incredibly brave to share some of your experiences here with us 💜

Absolutely 💜 Sharing our inner most thoughts and feeling can leave us feeling extremely vulnerable and as such, it can take time to develop the level of trust that we need to feel safe in the company of others. With this in mind, I just ever so gently wanted to reassure you that there’s absolutely no pressure or expectations in relation to what you share about yourself, or when you chose to share this - just share whatever feels safe and comfortable for you 💜

Oh Durga 💜 I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been experiencing so much distress and emotional pain and my heart goes out to you 💜 As I listened to this part of your story I felt really touched when you shared ‘I do not know where else to go for support, respect and compassion’ and as such, I just ever so gently wondered if accessing some additional support is something that’s of interest for you?

In my experience, living with complex mental health conditions can be incredibly challenging and as such, there have been numerous times in my life when I’ve needed some additional care and support.  

It was during these times that I reached out to the SANE Help Centre 💜 I’ve contacted the Help Centre several times now and each time I’ve always had an incredibly positive experience, where I felt safe, listened to and supported 😊

Basically, the Help Centre is staffed by qualified mental health professionals who provide counselling and support for people who are living with complex mental health conditions 💜

If you would like to contact them their telephone number is: 1800 18 7263.

They operate Monday to Friday from 10.00am until 10.00pm AEST.

In addition to telephone support, they also provide support via web chat and email 😊

I’ve included the link to this particular service below, just in case this is something that you would like to explore further:

https://www.sane.org/counselling-support/sane-support-services

In addition to the SANE Help centre, you can also reach out for some support with one of our Peer Support Workers by scheduling a telephone appointment, or connecting with them via web chat or email 💜

Our Peer Support Workers are available Monday to Friday from 10.00am until 4.00pm AEST/AEDT. 

I’ve included the link to this particular service below, just in case this is something that you would like to explore further:

https://www.sane.org/peer-support/connect-with-a-peer-worker

Wow! Your knowledge and skills in relation to meditation sound amazing! Unfortunately, I’m not familiar with jangama dhyana meditation and so I had to spend a few moments researching it on the internet! Just from what I can understand, it sounds as though this particular style of meditation allows you to connect with and understand yourself on an incredibly deep level 💜

I’m not too sure if you’ve had the opportunity to browse through some of the opportunities available here on the forums, but one of the things that may be of interest to you is a weekly online event aptly titled ‘Mindful Monday’ 😊

If this is something that appeals to you, you’re always more than welcome to come along!

I’ve included the link to this particular event below, just in case this is something that you would like to explore further:

https://saneforums.org/t5/Looking-after-ourselves/Mindful-Mondays-New-activity-every-Monday/m-p/1130...

Absolutely 💜 In my experience, the opportunity to be able to connect with people who can genuinely relate to some of the experiences associated with living with a mental health condition, can provide a level of comfort and support that (at times) can be difficult to find elsewhere 😊

That’s great that you’ve enrolled in a Certificate IV in Mental Health and Mental Health Peer Work through TAFE and I have no doubt that you’ll make a wonderful contribution and difference to so many people’s lives 💜

Also, just while I remember, one of the things that really helped me when I was new to the forums and still finding my way around, was that if you would like to chat with another forum member, or reply to one of their posts, place @ in front of their username just like I did at the start of my post to you i.e. @WhiteRoseDurga that way, they will receive a message that you have contacted them 😊

Please remember that you’re always welcome to reach out here whenever you need to 💜

I look forward to seeing you around the forums 💜

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar 💜

[Lochie07]

Hi . I have already posted but thought I should introduce myself. Woke up on a Monday morning about 2 and a half years ago and couldn't get out of bed. Since then it has been a Rollercoaster. I have some good weeks and plenty of bad ones . I have tried medication and therapy without success and am now trying natural treatments. I feel I am letting my partner down but just want to be happy again