Welcome! Introduce yourself here 🙂

Hi there @Seems-positive, love the username - welcome to the forums!

Feel free to introduce yourself here and check out these threads to get started. We also have a newbie's social circle if you'd like to connect with other members.

Thank you for sharing! I'm sure other members who have similar experiences will hop into share soon, might take a little while so feel free to explore our other threads in the meantime! You can also search up key terms like "anorexia" in the search bar to read through other threads that members have created.

It's great to see you join, reaching out isn't always easy so great job on taking that step! If you're worried about posting something, we have our community guidelines that you can read through and you can always add a trigger warning too- but so far you're doing great! Look forward to hearing about about your healing journey and your progress with RO-DBT 😊

P.S. here's a little tip - you can tag people when you reply by using @ and then typing the username, like this @Seems-positive - this ensures that whoever is tagged gets notified of your reply.

Hello!

I have no idea what I'm doing here, but I know I want to find a healthy relationship with my inner critic!

I am a 38 year old female who is constantly praising others and ridiculing myself, and I'm tired of it.

I want to find happiness and worth within myself.

I want to see my values, and know that I have a place in this world.

I want to keep my kindness to others, while being kind to myself as well.

Woooooooo this is different!! Let's go!

hey @SomethingGood loving the optimism, sounds like you're in the perfect place - welcome to the forums! if you check out my post above, there's some links to the 'welcome' threads if you'd like to check them out.

i relate to struggling with my inner critic too - i found that treating it like its my best friend helps since i tend to give all my friends amazing words of support, i think its time we give our inner critics some of those kind words too. so glad to have you here as well, look forward to seeing you around the forums! 😊

Awesome! Thank you very much

no worries at all! also if you'd like to reply to someone, don't forget to tag them by using @ and then typing the username like this: @SomethingGood - this way they'll be notified of your response 😊

Hi. [edited by moderator] I’m 61 and have lived with Bipolar 1 Disorder for 25 years. I am a Social Worker but retired 3 months ago to better manage my mental health. My mental health has taken a huge toll on my wife, and our relationship is almost non existent. She now has severe anxiety and isn’t sleeping. I don’t know what to do to support my wife and improve our relationship. She is a very private person and is very reluctant to acknowledge her issues and seek help.

Hi @SomethingGood

I just want to let you know that you are not alone with the way you feel. I have been like that most of my life. But I reached the stage, where it sounds like you are now, and knew that something had to change to improve my life.

I am in the middle of a 10 session workshop called Dare to Dream which is facilitated by an experienced counsellor and aims to support participants to develop strategies for self-care.

Topics are determined according to group needs and interest and may include:

Develop a self-care plan

Empowering self

Managing anxiety

Managing depression

Wellbeing after trauma

The power of positive thinking

Reaching goals

Less stress and more energy

Be your authentic self

Live an authentic life guided by your personal values

Become more assertive and improve communication skills

I am really enjoying it, and have just learnt about core values and setting boundaries.

I live in South Australia and this workshop is run by a organisation called Yellow Gate wich is South Australian based. But some councils run it as well. So maybe check with your council.

Welcome @Viccyrose14 ,

Thank you for sharing a little about yourself. I have sent you an email. Can you please respond to it as soon as you can?

Hey @Viccyrose14 ,

I'm sorry to hear that things have been challenging and you've retired recently to focus on your mental health.

I hear your wife is really struggling with her mental health/anxiety. As much as she doesn't really want to acknowledge her issues, does she acknowledge them to you?

I know first hand how difficult it is to function on very limited sleep.

Would she be open to you going with her for support, or for couples counselling or something?

I can see how much you are wanting for things to improve, yet I can see it takes both sides.

Hi @SomethingGood

You are definitely not alone with the way you are feeling, and I am so happy that you have realised that you have an issue and are welcoming the need to change, and you are worth living a better way of life.

I live in South Australia and am currently doing a course called Dare to Dream which is run by an organisation called The Yellow Gate https://theyellowgate.org.au/ I just had a look and they are solely based in South Australia. I also noticed that some councils run this workshop, so perhaps you could see if a council close to you runs this workshop. I think it would really help.

😊🌹🌻🌈