Hi @Boa
I just wanted to reach out to welcome you to the forums - it’s great to have you here 💜
Absolutely! Our community is full of so many amazing people from all different walks of life and as such, you’ll definitely find yourself in great company here 💜
I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been struggling with your mental health from such a young age and just from what you’ve described, it sounds as though prior to receiving a diagnosis, you found yourself in an incredibly lonely, scary and confusing place 💜
I’m so pleased that receiving a diagnosis provided you with a sense of relief and this was definitely something that I found helpful too - as for the first time in such a long time, I was able to understand some of the things that were happening for me.
However, although receiving a diagnosis was really helpful, it was only one part of the puzzle and finding the care and support that I needed proved to be a little bit more of a challenge 💜
So very sadly, finding affordable help is something that so many of us struggle with and there were definitely days when I wrestled to hold onto any sense of hope that I’d be able to find the resources that I so desperately needed. As such, I just wanted to say that I really admire your determination to continue to search for the care and support that you need and deserve at this time of your life 💜
As I sat here thinking about some of the things that you’ve shared with us, I wondered if some of the services available through SANE may be helpful for you 💜
The first service that I wanted to share with you is SANE’s ‘drop in services.’
Basically, ‘SANE drop-in services are staffed by qualified team of counsellors and people with lived experience of mental health issues who will provide you with free digital and telehealth support, information and referrals.’
I’ve reached out to this service numerous times and I’ve always had a really positive experience where I felt listened to and really well supported 💜
I’ve included the link to this particular service below, just in case you would like to explore this further 😊
https://www.sane.org/get-support/drop-in-service
The second service that I thought maybe helpful for you is SANE’s ‘guided service.’
Essentially, ‘SANE’s free guided service combines our range of digital and telehealth supports, tailored to the needs of people affected by complex mental health issues.’
I’ve included the link to this particular service below, just in case this is something that’s of interest to you😊
https://www.sane.org/referral
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. @Boa that way, they will receive a message that you have contacted them 😊
I really hope that you’ll continue to reach out here for support and please let me know if there’s anything in particular that would be helpful for you and I’ll do my very best to guide you in the right direction 💜
Take care,
ShiningStar 💜