Welcome! Introduce yourself here 🙂

Hi there @Mumof482

Welcome to the forums. My name is Hanami and I'm one of the peer moderators here at SANE. Thank you for reaching out, it takes a lot of courage so good on you for doing so.

There are many members in similar situations so I hope others reach out and share. If you do a search on BPD in the search bar you will see quite a few resources about this particular diagnosis.

I look forward to seeing you around the forums.

take care

Hanami

Hi @Dingo222

I'm a newbie too, just wanted to quickly reply cause its way past my "be kind to myself and get enough sleep" time.

Not sure exactly what areas in Western Sydney you are hoping to find services in, but I attended a group through The Hills Clinic (Kellyville).

It was all through private health, no out of pocket expense. It was a DBT group and assisted a diverse group of people with a range of needs.

P.S. Nothing wrong in having a clean house and a happy wife.. 😉

Hi

I used to use Icarus forums years back, hence the name. I'm hoping to find some exchanges of ideas and more than happy to tell a story or two. I am working with a few labels that are mental health related and have had more experience than I need with the public health system. I had a particularly gnarly experience some years ago that has affected my capacity to work. I have gravitated towards consumer advocacy as a result and hope to get something part time in that area in the next 12 months. I like people and music. The latter being Earths best export IMO.

Welcome @icarusandthesun 🙂

Great to have you (again) with us.

I hope you find the advocacy work highly rewarding.

Hi @Dingo222 Welcome. I have found the forum really useful.

Sorry I'm in Melbourne don't know of any services in your area.

I find Wellways really good. I think they may be a National organisation.

House cleaning sounds great.

Hi Dingo222,

DBT stands for Dialectical Behaviour Therapy. It is similar to other therapies however the focus is on learning effective skills to guide you through life in all situations, rather than trying to work out the why and where you have come from.

Group discussions are facilitated by a professional and generally occur weekly for approximately 2.5hrs. Each weeks focus is on a different topic such as Interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation, communication styles and distress tolerance.

The group I attended had approximately 8 to 10 participants of various ages between 17 years to 60 years with some similar life experiences, and others quite different and a lot more challenging.

The common thread/goal was that everyone was there because they wanted to understand themselves more (and subsequently understand others more), to improve the way they interact with others, cope better with what life throws at them, communicate better through positive assertiveness and overall feel more in control of oneself and their individual situation.

Some people were newly diagnosed, others recovering from addiction (but not newly coming through it at the time), some had experienced a severe breakdown, self-harm etc. Some ADHD, some BPD.

It was a mix of males and females and we enjoyed lively conversations after the initial reservations of being in a group therapy session. I would have to say, it was actually fun and nice knowing there were other people out there experiencing challenging times somewhat similar, but also different to mine.

The course I attended was a 12-week program. I found it highly beneficial and would definitely do the more extended course if I had more time at the moment. I think it was definitely a bit of a breakthrough for me in terms of realising that things were not all my fault, and that there were ways of making a positive change. It taught me so much about other people allowing a deeper sense of compassion to come out as well as not taking any cr&p from people, workplaces, family etc.

I hope that makes a bit of sense to you. I'm sure there are other programs around that are similar, but the real difference with this particular one that its a DBT program.

Good luck with finding the right fit for you.

@Charlii Thank your sharing your detailed experiences of DBT for @Dingo222 ! I found it very helpful to read your post.

I did something similar, but it was mentalisation-based therapy. It was both individual and group sessions, but went for 18 months.

I found it incredibly helpful, especially the group component (I also found this the hardest though).

Looking forward to seeing you around on the forums! @Charlii

Hello, First time using a forum like this. I have an SCI for 6 years, T10-T12 incomplete, and looking to chat with people with lived experience like me to share and understand:) Thanks.

Hi, I've had lots of different diagnoses over 30 years. The one I received yesterday has me reaching out. I love sunrise over the ocean and connecting to nature.