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The good, the bad and the hopeful.

MeatloafCasual Contributor29 Apr 2022, 7:29 am AEST

The good, the bad and the hopeful.

Hi friends, I'm Meatloaf (she/they). I get by okay. My self care plan is regular exercise, mindfulness, eating well, abstaining from alcohol, using CBT to manage anxiety, regular social outings, keeping my home clean and tidy and working part time in a role I find meaningful, and I have a wonderful partner who supports me in keeping up with my goals. My mental health is overall fairly good, but my bad mental health days are paralyzing and unpredictable.

I have fairly constant anxiety, which upgraded to panic attacks at some point during Covid. I experience short depressive episodes a few times a year, I have a background of disordered eating (EDNOS), an anxious attachment style, a history of problematic drinking, very likely ASD and suspected BPD. I have survived a couple of abusive relationships, and am currently coming to terms with the reality that I survived extensive childhood trauma perpetuated by my sole carer.

I'm hoping the forums will l give me a space where it's safe to talk about my experiences, and that reading the stories of others helps me to overcome my fear of help seeking and finally access treatment.

Thanks for having me x

2 replies

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In response to: The good, the bad and the hopeful.

Unknown userMember29 Apr 2022, 9:31 am AEST

Re: The good, the bad and the hopeful.

Hey there @Meatloaf,

What a fantastic intro post! You've expressed with such clarity and personal insight your experience of living with mental health complexities, two vital strengths to have in your toolbox!

My name is Rhye and I'm one of the peer support workers in the forums, it's lovely to meet you 😊 Greeting new members is a genuine joy, so I hope you find the community here as supportive, inclusive and fun as I know it can be.

With that said, I'm also really sorry to hear that things sound to be a bit more of a struggle lately – Covid has had a way of ramping things like anxiety up. Great to see though that you're using some pretty awesome coping skills. Have you found any one of those more helpful, or do you think it's the combination that proves most effective?

When you mention a fear of help seeking, is that something you've been able to overcome in the past to see a mental health professional? Wondering whether you've been going it alone or have some supports around you.

I'm tagging some of our Community Guides here to get your welcome party started 💃🕺

@Anastasia @AussieRecharger @Faith-and @HenryX @NatureLover @outlander @Shaz51 @Snowie @Hams @wellwellwellnez @Zoe7 @Aniela @Boo13 @CrazyChick @maddison @pinklollipop15 @Eve7

If you ever need a hand from a moderator you can tag one like this @moderator or any of our online peer support workers: @Paperdaisy @tyme @hanami @Former-Member

Congrats again for finding your way to this wonderful community and for the courage it takes to express your story with us.

Rhye ☘️

In response to: The good, the bad and the hopeful.

hanamiSenior Contributor02 May 2022, 1:06 pm AEST

Re: The good, the bad and the hopeful.

Hi there @Meatloaf

I am one of the peer support workers on the forums here at Sane and as @Former-Member mentioned you can reach out at any time.

It takes great courage to share your mental health journey so a big yay for you!

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling lately, it's not fun at all to feel that way. Covid has certainly not helped when you already have anxiety. I can relate to having panic attacks since covid. I would feel nauseous and my heart would begin to race each morning right before the daily press conference. It was horrid.

I can also relate to so many other things you describe. I also have days that are not so good and they can seem to just arise out of the blue. I used to wait for some sort of magic to happen where I would stop having these days. They would just pfffft into thin air lol. Now I've been around for 50-odd years I have come to accept (begrudgingly) that this magic just isn't going to happen. It doesn't make those days any easier but I seem to be able to appreciate my good days so much more.

Anyway, I'm so glad you found us, and am sure you'll find a wonderful community here that will support and encourage you.

hanami 💮

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