Weird experiences with crisis lines

Thanks for posting that video @PossumSocks

I'm probably not as surprised as I'd like to be.

But still hats off to the people on the lines. Tough gig. Especially when some management seem less interested in the employees and consumers than their business model.

Yeah @StuF I really empathise with the people doing the job itself. I imagine it must be hard to be a trained counsellor and not be able to deliver services to the standard you want to be able to, because of KPI's and business management constraints.
It's helpful, for me, just to get a behind the scenes look into how these services are run; the outsourcing, targets, lack of clinical supervision and a huge surge in demand, to help manage expectations when i engage with them. I hope one day we can have a better system, because this one is not working.

@PossumSocks

I could not agree more with your last sentence

(Well, and everything you said, but yeah)

🙂

Well, you wanted to interact with human beings and you found a whole bunch of human beings working on the same problem. So, there's that.

Problem is, everyone wants to be data based. But, when you go down the rabbit hole of what the experts say, they all say, we won't have enough data. We need more experiments.

Best data drives are driven not just by "what is" but "what could be" (if only "X"). Ultimately the question is, What is "X"?

What a lovely rant space.

@Helpmeheal sorry it took me so long to reply and yeah i think it may be a more common experience than we think which sucks cause it shouldnt be. having a human to talk to can be really helpful we all need some form of social connection and i am glad you are finding being on here helpful.

Hi @Helpmeheal

I just wanted to reach out and offer you some support 💜

I’m so sorry to hear that you’ve been having a rough time lately 💜

In my experience, we all have times in our lives when we need comfort, understanding and a soft place to fall and as such, I just ever so gently wanted to reassure you that you’re always welcome to reach out to us here whenever you need too 💜

Although I’ve had some wonderful experiences with crisis supporters, I’ve also had experiences where the support that I received caused me additional distress and I actually felt worse than I did before I reached out for support!

As I listened to this part of your story, I could hear how desperately you’re yearning for the type of human connection where you feel truly heard and understood 💜

As I sat here thinking about your experiences, I ever so gently wondered if a service known as ‘Safe Spaces’ / ‘Safe Havens’ may be something that’s helpful for you 😊

Basically, ‘Safe Spaces’ / ‘Safe Havens’ are staffed by peer support workers (and sometimes mental health clinicians) who provide non clinical support for people who are distressed, experiencing a mental health crisis, or at risk of developing a mental health crisis.

As such, they create a really safe and welcoming environment, where people can go and spend some time sharing what’s happening for them and receive support 💜

Although ‘Safe Spaces’ / ‘Safe Havens’ are often located on or near Hospital grounds, they’re separate from Hospital Emergency Departments and as such, they provide people with an alternative to visiting the Emergency Department.

Not so long ago, I found myself in a pretty dark place and out of sheer and utter desperation, I decided to visit the ‘Safe Space’ closest to me.

They made me feel incredibly welcome and I spent well over an hour sitting with the peer support workers in a blubbering soggy mess (the kind where your tissues start disintegrating) pouring my heart out to them.

Everyone who I spoke with, was just so kind and compassionate and because they had walked a similar path to the one that I was currently on, they were able to relate to my experiences and understand what was happening for me.

During the time that I was there, no one made any reference to the time, or attempted to bring the conversation to a sudden and clumsy end and as such, I was given the time, space and support that I needed to share what was important for me.

Having the opportunity to spend some time in a safe and warm environment where people ‘just got me’ was like a breath of fresh air and I have nothing but the highest praise for the care and support that I received that evening 💜

I walked away feeling so much lighter and more hopeful and confident that I had the resources to manage the challenges that were causing me such a significant amount of distress.

Although (from my understanding) ‘Safe Spaces’ / ‘Safe Havens’ are a relatively new initiative, I believe that they’re located throughout Australia and so there may be a service in your area too 💜

I spent a little bit of time trying to find an online service directory that lists the locations of ‘Safe Spaces’ / ‘Safe Havens’ in each state, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anything overly helpful to share with you 💜

Sometimes it can be difficult to find the support and resources that we need and so just as an experiment, I googled ‘Safe Space’ and the area where I live, just to see if the service that I attended came up - and it did 😊 Therefore, if you felt that this type of support would be helpful for you, perhaps you could complete a similar online search to see if there’s a service in your area 💜

Also, when I visit the ‘Safe Space’ in my area, I have to contact the Acute Care Team first, as they co-ordinate everyone’s access into this particular service. Therefore, if you have difficulty finding the information that you’re searching for online, perhaps you could contact your Acute Care Team to see if they can offer you some guidance in terms of where to find a service.

From my understanding Acute Care Teams (the point of entry for adults to access mental health services here in Queensland) are known by different names depending on what state you’re living in 😊 For example, in Victoria, I believe that the equivalent service is called The Acute Community Intervention Service 😊

I wasn’t too sure what state you’re living in and so I’ve just shared the following website with you, as it provides information about the equivalent services in each state 💜

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/crisis-management

Your local Primary Health Network may also be able to guide you in the right direction 😊

I hope that this helps you a little bit 😊

Please know that I’m thinking of you at such a difficult time 💜

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar 💜

Omg, @ShiningStar that safe space sounds like a dream come true. The more time that passes, the more I am convinced that the best people to get support from BY FAR is other people who also experience/experienced mental illness. I will definitely look into safe spaces in my area. Failing that, I am not too far from Brisbane, I imagine they would probably have something there. I am so glad you found a safe network of kind hearted people to support you through the dark times. Hopefully this will continue to grow.

A wonderful peer worker on here called @tyme actually told me about an online peer support service that Sane runs too, which offers remote counselling and peer support appointments for free, for people with complex mental health issues. I’ve signed up to that and spoke to a lovely peer worker who already helped me so much and offered real hope.

Just knowing people like you are out there helps so much, Shining Star. Thank you so much for your beautiful, long, compassionate response. You clearly have a big heart. Thanks. Maybe I can be here for you someday, when you need it.

Hi @Helpmeheal, I'm here, if you still need a kind human to talk to. It's what I'm looking for, too.

@Mystery , I missed you! I would have loved a chat. I will check in in a bit. How are you going today?

@Helpmeheal, I'm going alright, thank you. 🙂 How are you? I was out all day today, but will be back again soon...