MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS MONTH: Let's Talk About It (October 2024)

Mental Health Awareness Month:

Let's Talk About It!

We will be posting topics/questions throughout this month to get us talking. Hope you will be able to join us in talking all things Mental Health!

Our first question:

What is the role of peer support and connection in terms of your mental health recovery?

@Jynx @Shaz51 @outlander @Eve7 @Zoe7 @Faith-and-Hope@NatureLover @Judi9877@RiverSeal @BPDSurvivor @Meowmy @TAB @StuF @SmilingGecko @Bill16 @WIP @Appleblossom @StanD @creative_writer @Captain24 @Snowie @ArraDreaming @Bow @rav3n @Glisten @ENKELI @Oaktree @Anastasia @Rockdog @Captain24 @MJG017 @Macqua @Cleo2 @Jacques @Dimity @outlander @Glisten @Patches59 @Loner57 @cam @sam@NatureLover @wellwellwellnez @Millieme @Spirit_Healer @Healandlove @GreyWolf7 @Squishy @Andarna

@tyme @Jynx @Ru-bee

The importance of peer support and connection in my recovery journey can't be understated. I have really valued being able to share my thoughts and vulnerable feelings with others who understand them because they feel much the same way. Having people who are in different boats but in the same storm is so valuable to me. I feel really connected to this community and I have made so many close friends here. We are all here for each other, to lift each other up in our hardest moments and to cheer each other on in our victories.

Hi @Oaktree , Thank you for sharing!

It certainly is an important journey. Everyone has their own individual journey. There is no right or wrong way to take this journey.

Connecting with others is invaluable to recovery. These forums have been an incredible way to allow me to once again learn to connect with humans and wider civilisation. In my own recovery, I moved from complete isolation to learning to connect with people.

Hope could be shared on the forums by reading the experiences from fellow-Australians. I found that the more I reached out to support others, I felt a new hope each time.

Identity was something I really lacked at the beginning of my recovery journey. The forums helped me find my feet again ad find out what was most important to me.

Meaning was given to me once I started connecting to people on the forums and becoming a volunteer. I couldn't have done it without the support I received from the forums.

Empowerment. For a long time, in the MH system, things were done TO me. Recovery allowed me to be empowered with the recovery I wanted and to focus on what was most important to me.

In my recovery, I have learnt that:

Recovery is a journey, not a destination.

I'm glad we can stand together in this.

What are your thoughts? @Shaz51 @Zoe7 @Anastasia @Rockdog @Captain24 @MJG017 @Faith-and-Hope @MDT @ArraDreaming @Macqua @Cleo2 @Andarna @Eve7 @Snowie @Jacques @Dimity @Former-Member @outlander @Glisten @Yep @TAB @Loner57 @Spirit_Healer @Millieme @GreyWolf7 @Squishy @Andarna @creative_writer @ENKELI @wellwellwellnez @Healandlove @StanD @Bow @sam @cam

What is the role of peer support and connection in terms of your mental health recovery?

@Ru-bee @tyme @Jynx

Peer support has been the key thing that has me feeling that I've made any progress or improvement this year with my ability to cope with my depression and anxiety. I tried psychology but I found it nowhere near as beneficial. Mainly due to the cost and not finding a psychologist who I felt was a good fit for me. With so few subsidised visits per year and the even greater cost of trying more services after my 10 visits are completed there was no real option to try more services to find a better fit for me. And even if you find a service with a gap fee you can afford, with or without using the 10 MHCP visits, it's just far too expensive to get the amount of visits I feel like I need to really help.

As someone who had very little support around me 2 years ago and finding my first attempts at psychology not as helpful as i would like, I looked to peer support through online and in-person support groups. Not only did this give me a connection with a lot of people who I felt were much more understanding of what I was going through but it allowed me to start to build a sense of self worth and confidence from these connections. I could now have a support network around me that I never had before.

This helped me to finally start to find a way out of a really difficult time in my life, which in turn allowed me to offer my experiences to help other people who were struggling mentally themselves.

The help and support I've received through these peer support networks this year has not only helped me to finally start a healing process but given me a desire and passion to get much more involved in peer support. So far this year I have...

• Joined a number of online and in-person support groups
• I have helped to create and run a support group
• Spent more and more time trying to offer advice and support to people who reach out with their own mental health struggles
• Completed training and workshops to better to be able to support people
• Attended forums
• Volunteered for studies and research by sharing my own experiences
• Enrolled for a Cert IV - Mental Health, peer work in 2025
• Gotten involved in activities to raise awareness and raise funds

All of this because of how helpful I found peer support through a very difficult time in my life after finding too many barriers to adequate professional mental health support.

Amazing @MJG017 !

What a testimonial! And a real encouragement to all those reading that RECOVERY IS REAL.

The power of Peer Work is beyond words. Just knowing that someone has been through something similar helps us all feel less alone in our journey.

@MJG017

I am getting involved in the peer work space too. I am in the interview process for a lived experience advisory committee, I also have another exciting opportunity that I can’t talk about and I am applying for a scholarship place for cert IV mental health peer work for 2025. Wish me luck…

Sounds like you are in a really good place and that you are already heavily involved in peer work despite not having done the certification quite yet. Good for you!!!

@tyme , @Ru-bee @RachSANECEO

What is the role of peer support and connection in terms of your mental health recovery?

the importance of peer support and connection in my journey to recovery is very important to me

I came to the Sane Forum in 2015 as a wife and a carer and a stepmother looking for some support and guidance

Peer support has helped me so much in the last 9 years in understanding, supporting, caring, loving my loved ones more

the support and encouragement over the years have helped me to become a community guide and to help and supports others here and to learn more

I have made many friends here since 2015 and to still be in contact with them is wonderful

and making new friends daily is really good and to be here to help them find their feet is so important

What are your thoughts? @BPDSurvivor , @ShiningStar , @utopia , @Emelia8 , @oceangirl , @Determined , @Adge

@TAB @Meowmy @Bill16 @Former-Member @Jacques @StuF

Could you guys please respond to the question on this thread? What is the role of peer support and connection in terms of your mental health recovery?

This will really help Sane out if you could answer any questions they raise on this thread. Thanks

Nine years already @Shaz51 🙂

I can see how much carers can benefit from the forums too, and it becomes a second family.

We are so glad you have you @Shaz51 @Oaktree @MJG017

@tyme @Ru-bee @Jynx

what is the role of peer support and connection in terms of your mental health recovery?

when I read this the first thing that came to my mind was 4 E’s….. Empathy, Ear to honestly listen, Encouragement, Engagement.

during my time wth SANE I’ve made friends with people who have listened and encouraged me to keep going. Wonderful people who have shown so much empathy. Have met people with similar life experiences who have shared items from their past which has given me encouragement to keep going each day.

Peer support and connections are very important in my journey.

Connections that have brought people into my life that I can comfortably talk with about mental health issues and how I am feeling, whether this be feeling good or struggling.

Through Peer Support and connections I don’t feel alone anymore. No longer feel I’m the only person dealing with same mental health issues as myself.