Tell us: What bought you to SANE?

I reached a very low point earlier this year and had very little support in my life. I was sitting on the computer one night and just googled about wanting some help and SANE came up. I'd never heard of it before. But I had a look and read a few posts and went to bed. The next day I thought I'd have another look and even posted a few replies of my own. The response I got was so warm and caring that i'm still here. I remember those first responses I got and did what I could to try and give new members that same feeling.

Now I even post in the social spaces! I often wonder now who is this strange, but very delightful man sitting at my PC typing away?! 🤔

I came to SANE as a carer, seeking support around an unwell husband - unwell differently than I thought …. his addictions were secondary to his expanding coercive control, which I found confusing and distressing at first, before I began to recognise it was DV. It’s very hard to find community support, even through channels that advertise themselves as support. SANE gave me a voice and a place to rest.

🙏😔♥️

I found SANE from a recommendation from my GP. She had researched a lot to help me when I was extremely unwell. I was pretty isolated in dealing with my mental health as I waited to get both a psychologist and psychaitrist appointments. I had never connected online with any organisation but as soon as I joined SANE I found a caring and compassionate community who supported me through everything. I would not still be here without SANE - being part of this community has been both life saving and life changing.

After a trauma that I thought would take me out, I searched online for help. I don't remember what I typed in, but I chanced upon Sane, and it was like a lifeline which I grabbed desperately. @Maggie, who is no longer on the forum, was the first to touch my broken heart. I'll never forget her kind words and her beautiful screen pic of a rose made from music sheets. @chibam and I spoke from a similar position, and @Appleblossom offered to be my online friend when I said that I had none. So many others have traversed these pages and touched my life, and I often look back on the changes that have taken place during these several years, not just in my life but others' as well.

I don't write much these days but log on regularly to see how everyone is doing. I hope everyone is doing fine. I couldn't have made it this far without you, and the birthday wishes from @Shaz when no-one in the real world thought of me were greatly appreciated. We're understood and valued here. Cheers to all here who have graced my life during these past several years.

@Zoe7 😊

I had been referred from the reachOUT forums.

I think this was like my second account tbh, I had lost my first account which I made nearly at start of sane and And didn't identify with that account anyways. A few years later to that I rejoined as I was getting too old for reachOUT. I have been on SANE on and off since. So glad to have all your supports.

hey @Shaz51 what brought me here, well i had a very bad experience with a well known Australian mental health forum as i was banned for talking about mental health issues, i was looking for somewhere to get support and understanding and i stumbled upon SANE when it was only a few months old.

the forum and SANE has given me so so much i can't even explain what it has done for me. without SANE i would not be alive and i would not be coping as good as i am. i owe SANE so much i will never be able to repay it for what it has done for me.

i love SANE and all the people in it, both users and employees.

I don't remember exactly how I found my way to SANE, it was so long ago. No doubt Google had something to do with it.

But as to why I ended up here... Well, quite simply, the mental health system was letting me down, badly. I was trapped with my awful therapist, and so I was trying to find a way to get out of my therapy with her, and hopefully on to some sort of therapy system that was actually going to help me.

In a nutshell, I came here looking for information and advice.

Hi there @ArraDreaming . To be honest, I can’t really remember what brought me to SANE. All I know is that I had mental health issues and was possibly looking for a way to connect to people like me who understood what it was like to experience mental health and the challenges that can come with it, such as experiencing episodes of ill health whilst also experiencing periods where things are going well and that my mental illnesses aren’t so much of a problem for me and that life is good. I like being able to share my knowledge and experiences of mental health issues with others yet equally learn from other forum members about what they are experiencing in their mental health journey and that’s important to me. I like the fact that the forums are anonymous and that I can share things about my life that I may not be able to tell people in my real life for various reasons.

I have also noticed that when I’m experiencing something, often other forum members have been through it and can give me help and advice and that makes me feel

like I’m not so alone with my issues/problems. It’s a sense of connection and belonging which is what has kept me coming back to the forums and helping me with my mental health journey.

Judi9877☺️