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How have the forums helped you?

Zoe7Senior Contributor09 Oct 2024, 7:31 am AEDT

How have the forums helped you?

Hi everyone. We would like to know how the forums have helped you.

Please share a sentence on when/how the forums have helped you.

For example: "The support from the forums helped me to have the confidence to change my offline supports" or "the support from the forums helped me prepare for a hospital admission".

For me, the biggest impact the forums have had has been helping me through those times when I did not see any hope, SI was high and the members and staff at SANE sat with me to get through those times.

Tagging a few people @Faith-and-Hope @Shaz51 @Snowie @Eve7 @Judi9877 @BPDSurvivor @ArraDreaming @Oaktree @TAB @chibam @Emelia8 @StuF @ENKELI You all have great networks so could you tag others here please 😁

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In response to: How have the forums helped you?

Judi9877Senior Contributor09 Oct 2024, 10:37 pm AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

Hi @Zoe7 . Thanks for posting this question. The forums have helped me to connect with others who have mental health issues and give me a sense of belonging which is important to me in my life. I don’t have many friends and it’s nice to know that I can come here to the forums and talk to people who understand what it’s like to have mental health issues along with be social as well and help with the isolation that I often feel. I’ve made some friends here who I care about and have a connection with and it’s nice to know I’m not alone in what I’m going through. People understand me here and I like that in the forum community. I’m not an odd or weird crazy person that some people in the outside world like to see me as. I’d like to think that I matter here and I belong here and that’s what I’ve found here on the forums.

Judi9877☺️

In response to: Re: How have the forums helped you?

oceangirlSenior Contributor09 Oct 2024, 11:10 pm AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

@TAB

Thank you for the tag 🙂

The forum has helped me connect with others (forum friends) It's given me a sense of belonging and support and understanding. It's given me a voice and its ok for me to take up space in the world because I do matter, and I am enough. We are all enough. Keep moving forward and to find more peace in our lives.

In response to: Re: How have the forums helped you?

AinjouleSenior Contributor10 Oct 2024, 10:13 am AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

Yeah, like @oceangirl this forum has helped me connect with others and centre myself. I get experience chatting with others - I can be a bit shy in real life. The forum has both provided me with emotional support and a chance to support others.

In response to: Re: How have the forums helped you?

ArraDreamingSenior Contributor10 Oct 2024, 10:31 am AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

I know you said 1-2 sentences but I can’t. Explain just how much this organisation has supported me If it wasnt for here I probably would have disengaged from most services and not sought any help at all at the start of last year I was feeling very discouraged and like I had no place in any services, a lot of places had kickedme out in the past Sane has worked hard to help me succeed

In response to: How have the forums helped you?

ArraDreamingSenior Contributor10 Oct 2024, 10:31 am AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

The extra mile

In response to: Re: How have the forums helped you?

MJG017Senior Contributor10 Oct 2024, 10:49 am AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

@oceangirl wrote:
The forum has helped me connect with others (forum friends) It's given me a sense of belonging and support and understanding. It's given me a voice and its ok for me to take up space in the world because I do matter, and I am enough. We are all enough. Keep moving forward and to find more peace in our lives.

I think that sums it up so well for me as well.

In response to: How have the forums helped you?

SnowieSenior Contributor10 Oct 2024, 2:16 pm AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

The forums have helped me in numerous ways.

They have been a platform where I have been able to get the help I need when needed. They have given me the opportunity to be 'heard' by others and to not feel like an outsider. It is so much easier talking to people who just 'get' you. They have helped me through some of my toughest times.

It has also allowed me to interact with others and form some lasting friendships, even if they are just online.

In response to: Re: How have the forums helped you?

Faith-and-HopeSenior Contributor13 Oct 2024, 12:07 am AEDT

Re: How have the forums helped you?

Hi @Zoe7 …. 👋💕

The forums gave me a community when I was completely isolated within our circumstances offline. I couldn’t speak with medical professionals without a diagnosis around the ex and his mental health issues, and I couldn't leave - it was unsafe and the kids and I were so bound in coercive control methods that our resources were completely controlled, including all digital devices, which also pinpointed our whereabouts, financial transactions, communications with others, etc.

Still don’t know whether ex discovered my involvement with SANE or not, but he couldn’t do anything about it without affecting everything else he had goin’ on anyway, and exposing the nature of his true identity behind the mask of civility he was wearing. SANE was my lifeline. I was heard, understood, validated, and supported here. Our situation was / is extreme, but elements of the experiences of others were relatable, and it gave me strength to keep developing coping strategies until we could escape.

Ironically, he left us for someone else. Then there has been a many years’ long legal battle to get out of the massive financial betrayal that was revealed after the split. SANE member support has been with me all the way ….. my story helping to make sense of other people’s struggles and help them to find ways to move forward brings some meaningful closure to what we have been through.

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