Tillogram

Hey @Till23 ,

Yes, thanks for raising it. I've been working closely with the tech company over the past few days in providing videos, files, screenshots etc so they can look into the support button issue.

We have some potential resolutions that we are currently testing. Thank you for bring patient

Thanks @tyme for responding to the part of my post about the technical/IT issue.

How are you feeling now @Till23 ?

I know you probably just missed it @tyme.. I know you are very,, very busy..

Hey @Till23 ,

It's totally okay. Do what you need to. I hear this is a very anxious time for you and that you haven't been feeling the best for a while now. With so much going on for you, I was checking whether anything had shifted for you this afternoon. But it sounds like it's still quite intense.

Just because you feel this way, please don't think you are a 'bad' person or not a 'nice' person. We all how these times, and whilst it doesn't bring out the best of us, it is truth and the reality of it.

Running on 1.25hrs sleep is like running on a few percent battery. From experience, all that anxious energy will most likely drain the rest of your battery too.

For now, this afternoon/evening, can you go out for a short time and just 'feel'? 'Feel' where you are, get connected with your surroundings? If not, what is something you can to as a way of shifting things a bit?

Thanks @tyme,, Yes the lack of sleep is definitely not helping things at all.. It's kind of funny in a way,, because in the past,, I was really quite good at dealing with very poor sleep.. Even if I'd had low sleep for a few days.

The tennis is on and Australia are in the mixed doubles finals. So I am going to log off and just try to concentrate on that. It's a bit hot here but I might go in the bush a bit later as that helps me at least for a short time.

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It is an organisation priority that the majority of staff do have a background whether living with MH themselves or caring for someone with MH issues @Till23 So yes many of our PSWs/Mods are coming from a lived experience background and therefore they may have insights in certain areas however (and I am going to be very blunt here) - there is no excuse for a lack of engagement/conversing/supporting for some when others are receiving that constantly.

What we have seen over the life of the forums (and @Shaz51 would know this) is a time where mods were very engaged and the forums felt like a family to one where the policies change to mods rarely being seen. The next progression was to include PSWs and to begin with this was a period again of great support, connections and a little sense of that family back.

As the service has expanded, and new areas added in, that connection has again diminished. There is more and more being 'added' to SANE and, in my opinion, this has added to the declines we are seeing in the forum. Rather than stabilising what has been integral to SANE for many years (and to the people/members involved), there has been a noticeable decline in how the forums are staffed and maintained. The Community Guide program is one such area - we used to have a dedicated space to help each other out (including noticing where posts/threads/members needed extra support and a CG would step in to do that). It feels like the PSWs have 'taken over' that role but are not in the same position as CGs have been in the past to know what is going on forums-wide, including where someone needs support. The triage system is supposed to do that but it is totally inadequate.

I can say I was in a very dark place when I first found SANE - and I would not still be here without SANE - but I have also seen a lot of changes and been frustrated with some of them. The introduction of PSWs was not one of those - I found this initiative a very promising one for both the forums and the organisation, however there are very big gaps still in how/when they engage with members ....this would seem to me to be a gap in training AND in 'knowing' the forums. ...and this is not just for newer PSWs so the question needs to be asked "what is their role and how is that implemented"?

It may seem by this post that I am being quite negative about our PSWs but I am not. The negativity comes in from 'behind the scenes', their training, their engagement outlines and their interaction focus.This is not about PSWs/mods per se, it is about equity and interactions. No member should be made to feel they are not being heard, whether they are in 'a very dark place' or just needing some venting/validation.

I am back to work on Monday and absolutely DO NOT want to go back. The holidays have flown by and I really cannot believe there is only one day left. My anxiety has been pretty high for the past couple of weeks and knowing I will have to leave my fur babies at home is stressful. They will be fine - they will sleep all day - but I will miss them. I have had both follow me around for most of the days in the holidays so wherever I turn, there has been a fur baby!

@tyme I have little confidence in anything changing but there needs to be a massive concerted effort to find equity within the forums.

@Shaz51 The CG training would have been great if it had worked for everyone. I think you were one of many that would complete a module and it would not show as completed. There was also a lack of support and engagement there for most. It was pretty much in the middle of that training being available that the CG program 'fell apart' - and a primary reason was the lack of a Community Manager at the time. I have asked several times if the current PSW/Peer Guide training could be available for CGs but it seems we are pretty much left out in the cold now anyway.

You have suggested you have a couple of concerns yourself - may I ask what they are?

I know what you mean @Zoe7 . Yes, I totally agree that the forums were like family.

Is it better this feedback was kept in would sane consider these changes to the forums ?

I don't want this feedback to be lost in amongst post. Open to hearing your thoughts.