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What is the difference between individual recovery and family recovery? This Topic Tuesday we want to open up a discussion about how you as a carer or family member recover. We will be joined by Mel, who is a carer and peer support worker from HelpingMinds- who will chat with you about things such as:
·Recovering as a family
·Building relationships with your loved one while they are unwell
If you are interested in YOUR recovery, maintaining hope and staying connected with your family member or friend while they are unwell, please join us to pick up some tips and ask questions.
And to answer your question. Recovering Our Families is a online training program which HelpingMinds has available to carers and family members of someone with a mental illness across Australia and in New Zealand. For many people its not until this course that we realise and give ourselves permission to be hurting too. To realise and validate how much we have been affected, given up and changed. Recovering our families looks at different topics each week for you. Not the person you care for. But YOU. How are YOU doing, How much hope to YOU have, etc. Through that we can look at how to heal as a whole family, group, communit, etc. And improve how we all interact. For my mum that meant I changed how I interacted and she then changed to be more respectful, understanding and supportive of me - as much as she could despite being still unwell.
In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Recovering our families // 26 July, 7pm AEST
Mental Health is commmunity health for all... which means we have to challenge poverty, homelessness, Islamaphobia, racism... a lot to take on. but to think our families can achieve "mental health" on their own? Doubtful
In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Recovering our families // 26 July, 7pm AEST
Yes you are right in all of those points waves. I think most mental illnesses are symptoms of society often due to the poverty, homelessness, Islamaphobia, racisim, ect that you talk about. But every change happens somewhere. It may not happen as a whole family unit but as a group of people who are connected it might. I have seen the small but significant changes that can happen and continue to work on building that. It wont happen over night, in a year, or maybe 10 - but there are changes that can happen to a specific person over night. My mum for the first time EVER asked me how I was the other day. She commented that she had suddenly realised I always ask her how she is, and we talk about how she is but she never asked me how I am or talk about how I am doing. Small change but so powerful.
In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Recovering our families // 26 July, 7pm AEST
You're so spot on - stigma and other factors in the wider community does contribute to so many issues. I actually find it so overwhelming!
Tonight we're starting with what we can control in our own environment and those closest to us. But we totally recognise there are broader issues in our society that needs work to help families and their loved ones.
In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Recovering our families // 26 July, 7pm AEST
For my mum that meant I changed how I interacted and she then changed to be more respectful, understanding and supportive of me - as much as she could despite being still unwell. -- My husband has changed over the years
and I have too, earier years were soo hard , I have learnt a lot and I am still learning
In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Recovering our families // 26 July, 7pm AEST
I remember counting the days it took for someone to ask if I was ok. It was always - "Hows your mum". Never "How are you?". To this day the only mental health worker who has actually stopped me to ask if I am getting support actually recommended where I now work. Its lovely to see tho.
In response to: Re: Topic Tuesday // Recovering our families // 26 July, 7pm AEST
@Shaz51 you say that the earlier days were soo hard- does that mean things are a tinny bit easer now that you have learnt more? I found I went to every training session, every group, every counselling session I could and it still took years to even get where I am now. Thats the only reason I agreed to mention the Recovering Our Families training tho. Because for once it combined so many of the different things I had been searching for into one place. Something I wish I had earlier
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