Lived Experience Forum

[Helpmeheal]

Hello… is anybody out there? I need connection with other humans. Just to feel someone there. Does anyone else need to connect with someone? I am here if anyone wants to chat. Feeling  lonely…

[tyme]

Sure am @Helpmeheal ! I'm ready and waiting for a chat. Here's a cuppa to go with it. 

So what's been happening for you today?

[Helpmeheal]

@tyme that looks delicious, yes please! By the way, I spoke to a peer supporter today and am enrolling in the Sane program you told me about last week. It sounds so great! I am really looking forward to it. Thank you so much for telling me about it! These forums are so good. I don’t know why, but I just feel so much better, just interacting with people on here. Everyone is so lovely! Hope you’re doing something fun on the weekend!

[tyme]

That's so precious @Helpmeheal - connection and belonging is so important as part of our recovery. I hope you find the Guided Service helpful. I wish I had something like that available during my recovery. I definitely would have benefitted from it!

We have new programs coming out that are sooooo exciting! One is our Peer Pathways Program (interim name) which helps people to get into the workforce as peer workers.

I am so excited about this program because I used to be a regular member on the forums, and found it soooo helpful to my recovery, that I realised I wanted to work in the industry - I wouldn't look back!

I get to meet awesome people like you!

[Helpmeheal]

@tyme - that is so excellent that they are going to do the peer pathways! Honestly, for me, peer supporters have been the most helpful resource I have found. Just connecting with people who get it. It’s so important! And to know that people actually do manage to recover and have good lives, like you are doing, by the sounds of it! I desperately need those mentors and I am sure I am not the only one. I am really really happy to have found these forums. I was really struggling and feeling so alone. This forum and the people on it are making such a difference. Thank you for being around! 

[tyme]

Hugs @Helpmeheal ,

I'm so encouraged by your words. Your experiences make YOU the expert. These experiences are invaluable in the MH sector. Sometimes we get so stuck on the clinical side of things, that we forget to see the real person.

Even in my own recovery, I found peer workers so incredibly helpful. Unfortunately, they were so 'rare' so we were limited to only 2 or 3 meetups with the peer worker.

With a new understanding of peer workers and their role in MH, peer work is becoming more recognised. It can make an immense difference to someone's recovery - as you have already experienced.

With the Guided Service, you can also attend Webinars and groups. And you are open to choose whether you'd like your sessions with a peer support worker or counsellor (or mix of both). You lead this service that is offered to you 🙂

[Helpmeheal]

@tyme , that is so true, what you said! It is so nice to talk to peer workers, not being looked at in a clinical way. We are all just humans, struggling along. I’m sorry there wasn’t much peer support when you needed it. I really think it will keep growing, it is so powerful. I am so thankful to have found some peer support. There needs to be more of it! Hopefully one day, it will be something available to everyone who needs it.

[Little_Leopard]

Hey @tyme. 
what is this peer pathways program and how can I find out more about it. Is it like a course or something?

It’s not something that im in the position to do now but very curious about what it is.

[Peregrinefalcon]

Hey @Little_Leopard! 🐆

While I am not the lovely @tyme, I will jump in to provide a little more info about our Peer Pathway Program here: In a nutshell, it is about helping people with complex mental health concerns towards training and employment in the peer support workforce. Here is some more information about it all: https://www.sane.org/peer-support/peer-pathway-program 💛

Hope that helps! 

Have a lovely weekend!

[Little_Leopard]

Thank you so much @Peregrinefalcon. I read through the link and the pamphlet. It sounds so encouraging and promising. 

I would love to have the opportunity to give this a go one day.

I know first hand how hard it is to navigate this world with the stigma of a complex mental health condition. Mental health is still such a misunderstood area and even many doctors are hopeless with complex mental health conditions. 

It would be my absolute pleasure to one day help others navigate their own journey. It has been so hard for me to find people who understand me and treat me with respect. I hope that I can one day be able to be that for others who need it to.