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Somehow I picked up you are worth knowing. Can we be friends?
I can only imagine the trauma you experienced growing up.
Sadly, I too am a mother who has been robbed of her daughter/s. There is stigma there too ... I bet both our stories are complicated. I know there are others ....
Take Care and Stay Safe
Ten years ago at a city church. a lady I had been to uni with, a decade before, loudly asserted I was "Walking Wounded", she connected to hierarchy and was paid, I bump into her now & then at Professional Development workshops ....she has moved on ...we both have .... I do both Personal and Prof dev ....weary sigh ...
Thank you @Daisydreamer for being honest about limits.
Pass on "our" the communities' regards at the meeting.
@Daisydreamer I appreciate I have not been shut down by SANE forum, and do not always post comfortable posts.
As @Zoe7 said. I also am available, with my full independent voice.
We are friends, @Appleblossom I just don't know what to say anymore. What on earth is life about if the only people who get ahead are the ones who walk all over others?
Thought so @Historylover
Hugs and walking hand in hand ...
Hearing you.
I really hope another opportunity occurs for you that puts the recent abusive one in the background. I had a similar thing that last month that was a mix of irl and online. As I had an email trace, I was able to show people and get timely support for the abusive email, but still it takes time to gather our wits and dust ourselves off. You should not need to settle ... about those issues.
I am safe for another sleepless night, @Zoe7 and no, I do not have support in the real world. Zero. But I always have my fellow forumites. Talking to some online call centres too often makes me feel like I am holding them up. I only come here for my heartfelt virtual hugs and, to date, have always stayed until I feel better, if not necessarily good. I now feel considerably better. Thank you all.
Never hesitate to come here @Historylover - you can tag me anytime - I may not always be around but when I am I will happily give you some virtual hugs. I used to use CHAT at SANE - never actually spoke directly to anyone - I find it hard to find the words - but I was never made feel like I was holding them up and I know the counsellors at SANE are fabulous ...keep them in mind especially if you only use the CHAT function.
Going to check in with you tomorrow - hope that is okay
Sometimes @Historylover there is no point even thinking about the future - we just need to get through the day we are in and hope for better tomorrow.
@Daisydreamer wrote:Hi @chibam
Thank you for raising these important issues that are contributing to the stigma and current issues within the mental health system at the moment. There are lots of really important points here and we share the passion for change to ensure that those living with mental health concerns can access safe and recovery oriented mental health services that put lived experience at the core of what they do.
One of SANE's core pillars is advocacy, aimed at amplifying the voices of those living with mental health concerns and their friends, families and carers. We advocate in lots of different spaces at all levels of the mental health system to make sure that the voices of lived experience and the needs of our community are represented as widely as possible.
Through consultations and our work with our Peer Ambassadors, we are always keeping our ear to the ground to make sure that we are hearing the needs of the communities we support. That's where hearing from you is really important, and I will make sure to share your post with our team, and we will share any consultations or opportunities to get involved in SANE's advocacy here on the forums 🙂
Openness and transparency are really important to us, and so it's important that I pass on that in this instance there is an agenda set for the meeting that is predetermined. We will be representing and ensuring the voice of lived experience is embedded in all we do, but I'm mindful this meeting may not speak to every concern raised here today.
That being said, we advocate in every part of what we do and we are always looking to hear your thoughts and experiences so we can be better advocates. You are more than welcome to also send any things you would like us to know about to the forums email address (team@saneforums.org) 🙂
Thanks for letting us know, @Daisydreamer . It's a pitty we got in too late to play a role in the conferance with this thread. But I've noticed that the things that have come out in this thread have been nothing new: their all issues that I've seen raised time and time again on here (or on other MH/Suicide sites I frequent). So if you SANE Leaders have been listening to the voices on these forums as you say, hopefully a lot of what we've suggested will already have been slotted into your agenda for this conferance.
I can never tell whether or not the powers that be actually see any relevance in the commentary of lone lived experiance individuals. Their always very polite with their lip service, of course - e.g. "We want to thank the lived experiance individuals who contributed to this inquiry. Their input is very important to us...", ect. ,ect. But I can never tell whether that is just deceptive political tact, or if our grievances and perspectives are actually factored into policy.
Are we just some regrettably obligatory sideshow to the key-note fancy speeches of the great professors and experts, who rattle on so eloquently about funding shortages and primary health networks? Or do we actually matter to these leaders who hold our fates in their hands? My inner cynic is constantly at war with my inner optimist trying to figure out the answer to that question. The cynic usually has the upper hand.
That's why it really matters to me to hear a force like SANE echoing the priorities and perspectives of myself, and all my fellow forumers like @Former-Member , @Historylover , @Zoe7 , @greenpea & @Appleblossom (I hope I haven't forgotten anyone ), and all the others on this site. Because, while it may be very easy for the government to pretend it didn't hear what @chibam the crazy little loudmouth had to say, it can't so easily ignore the voice of SANE, the big, famous mental health organization.
So what you guys have to say really, really matters, because your moment to send a message, in the limelight of respect and significance, is an opportunity that the rest of us will never, ever get.
As @Appleblossom said, please pass on our regards and well-wishes to whoever will be attending the conferance.
