Lived Experience Forum

[Peonies]

Hi everyone, 

World Mental Health Day is on the 10^th of October. It is an international day for all of us to join hands in: 

• raising awareness of the importance of mental health,
• advocating against stigma and discrimination towards people with complex mental health issues,
• encouraging all of us to prioritise our mental health and wellbeing.

“World Mental Health Day is an opportunity for the world to come together and begin redressing the h...,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

At SANE Australia, on the 12^th of October 2020, we will be presenting the findings of the Our Turn To Speak Survey through our National Stigma Report Card.  The survey sought to explore how people’s experience with complex mental health issues impact their experiences across different life domains. More info to come on Monday!

 For more information on how Australia celebrates world mental health day, you can take a look at Mental Health Australia brilliant resources - making a mental health promise for yourself, ideas on how to look after your mental health 

Questions to everyone:

• How has social stigma towards mental health issues affected you and/or your loved ones? 
• In line with this year’s theme for World Mental Health Day “Look after your mental health, Australia”, how are you looking after your own mental health?

[eth]

Hi @Peonies  yet again offline life got busy and I didn't get back to this thread.  I'm really surprised to see no-one responded.  

My mental health promise to myself in the last couple of weeks has been to put the brakes on.  I was doing so much that I became quite accelerated (bipolar 1) and it took me a few days of very close self-monitoring to slow myself down a bit.  I have decided I will only commit to a max of 2 things a day.  Some days I was up to 4 or 5 things which included lots of hours in zoom meetings.

Regarding stigma - I could say a lot here about how it's been a real challenge over the years since diagnosis.  Nowadays I'm pretty cautious about who I disclose to, about the bipolar and about why I have complex PTSD (long history of traumas) and how it effects me.  Most recently the thing that is an issue is 'friends' thinking it's funny to say "you're not getting a bit bipolar there are you".  Most times I manage to laugh it off but it gets to the core of me.  I hate that it's become used in social settings just because a person might be having fun and joining in social banter enthusiastically.  No-one who doesn't know about me having bipolar ever says it.

One of the things I'm doing to look after my mental health is spending around an hour at the start of the day colouring mandalas.  It clears my mind and sets me up to work out priorities for the day, rather than just jumping into the first task I think of or turning the computer on immediately.  Another thing I'm doing is spending a lot less time on the forums, which is proving healthy for me.  I've spent a very long time being on here almost every day, often for 4-6 hours.  So at the moment I'm only here every few days and try to limit each session to 2 hrs.  Otherwise I spread myself too thin and don't get to my offline chores etc and also too much blue screen activity isn't good for my MH.  I have a rule of not being online 10pm to 6am and am sticking to it.

Another thing that's been good for me is getting more involved with my local disability alliance and I'm now scribing/reporting for their members action group.  It's really good to feel I have something to offer and a sense of purpose.  Being a community guide here gives me those feelings too.

Thanks for all you do.

[Peonies]

Hi @eth ,

Thanks for sharing your mental health promises with us  Coloring in sounds like a nice and calming activity to start your day with  I usually start my day by making a cup of coffee 🌸

I can definitely relate to your experience with feeling cautious about who to share your story with. I tend to do the same. Unfortunately, not everyone can understand.  But, I also believe that there are others out there who will listen to us