Running

[RiverSeal]

Hey @avant-garde, yeah sure thing! RiverSeal 

[avant-garde]

@RiverSeal 

I feel reluctant to jump in on the everyday chat threads like tabalugas and best friends club because people are often kind of talking about their struggles and I don't want to interrupt (like today when I'm proud of myself and want to share it). I also don't like becoming one of "those tags" when I find some users post extensively and tag bunches of people, it's not that I don't care about them but I'm normally too overwhelmed and distressed with other stuff going on to have the capacity to read theirs without becoming more distressed to the point that I can't manage. 

How can I navigate this?

[RiverSeal]

Great question @avant-garde, and I have asked myself similar questions working as Peer Support Worker and sharing my recovery story!

As I recover and my life improves, like my social life, for example. I now have a great social life, and I am connected with a lot of really good friends. This was not always to case, and I was very isolated and had no friends for a long period of time. I asked myself how to I share my recovery journey without distracting from the challenges people are facing with connection in their own lives. And not make them feel like they are worse of than me and maybe think that they are missing out on what I have.

I sat with this for a while and decided that it provides hope and is a genuine and authentic stroy of my recovery. And with my lived experience of turning that part of my life around and building connections I support others to find their own path if that is something they want to work towards. It's a strength of mine and I and sharing the good and the bad experiences with people in a meaningful and purposeful way.

Does that makes sense?

I think it's fair if you don't tag other Forums Members so you don't need to feel abliged to read their posts which may trigger you or make you distressed.

RiverSeal