It can be hard seeing family over the holidays when relationships are strained. In part two of our series on estrangement and the holidays, SANE Peer Support Worker JD has some tips on dealing with challenging family events.
The SANE Blog
The holidays can be tough for anyone who has needed to separate from their family. In part one of our series on estrangement and the holidays, Peer Support Worker JD talks about finding meaning this holiday season after cutting ties with relatives.
From her own experience, our Forums Community Manager shares some tips on using your story to advocate for systemic change.
While the easing of public health restrictions is a big milestone and something to celebrate, it’s also a huge shift in what we have become used to. Many people are surprised to find they have mixed feelings or find it tough as lockdowns and restrictions lift.
However, this might make more sense than we realise at first.
Kelly is a Worimi and Wipella (Wadjella) woman who lives and grew up on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja. She has a keen interest in promoting human flourishing and bringing lived experience into all aspects of service design. She sat down with SANE to chat about her experience co-designing a new model of care for personality disorder.
This Body Image and Eating Disorder Awareness week we chat with Sam who has lived with experiences of both anorexia and bulimia since her late teens. She explains how for her, recovery isn’t black and white, it’s about building up her wellbeing and her sense of self.
Marking Father’s Day, SANE Peer Ambassador Hamish writes a letter to his two-week-old daughter Matilda. He commits to sharing the wisdom gained from his mental health recovery and to helping his daughter navigate life’s complexities with compassion.
Content note: this blog mentions ableism, internalised ableism and trauma.
Liel K. Bridgford is a proud disabled person and former mental health counsellor. She shares some thoughts on living with a disability and supporting your mental health, including the benefits of opening up and finding role models in the disability community.
As we approach the end of Pride Month, SANE Peer Ambassadors Lisa and Holly chat about the brilliant and frustrating parts of Pride. They also reflect on the interaction between mental health and discrimination - how having to be vigilant of others’ reactions and assumptions takes a toll.
Feeling overwhelmed or upset by the news of a hard Victorian lockdown? We are too.
The snap three day lockdown we had in February was the first glimpse of our new valued freedom being interupted. The news today that we are going back into yet another hard lockdown at midnight may feel like deja vu and be hard to process.
For those of us living with complex mental health issues or with a history of trauma, the suddenness of this lockdown could be a trigger for mental health symptoms and high distress.