The SANE Blog

How do people know when something's not right and they should seek psychological help?

Are there common warning signs that suggest oncoming symptoms of mental illness?

The answer is yes, but sadly the signs aren't always obvious to the person experiencing them. Many people say it's easier to recognise the symptoms in hindsight.

To help you identify the warning signs, we asked ten SANE Peer Ambassadors to share how they knew they needed help.

Assumptions often govern our understanding of the world and those around us. We guess what it's like to be rich and famous, or the impact of travelling a long, rocky road due to disability or misfortune.

Many people start their journey living with a mental illness with little practical knowledge of the long-term effect their symptoms may have. They may not understand the battles they'll need to fight just to leave the house, visit family, go to work, or attend treatment.

To understand how the reality of mental illness and how it differs from first impressions, we asked nine SANE Peer Ambassadors to share their experiences.

SANE Peer Ambassadors Sandy and Hannah share what it was like star in the schizophrenia episode of ABC TV's You Can't Ask That.

Wouldn't it be nice to turn back the clock, travel back in time and give some frank advice to your younger self?

We asked 11 SANE Peer Ambassadors what they'd tell their younger self to help them through their mental health journey. They said...

Bipolar disorder involves periods of manic highs and depressive lows. No two people are the same and experiences ­– the length and intensity of the highs and the presence of depression – differ from person to person.

Bipolar affects more people than you think. As many as one in 50 people will experience it at some stage in their life. Yet, despite this prevalence it's common for people to make inaccurate assumptions about the disorder.

Since turning 18 I've actively sought and managed my own treatment, this includes seeing a raft of counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists and health professionals.

I've had my share of hospital visits, undertaken a year of Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), completed a 20 day inpatient Schema program and recently started an Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing program.

I also take medication and have found a lot of purpose through my work in the arts.

I've been through all this and I'm proud of my progress. But my journey would have been easier if someone mentioned, all those years ago, five simple facts about living with a mental illness.

I'm gay, and I'm loud and proud. But it wasn't so long ago that I was hiding my truth from the world. The longer I held onto this secret, the heavier it seemed.

When you hide something as central to your identity as your gender or sexuality it can seem as though there is a vast chasm between you and the rest of the world, and it is a lonely and isolating existence.

I remember hearing an anecdote about the burdens we carry. It goes something like this.

Sandy Jeffs remembers her diagnosis of schizophrenia in 1976 as "an absolute death sentence".

"I thought, 'Where do I go from here?' It seemed there was no future, no hope. You were on the scrapheap."

When someone says schizophrenia what do you think?

Sadly, many people have little or no idea about what it's actually like living with schizophrenia. Instead their preconceptions about this illness come from movies and the media which, more often than not, can be inaccurate and sensationalised.