Lived Experience Forum

[afterhours]

Big Need to feel connected but people don’t understand unless they have experienced similar—-  and there’s a danger of alienating them by burdening too much with my fear and neediness and depression. 
I think that just  a few words”‘in the moment”  when things feel too  hard, would help express genuine feeling  and maybe bring a little bit of human contact — just a few words would help ,.

[Anxiousmavis]

Hey ,
I feel exactly the same most days and at the moment with my mental health flaring up I know I’m exhausting my supports. Your words really resonate because I often feel like they don’t understand and the I realise that even the littlest support helps to just know someone is there even if they can’t understand exactly what I am going through.
I found that really communicating and even on days I don’t want to can help people understand a little of what’s going on which is not easy , vulnerability never is. It’s hard to connect but I think sooner or later people in your life start to not necessarily understanding everything but try and support you as much as they can. I find support forums like this , and places that are safe to share mental health help. But please don’t feel like you are a burden or will alienate people , because we aren’t our mental health and we deserve to have friends and be respected , and even if it means people need to make more effort to understand us . I hope this helped , please know your not alone with feeling that way

[Paulette]

Hi @afterhours ,

I am sorry to hear you are feeling like this. I find it hard to speak to others about my depression and anxiety. I have found a lot of support through my partner and on Sane Forum. I do find it makes me feel better knowing I can discreetly discuss how I feel here. I have noticed I'm starting to think more positively since being on Sane Forum. I've had heaps of judgement from complete strangers due to some issues in my life and here I have found a lot of acceptance and genuine concern for me. I've finally realised people do care after so much emotional pain. I do hope I can support others as much as they have me. Have a good day.

[tyme]

@Paulette - thank you for your post. It is so encouraging to hear you find these forums helpful and would like to support others as well.

[afterhours]

Thank you Paulette . You can be quite sure that
you have already supported me with your message. It’s good to know you are out there somewhere and I hope the world can be less judgmental towards you., I wish you all the best

[tyme]

Dear @Paulette , I believe the message about is for you. 

@afterhours , when you reply to posts, if you'd like the other member to receive a notification, you can type "@" in front of their username. Like this @afterhours .

Happy posting!

[afterhours]

@Paulette
Dear Paulette, I’m rather technically challenged and my reply to your very helpful message may not have gone to you. Thank you- you have helped me already. It’s good to know that you are there and I hope everything continues to improve for you .

[afterhours]

@Paulette Re: Feeling isolated, irrevalent, fearful of future
Thank you Paulette . You can be quite sure that
you have already supported me with your message. It’s good to know you are out there somewhere and I hope the world can be less judgmental towards you., I wish you all the best .
This is my original reply repeated . I’m not very good with the technology but wl try to improve and show more appreciation . Thanks so much for generously making me feel much more “connected” when you are dealing with unhappy issues of your own. I wish you all the beat. Thinking of you