Lived Experience Forum

[Determined]

@Lauz, going off for a bit and starting fresh with very tight privacy settings making it hard to find me was good way of resetting without the emotional politics of blocking people. 

[SANEwriter]

They're both such great resources, @Lonely_Together. Something that's given me comfort is the feeling that I can make choices of my own, where my safety, health and happiness are the top priority. Sometimes that means telling my story, or speaking out from experience against stigma. Other times, when I'm vulnerable or not up to it, I'm more cagey, like my friend's tweet says.

[SANEwriter]

Yes! One of our later talking points will be about controlling online access to you, @Determined. Great point.

[Lauz]

Hi @Sans911,

That sounds difficult - I think @SANEwriter will agree with the thought that its okay to not be comfortable talking about certain things in your online world. Especially balancing a public work life, it can be okay to notice that some social media isn't what you need? Finding a safe space like the forums therefore is a great way to overcome that for yourself and wellbeing.

[Phoenix_Rising]

@Lonely_Together I think you make a good point that in some ways, the issue goes beyond social media. I had an experience whereby I was a speaker at a MH related conference. I only realised later that if people google my real name, it comes up as showing me as a speaker at this conference, identifying me as someone with "lived experience." That's not cool. 

[SANEwriter]

Yep @Lauz, agree 100%. Disclosure's a choice, and no one is a greater expert on your choice to disclose than you. @Sans911

[Sans911]

@Lauz exactly. I needed a safe, private outlet to talk about the deeper, more dark stuff of my MI, not offend others, and maintain my own privacy and safety.

[SANEwriter]

Next talking point!

Taking breaks

When news & social media gets overwhelming, or if my mental health is down, I unplug for a while. I delete the apps from my phone and laptop and spend more time reading & talking with my IRL friends.

This works for me, but how about you? Do breaks work, or is staying connected better when you’re struggling?

@Determined's post above about going off for a bit is super relevant here.

[Lonely_Together]

I find I am (mostly) okay on Facebook when I post to my own page and it's only seen by my FB friends; where I typically run into trouble is when I start posting comments on friend's pages, in response to things they have posted, and their friends (who I might not know anything about) then respond - what I think is a fairly benign, quick response, can lead to an avalanche of intense comments and reactions that I don't always have the emotional energy to deal with.  I know this, yet sometimes I just can't help myself....

[Determined]

@SANEwriter when I was having a super hard time I just deleted everything and hid for a while, I only really reconnected when I more or less had to in order to engage with university studies.