Lived Experience Forum

[Rhye]

Hi there SANE Forums Community, 

This fortnight we invite you to join in a discussion about strategies for coping during the holiday season. As we near the end of what has a been a particularly difficult year, many of us will will be looking forward to festive celebrations and rejoicing in farewelling 2021. There will also be many of us for whom the holiday season may be a particularly trying time, stirring up emotions such as loneliness and isolation, grief and sadness.

With many support services closed for the holidays, this makes accessing support tricky, which is why our next Topic Tuesday will be dedicated to a discussion on strategies for coping during the silly season. We'll be joined by a SANE counsellor who will be sharing their tips for coping with all the difficulties that may arise for members of the forums during this period.

We all bring our own experience with us to the holiday season, so we will look forward to hearing from the community about your experiences and strategies for coping with some of the obstacles during the Christmas and New Years period.

Join us in exploring strategies around:

• Isolation
• Navigating family tensions
• Grief and bereavement 
• Service closures
• Where to seek help

Please join the discussion here on Tuesday the 21st of December 2021 from 7:00pm-8:30pm AEDT to follow this conversation. 

Want to know what time this event starts in your time zone? Check out the picture below:

Want to receive a reminder on the night? Hit the 'Support' button below and we will tag you 30 minutes before the event starts. 

New to the forums or want to get involved in this discussion? Check out the How To Guide for Topic Tuesdays.

[Rhye]

Hello SANE Community and to all those who are reading along tonight!  👋

The Topic Tuesday Live Event will be starting in 30 minutes. Tagging all members who supported this post or posted a question: 
@Historylover  @Andromeda1 @Kermit @citttycat @Anastasia @Bow @Kbomb @Clawde @Shaz51 @HenryX @Judi9877 @Appleblossom @nony @greenspace @Snowie @BPDSurvivor 

Tonight we are joined by @pisces_1, one of the amazing SANE counsellors, who will be answering some of the Community's questions about strategies for coping during the holiday season. As we anticipate having lots of questions for this live event, the discussion may move quickly!

We’ll also be joined tonight by @cloudcore , one of our peer support workers in the forums. Please feel free to tag either @cloudcore or myself if you need any help.

You can also access a how-to Topic Tuesday Guide here.

Join us at 7pm AEDT when we kick off this live event here in the Lived Experience Forum. See you soon!

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A quick note for those who are reading along, to keep up with the conversation, make sure to continue to refresh the page to see new posts and comments.

New to the forums or want to get involved in this discussion? You can sign up to the SANE forums and join in this conversation by replying to the posts below. If you get stuck, you can tag me @Rhye or @cloudcore  for help.

If you are feeling distress during this live discussion, there are support options available to you. You can contact the SANE Help Centre on 1800 18 7263, or find crisis support options here.

[cloudcore]

Hi @Bill16 @Emelia8 @Fluttershy1 @Jeffreyw @Lani @Meowmy @SmilingGecko @StuF @TAB @Flying_Hams @pinklollipop15 @Gwynn ! I noticed you were all online and thought I'd invite you to join this Topic Tuesday: Strategies for coping during the holiday season. The event will start in 10mins!

[Lani]

Just wondering if you have me in for the live Tuesday topic tonight.

thank you Lani

[Rhye]

It’s almost time! 🎉

Hi everyone, my name is @Rhye, and I’m one of the peer support workers here at SANE. I’d like to offer a warm welcome to those joining in the discussion tonight, as well as those reading along!

Please join me in welcoming our wonderful SANE counsellor, @pisces_1 to the forums as our special guest! And to @cloudcore who will joining in the conversation and supporting our members contributing to the discussion tonight.

Before we jump in with the first question, we would like to invite all those following along to introduce yourself…

[cloudcore]

Hi @Lani , we'd love to have you join this conversation! Welcome, it will start very soon right here

Also hi @BPDSurvivor 

[pisces_1]

Hi, I work as a counsellor at SANE and I’m looking forward to tonight’s discussion. I’m passionate about sharing how important self-care is and how important it is to give back to yourself.

[Lani]

Hi my name is Lani. I’m looking forward to some helpful strategies to help me with coping with grief over this holiday period

[Rhye]

Hey there @Lani, great to have you with us this evening  Grief is one of the topics we'll be covering in our discussion tonight so sit tight and we'll get under way shortly!

[Rhye]

@pisces_1, let’s start with our first question...

Question 1: What are some of the main struggles you’ve noticed, in your work as a counsellor, that people face over the Christmas period?

And a question for our community: what are the main struggles you’re currently facing, or have in the past, around Christmas and the holiday period?