Thank you so much for having me tonight!   My main purpose for doing sessions like this is to reduce the stigma, fear and myths of mental illness, so I wanted to leave you with two stories of young people with a lived experience of mental illness who are living fulfilling lives.      THANK YOU!! *WAVES* ... View more

@Ngaio-RO what parent wants their child to ever move out - don't we want them to stay with us forever :) :) So many factors come into this one. As parents, we need to create boundaries too, and having a young adult child stay at home can compromise the health of parent and/or child. Don't be afraid to consider yourself in what long term support you can offer. So whether it be offering them a roof over their head longer or committing to a weekly dinner together or going to their appointments - them just knowing you are there for them and keeping that commitment, in whatever shape or form it looks like, is great. ... View more

The 'help or hinder' debate is an ongoing one! It's different for everyone.   Some find getting a diagnosis such a relief - it's like 'okay, now I know what it is, lets tackle it', it can help remove the illness from their own identity. While others feel pigeonholed and don't find it helpful.   It's really up to the individual on what they want to do with that diagnosis.   Either way, ensuring that the diagnosis doesn't define you is so important. This can take a bit of work when the illness itself can take up so much time and energy.   Finding the therapy that works for a child is the key above everything - and sometimes having a diagnosis can lead you down the path to finding what works best.   ... View more

I love that @taokat - 'wobblies' is a great way of explaining it. Sometimes in the SANE Aus community we call it 'getting in a muddle' What an amazing conversation to have with your daughter! Reframing a bad experience into a moment to be proud of! ... View more

Good question @Ngaio-RO ! In my experience, people with a MH difficulty can achieve just as much as someone with a MH difficulty (but hey, who doesn't have a MH difficulty at some point!). Having a conversation with your child about what they want to achieve and how they will manage hiccups / barriers / challenges along the way is critical. So accepting what their own expectations and goals are for themselves, and then supporting those is critical. The challenge is the horrible thing of mental health challenges is the negative self talk that can go on for that child, so they may not feel as though they can make those achievements - so encouraging them to not limit themselves can be tricky part. ... View more

That's awesome that she told you herself @taokat - having open communication (as with all teens!) is the key! ... View more

@taokat - when I get asked this question, I try and take out the type of illness it is and think about it as if it was an allergy, or asthma for example. Some kids are great at taking responsibility for their health and the management of the health younger than other kids. So, they are more likely to speak up when they aren't travelling so well. So it can depend on how mature / independent the child is. Either way, it's important to talk to your kid about what they would feel comfortable with their school / work knowing about them. ... View more

It's our first reaction to want to jump in and help our kids, isn't it @taokat :) What type of issues are happening at work? I guess what I'm asking is it that people are giving her a hard time because of her diagnosis or is she having some symptoms at work that could be impacting her work? Did she tell you about this herself? ... View more

@Ngaio-RO - all great questions! My first response is probably not surprising, which is to find out as much as possible about the mental illness - education and understanding reduces stigma, and we need to deal with our own misconceptions first. In terms of telling school / work, this is always a tough one, with no right / wrong answer. Disclosure is always a topic of conversation in SANE's community. My advice around this is to let a child tell their friends, family, school, work in their own time. Often they need to build their own confidence before sharing it with others. ... View more

Thanks for the welcome @taokat ! ... View more

Hi @Ngaio-RO & everyone!   Thanks for having me tonight  I’m Nicole, the Community Manager of SANE Australia’s peer support forums . We have two communities, as Ngaio said, one for people living with a mental illness and one for loved ones and carers. Besides people falling into those two categories, our community is made up of diverse range of ages, genders, states, regions and experiences - mental illness doesn't discriminate.   Mental illness is often surrounded by myths and stigma, or just not talked about at all. So I'm really thankful to be asked to jump on here tonight and talk about it!       ... View more