Friends, Family & Carers Forum

[Bow]

Thanks @Former-Member  🙂 I will have a look at that link. 

[ShiningStar]

Hi @Paperdaisy 

It’s so lovely to hear from you 💜

Thank you so much for reaching back to me and for your beautiful words of support and encouragement - your message meant so much to me 💜

Absolutely! In my experience, so often the fear and anxiety in relation to how people may respond to us, can make it incredibly difficult for people to share their stories and receive the care and support that they so desperately need 💜

In my experience, it can be so easy to lose sight of the importance of sharing our stories and as such, I really appreciate your gentle validation in relation to this 💜

As I reflected on your words, I remembered a quote written by Brene Brown which so beautifully echoes your thoughts and ever so gently reminds us that our experiences are a gift that we can share with others to support them during their recovery ……..

‘One day you will tell your story of how you’ve overcome what you are going through now and it will become part of someone else’s survival guide.’

After a lot of trial and error and participating in therapy with sixteen different Therapists (honestly at one stage I was going through Therapists like undies 🤣) I’ve finally found someone that I feel safe and comfortable with 💜 As such, we’ve been working together for some years now and I can honestly say that I don’t know what I would do without her 💜 She’s the first person who truly understands what’s happening for me and for the first time in my life, I actually feel a sense of hope that recovery is possible 💜

Thank you so much again for reaching back to me and for all of your care, support and encouragement 💜

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar 💜

[ShiningStar]

Hi @Bow 

It’s so lovely to hear from you 💜

You’re welcome 💜 Thank you so much for reaching back to me and for your kindness and support 😊

Absolutely! The language that we use to describe and define people’s experiences can be incredibly powerful and in my experience, this has the potential to provide a sense of comfort, hope and reassurance or significant harm and distress.

Speaking of which, I would also love to see a variety of professional development opportunities provided across our health and community care sectors to strengthen people’s mental health literacy.

Perhaps opportunities such as these, will enable us to begin to challenge and change some of the dangerous assumptions and correlations that are often made between specific types of eating disorders, their severity and the way in which they impact people’s lives 💜

Thank you so much again for reaching out to me 💜

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar 💜

[ShiningStar]

Hi @Faith-and-Hope 

It’s so lovely to hear from you 💜

Thank you so much for validating some of my experiences and sharing this part of your story with me 💜

I’m so sorry to hear that you and your family were invisible as you attempted to find the care and support that you so desperately needed and my heart goes out to you 💜

In my experience, there’s something so terribly painful about being invisible - especially when there’s an expectation that we’ll be ‘seen’ and ‘heard’ by the people who we’re reaching out to for support.

So very sadly the way in which people respond to us, not only stands to exacerbate our distress, but it also makes our recovery so much harder and complicated 💜

Thank you so much again for reaching out to me and I look forward to seeing you around the forums 💜

Take kind and gentle care of yourself,

ShiningStar 💜

[Faith-and-Hope]

❤️✨ @ShiningStar …..