@Lokison
@Shaz51 @Appleblossom @Faith-and-Hope @HappyCastle@roses Anxious and Exhausted
Hi Lokison
Having just arrived home from singing, coffee at the local nook, and a bit of shopping, I checked on the forum thread “Hot Chocolate Anyone?” via the "NEW" notifications. It was pleasant to read the greetings that people were extending to each other. Lokison, your question about how guys can ask for help is valid and, I think, is appropriate in this thread. The majority, and probably all of us, are here on the forum because of difficulties we are facing in the moment or dealing with in our lives. The question then arises,
“How do we ask for help?”
In my responses to new forum members and some more long-term members, I have either recommended or asked for details of assistance already sought. It is important to note that any information given by forum members should be such as to not identify the forum member. Because we are a peer group, seeking support and offering assistance, we cannot give professional advice on the forum. Where we do give advice, it is often appropriate to qualify any such recommendation by saying that our advice is indeed unqualified. If you click on my forum name “HenryX” or my avatar, the plane, you will have access to my "Profile" where there are copies of responses to different forum members. On a number of occasions, I have added that qualifying comment.
If we know that the member has professional advice and support, it makes it much easier to offer suggestions that may be relevant to the person's situation and that they can then discuss with the professionally qualified people from whom they are receiving support.
I think that the next step is to state the position as it really is in straightforward language.
The answer to the question may be that we don't need to "ask for support", but in stating our position clearly, we are allowing ourselves to be aware of our situation. Whatever support may be suggested can be with reference to that statement
I have transferred a portion of my comment to my own thread, which will be my personal statement of where I am, the assistance I might need and what I have to offer. That thread will be entitled:
“Recovery of capacity and function after treatment & inactivity”
I will start the thread by going to the:
“Lived Experience Forum” then to the
“Forum Topics” group that is about halfway down the
“Lived Experience Forum” page. Left-mouse-click on:
“Welcome & getting started” Left-mouse-click on the:
“NEW DISCUSSION” balloon heading, where I will enter the
“Subject” and then write directly into the “Body” or 'copy and paste' a prepared text written on a word processor (Apache OpenOfficeWriter text document or similar) into the
“Body”.
Note 1: It is advisable to extend any expandable boxes before entering any information in the box (Including your first box if you think your text will take more room than initially provided). Once any activity is registered in the expandable box, the box cannot be resized, thus making proofreading slightly more difficult. Sometimes the box cannot be resized.
Note 2: If I am transferring from a document writer and using the 'copy and paste' function, I normally write my document in 18 pts for clarity, then reduce it to 12 pts before I 'copy and paste' to the forum box. This size seems to match the forum text size better.
Note 3: If I would like particular forum members to know of my post, or to respond, I need to put the @ symbol before their forum name (eg. @HenryX), so that my post will be flagged to them via the “NEW” notifications to the top right of the screen. Left-mouse-clicking the “NEW” notifications will take you to the “Your Notifications” page where relevant new notifications are posted. I have posted my thread and will add some people, with whom I have had contact, to my comment as an edit.
Unfortunately, this site only has English(USA), and not English (AUS) or English(UK) so I dismiss many of the offered corrections. However, some are helpful.
If I have made any errors or there is anything that needs clarifying, please let me know and I will edit the text accordingly.
I hope this information is helpful
Best Wishes
HenryX
Emergency, police & ambulance (24 Hrs)
Connect with a lifeline crisis supporter (24 Hrs)
Suicide callback service (24 Hrs)
Kids helpline (24 Hrs)
13 YARN