Thank you for your feedback and participating in the consultation regarding sharing negative experiences seeking help and the following Community Guideline:
Please share helpful content, focussed on wellbeing, recovery and help seeking behaviours
Following the consultation we will be removing the statement above as a guideline and moving into the explanatory text, along with information that sharing difficult experiences seeking help can in fact help people along their help seeking journey, so long as it does not include graphic detail, defamatory or private info.
We will also be adding in a guideline that states:
Do not post ongoing / repetitive criticism of a service offering. If you are unsure of where to raise your concerns email team@saneforums.org for information on feedback mechanisms.
We will be updating our moderations protocols and rolling out training to staff about:
- active listening
- exploring context and nuance
- the definition of 'mental health' moving away from a disease/disorder focus and towards the sense of wellbeing and dignity
Feedback we received that is beyond the scope of this work is below. It will be handed over to the relevant staff to take forward
- Developing clear guidance about the use of trigger warnings
- SANE to consider how the guidelines are communicated to people in high distress or having difficulty comprehending etc
How the guidelines will be updated (also including an update about eating disorder discriptions following this consultation) - changes in blue
Safety
As language can be triggering or elicit a trauma response, out of respect for people with a lived experience and survivors, please
- do not publish content that contains graphic or specific details, or any descriptive account, of:
- your or anyone else's medication or dosages
- eating disorder behaviours (recommending diets, descriptive weight loss/gain strategies or any numbers relating to weight, BMI, clothing size, calories or exercise)
- self-harm methods
- suicide methods
- sexual or physical abuse
- or any other content that others may find distressing or be harmful in any way.
Also, in order to ensure the Forums are safe for you and other members, please:
- avoid remarks that could be considered defamatory or that might break the law in any way
- avoid posting ongoing / repetitive criticism of a service offering. If you are unsure of where to raise your concerns email team@saneforums.orgfor information on feedback mechanisms.
- post information that is true and correct to your best knowledge
- report posts you think are inappropriate or breach these guidelines
- report posts if you're worried about the immediate safety of the poster.
Although we cannot account for every person’s trigger and trauma response, the guidelines above aim protect the community against common triggers for people with a lived experience of complex mental health issues and trauma. During your time on the Forums please share helpful content, focussed on wellbeing, recovery and help seeking behaviours, from time to time this may include discussion of difficulty seeking help but please keep the conversation away from anything that includes graphic detail, defamatory or private info; focused on your own experience; and for the purpose of gaining support from peers.
Thanks so much for your committment to this process! We think this will make the Forums and even better place.
