Hiya there!
Thank you for the invite and welcome @Ru-bee!
I'm still getting used to actually posting on forums (as opposed to searching silently in the shadows and empathising with every message I read!) - so thank you for the little nudge to post!
I found out about this forum from a lovely peer worker who works with a community service dedicated to helping patients post hospital admission for SI/or suicide attempt.
After browsing a handful of Reddit threads on MI, SI and such... I asked if there were any moderated and more importantly, safe online forums around that I could either lurk or post on when things get a wee bit too much.
Most of my life has revolved around my mental health - whether it be surviving or recovering.
And although I am grateful to be surrounded by my family and friends - they don't really get 'it' ('it' being chronic SI, the disbelief that you're still alive, the decades of not knowing who you are, whether it's just you being sensitive or other people are actually mean... or just a cocktail of both).
And it's not their fault - hell I'm glad they don't understand, I'd never wish what I've been thru on another person.
It's just a bit awkward when they hear the truth about how I really think and feel.
I recently completed DBT two years ago - and I loved every bit of it.
The learning, the open conversations about MH, and especially being amongst a group of individuals with lived MH experience.
No one flinched at the mention of SI, or frowned and made offensive remarks about a particular diagnosis.
I felt listened to, seen, and understood for the first time in my life.
So I guess I'm here because like a lot of people - I feel alone in my MI struggles and this seems like a nice safe space to talk about it.
P.S: I apologise for the waffling!
