Hi All,
Thanks @Oaktree and everyone, I appreciate all of you sharing some of your experiences here ❤️.
Anyway, I stumbled upon this forum by accident today, because I was looking up support resources (via the Open Arms website) for a personal self-care plan that I have to put together, to be able to share my lived experience for an assessment as part of a Certificate IV Mental Health Peer Support Work course (Snap! 🎴 Oaktree) that I am currently undertaking.
That said, I can relate with some of your experiences, having joined the Regular Army in the late 1980s when I was 17, only to end up being medically discharged after 4 months of service. I then followed that up (after injury recovery) by rejoining the Army 18 months later. Albeit this time I joined the Army Reserve with the intention of going back into the ARA (which I didn't do).
Short story long 🤣, I ended up serving for 14 years in the Reserve (in Reserve and some Regular units), mostly doing around 100 days a year. With my last 4 years spent in a high-tempo high-deployment mixed Regular and Reserve unit. I did not serve on operations overseas at all. Yet, I feel fortunate for having had the privilege, to have done work in my last 4 years, that contributed in very meaningful ways to a number of Australian operations overseas and on our borders.
Looking back I think fondly of a lot of my service experiences. Yet, I also found some experiences very difficult as well, especially those at the beginning and the end of my service.
That shared, I figure some/all of you can relate, I feel slightly anxious about participating here, despite being ostensibly A Nonnie Moose. Yet I am keen to participate here with my peers, for support, connection, advice, suggestions, grounding. And also to help my peers as well, by offering support, connection, advice and grounding as well.
On mental health I have experienced plenty of trauma, from being in the wrong place by happenstance at some terribly wrong times, through having to remain in the wrong place by choice without let up, intensely (with almost every day for 3 years bringing a new crisis) as a carer of a loved one.
Growing up wasn't always easy either, and I am still on my journey coming to terms with some things. Yet I am fortunate to find myself with support and having moved forward.
On the journey moving forward, after reaching a very low point when I felt completely helpless and overwhelmed by what I was having to go through, I overcame my sense of shame at the idea of needing help when I really needed it and called Open Arms, late one night, some years ago, and got some of the help that I needed.
Of which, all of that experience, has seen my exposure to a broad range of mental health services both private and public, (hospitals, community based and more), in different Local Health Districts. Navigating NDIS services, guardianship, involuntary treatment, restraints and plenty more besides, including seeing so many things go terribly wrong.
Which also led to experience in advocacy, including up to State government level with some success at getting some things changed for the better. Although I have recently come to appreciate the lesson, that one shouldn't become complacent, because the mental health provider landscape is always evolving and though there have been some wonderful improvements, it isn't always a pretty picture.
All of which has inspired me to seek an opportunity to make a difference by trying to practically contribute to making things better for people who experience mental health services in New South Wales and Australia. In order to try to prevent what has happened to my loved one, happening to others.
I am also sorry that some of you have had bad experiences in service as well. Yet I am glad that you are still going and are here on this forum as well.
On a lighter note, I am into drawing, painting and photography, and for a time I used to earn a living from doing that as well. I am also happily married, with my wife and I having been together for 29 years (married for 26) and we've got two adult kids together as well. And we still go out to see bands, and visit nice places when we have the time as well.
Also @Oaktree I remember going to student rallies against the NSW state government, way back when I was in High School. And @Magpie22 thanks for sharing about your ADHD diagnosis, my wife wants me to get assessed for a potential diagnosis, since she is convinced I am Autistic and have ADHD (which would makes sense if I am).
Cheers.
