The SANE Blog

For people living with mental illness, feeling a lack of motivation can be a common experience.

This can present in many ways. It may be lack of motivation to go to work, to socialise with your friends and family, difficulty getting out of bed, or problems tending to basic personal needs such as having a shower or brushing your teeth.

Physical health is important for people living with a mental illness. Not only does it help reduce the risk of physical illness, it's also a good way to engage with others, get out in to the community and get the endorphins pumping.

SANE Peer Ambassador Ceris is a passionate advocate for using exercise as a way to help manage mental health symptoms, so we asked her 'can exercise be a form of medicine?'.

Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a highly dysfunctional, long term disabling and pervasive mental illness. It's exhausting, time consuming and frustrating, but I have developed techniques and strategies to help me exist on a daily basis.

While DID has affected my ability to work and socialise, my strategies help me get the most out of each day. I hope they can be of use to you or a loved one living with DID.

It can be daunting when someone you know isn't quite right or is struggling with their mental health.

They may be experiencing mania, paranoia, anxiety, depression or any other symptom of mental illness. It's a distressing time for all involved.

A big question we're often asked by friends, family and supporters is, 'How can I help?'

How do we respond when someone important acts badly and lets us down?

This week, a lot of Australians have been confronting that situation. Three members of the Australian men's cricket team, including the captain, made a poor decision, broke the laws of their sport and violated a famous and revered role in some parts of Australian culture.

Why is the cliché 'life has its ups and downs' so difficult to apply when we find ourselves in a down moment?

If you find it a struggle to reverse a down day, remember we have the cliché because 'ups' exist as well.

Mindfulness is a self-care tool that can help us slow down and manage our thoughts. But, it can be a hard activity to approach when your mind is overwhelmed or racing.

Do you find it hard to be mindful with a mind that's full? It's certainly a challenge I can relate to. Yet, it's possible to overcome this challenge by breaking the process into small, achievable steps.

In your search for happiness and peace of mind, would you value closer relationships with friends and family, more appreciation for life and a greater sense of your own strength?

You would, right?

But what if you were told the price for this growth, this peace of mind, is a traumatic event? Something so shocking and painful you will be profoundly changed.

TV and radio personality and SANE Board Director Osher Günsberg is a familiar face in the Australian music scene. Last year he shared his experience of living with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.  

'Music is an outlet I've used for a lot of my life to get good feelings in or bad feelings out,' he explains. So, how does Osher use music help manage his symptoms of mental illness?