The SANE Blog

The Australian Marriage Equality Postal Survey result is due to be announced today.

Whatever the result — whether you're elated, pleased, disappointed or devastated — it's going to be a big, emotional day across the country. Self-care is going to be important.

Here are a few suggestions for looking after yourself over the next couple of days.

After our first son was born, I gradually lost all connection with reality. There was no history of mental illness in our family. This came completely out of the blue and hit our family like a tropical cyclone.

Hearing voices can be an intrusive and distressing experience for people living with a psychotic illness.

Developing personalised interventions and strategies, preferably with health professionals, can help alleviate the impact.

This may be achieved by focusing on a specific problem, such as voices that wake you at night, or focusing on an element, like a particularly distressing voice.

We mourn the loss of SANE Patron-in-Chief The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KG, AK, GCMG, GCVO, KBE, PC, QC who died aged 94 this week.

My most recent episode started in January this year, I almost didn't notice it at first. 

I started finding it harder to get out of bed, even after 14 hours' sleep, and felt anxious in social situations, meetings, anything that involved speaking up. It was the little things you're not quite conscious of.

Then, the little things started growing into more than little things.

Fred and Cathy live in regional Victoria. Cathy has borderline personality disorder, and is supported by her husband Fred.

It's a sad reality that people living with a complex mental health issue will hear inappropriate comments, sometimes at a time when they are struggling.

A glib, flippant or offhand comment – whether born of ignorance, awkwardness, or arrogance – can cut to the bone and leave people questioning their place in the world.

So, what's the worst thing you can say to someone living with a complex mental health issue? 

SANE mourns the passing of Jackie Crowe.

Jackie was a fearless and passionate advocate across so many mental health issues. She was an absolute champion in ensuring that people directly affected by mental ill-health were put in the design seat of programs and services.

When my son first displayed symptoms I felt a desperate need to try and help him. 

Part of that need was born out of my own feelings of guilt. The remainder was fuelled my desire to alleviate his psychological pain.

Over the course of my son's diagnosis, there has been a huge shift in me. Initially I could not accept that nothing would help . I embarked upon a frenetic search for that illusive fix. I thought, 'Where did I go wrong? Why can't anyone help him?'

The word 'recovery' can mean different things to different people.

Taken literally the Macquarie Dictionary says it's 'to regain a former (and better) state or condition'. But in the world of mental health recovery is more nuanced than this.

So to find out what recovery really means, we asked people living with mental illness what the word meant to them.