SANE Australia’s Forums is a moderated, online discussion space for Australians aged 18 and over who have some connection to mental health issues. Flourish Australia have been supporting the SANE Forums for a long time, and our staff, the people who access our services and the family and carers who do such great work have all benefited from this point of connection. By sharing our stories, we can find hope and encouragement together. SANE Forums are free to use, and are anonymous.
SANE Forums provide a peer-to-peer support service designed to complement (not replace) the relationship between people with a lived experience and their health care professionals. However, there are a number of health professionals who actively moderate the Forum to ensure everything is safe and supportive and that visitors feel welcome and respected. These moderators are provided courtesy of SANE Australia and a number of partner organisations, including Flourish Australia.
There are two halves to the SANE Forum: the Lived Experience Forum, and the Friends, Family And Carers Forum. Discussions are organised under topics such as Our Stories, Looking After Ourselves, Social Spaces, and Something’s Not Right. Within the “Our Stories” topic, for instance, you’ll find discussions like Introduce Yourself Here, My New-ish Diagnosis, and Dark Skies. The “Rough Time” discussion alone contains over eighteen thousand replies. Some very popular posts include My Life Partner Has Bipolar ii, and The Challenge of Mental Health Wellbeing. These discussions cover managing mental health issues at all stages, the best thing to do for a loved one who is struggling, what has or hasn’t worked for people in the past, and more.
The Search bar can help you find discussions by keyword or date.
You are welcome to engage with any of the existing discussions or start a new one. Everyone's contributions are valuable, as what’s old news to you might be an absolute brainwave for somebody else. And while you can post questions, it’s more common for people to share the progress of their journey or what’s bugging them and invite helpful comments.
There are also Special Events such as the popular Topic Tuesdays, a monthly discussion that features guests from a relevant field. Some popular Topic Tuesdays have included The Pet Effect: Animals Are Good For Our Wellbeing, Managing Expectations During The Holidays, Self Esteem & Mental Health, Exploring Loneliness, and Exercise As Therapy.
The SANE Forums are not crisis support or counselling. If urgent help is needed, click here.
