Okay, so: Peer Support is a thing.

It's not widely known, and it's IMPORTANT,

A Peer Support Specialist reaches across, not down. Non-hierarchical-- that's literally a requirement spelled out in the job description.

We close the liminal space between "patient" and "well person". We bridge the gap between the person receiving care and their therapist/doctor etc. We're the people you want knocking on the door when you're having a major personal crisis-- you know, instead of the people with guns. We've lived through our own crises/trauma/illness/addiction/etc, and we know how it actually feels.

This isn't just some cute hand-holding role. It's a crucial part of a larger movement to integrate and humanize-- frankly, to TRANSFORM--healthcare. That's the agenda, straight up. And I even get to fucking SAY THAT out loud.

And how do we enact this subversive scheme? By using empathy to relate to people, while helping empower them to determine and work on their OWN damn recovery goals, without judging.

Trying to "fix" people leads to burnout. Coercion and punishment have diminishing returns-- you can't force anybody to get better by kicking them when they're already down. Stigma has done massive damage. So we slow down, give an actual shit, and walk WITH people while they learn to fish, instead of beating fish over their heads, get it?

How's that for revolutionary.

#praxis
#mentalhealth
#mentalillness
#trauma
#traumainformedcare
#peersupport
#peergroups
#recovery
#resilience
#supportgroups
#peersupportspecialist

#TheLongestDay. Here are some links that might be helpful if #dementia has entered your life.
https://act.alz.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=the_longest_day
https://memory.ucsf.edu/
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/alzheimers-disease-research-centers
https://pennmemorycenter.org/

There are 33 ADRCs (Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers) in the US funded by the #NationalInstituteOnAging. Many have #clinicaltrials, #outreach, and #supportgroups for #caregivers.

#EndAlz

Preparing for the unknown: A caregiver's advice on coping with crisis and appreciating every day

#MentalHealthAwareness #CognitiveCaregiving #EmotionalWellness #AppreciateEveryDay #SupportGroups

Bruce Rosky is a patient advocate.

https://youtube.com/shorts/Qggc893910k?feature=share

Listen here: https://kevinmd.com/podcast

I went searching for #SupportGroups for people living with #amnesia.

For the life of me I can’t fathom how any entity involved with #healthcare can still do so with a serious face while hosting a #website that is #NotAccessible to a portion of their audience.

Yet, when I visited the #Inspire Transient Global Amnesia #Community website, it is not #accessible to my #ScreenReader.

Don’t just ask yourself who you are #helping with your #design. Ask who you are #excluding.

#ADA #discrimination

I almost bailed out of the support group last night, almost turned around and went home and got into my pj's and played games instead. I'm glad I stuck it out and saw it through, even though I cried through the whole 1.75 hours and could hardly get my name out. What I learned was that parental death fucking sucks, and we live in a society that sort of downplays it because parents are "supposed" to die before their children.

I learned I've done a lot of grieving, but haven't really mourned my mom. I haven't truly processed very much, and I'm still basically a raw nerve with an open wound I can't seem to suture shut.

The facilitators gave me some advice, and it was good to hear the grief of others as they too process the unprocessable. Several of the people there also lost their parents in their 60s, and expressed how young that felt. There were several others there who were about my age, too. One slightly younger. And several who were at least a decade my senior, struggling either through recent loss or losses that continue to linger years later.

In all, it was good for me to be there, in that group of people, hearing their stories and being able to share my own. I hadn't told anyone the trauma of that last week from start to finish: everyone in my life either knew bits and pieces already, or were removed enough it wasn't appropriate to share those intimate details.

I do recommend finding a support group for anyone going through grief. It took a while to find one without religious affiliation, and which didn't take place in a chapel or in a hospice, but I am glad I finally did, and mustered up the courage to attend.

I feel wrung out and hung to dry this morning, but there is the sense of a weight being lifted as well. The group meets twice a month, once digitally and once in person, and I think I'll plan to go to both in April.

Be well.

#Grief
#supportGroups
#bereavement

I have my first grief support group meeting tonight. I'm convincing I need to go and see things through, even though this morning I've been pretty ok on the sadness front. Wish me luck! :blobcatsweat:

#Grief
#supportGroups

Any recommendations on #patient #supportgroups for #metastatic #lungcancer?

Asking for a friend

I know a fair bit on HCC support, but nothing about lung cancer and guidance would be very welcome

To a degree, I agree with this image, but I think it goes a lot deeper than that. At no point in our journey do we ever reach a point where we're finished working on ourselves. There's always room to improve, become more #conscious and #SelfAware of not only our good traits but our harmful ones. This doesn't mean let people walk all over you or put up with #abuse. I think many people develop this kind of mentality because their trauma-based experiences. That people feel their traumatic experiences are what made them the way they are and that's just how it is and always will be. This is a defensive response to protect the part of themselves that was hurt in the past so it doesn't happen again. But this isn't healing, nor is it moving forward.

Your negative experiences, #trauma, wounds, they don't need to define your #existence. The things you may have experienced in the past that shaped your character of today happened, and it is good that you acknowledge those things and acknowledge the dark side if your being. But the issue lies in getting stuck in that darkness, unpacking and living there, and never #healing from it. If we don't actually heal from it, the hurt, anger, bitterness, distrust, all the negative things we're harbouring inside of us gets reflected towards everyone else, because we are a *mirror* of what's going on in our #InnerWorld.

Healing is hard, because it requires #vulnerability. It requires #SelfReflection, recognizing things about yourself that are uncomfortable to admit, such as #toxic #BehavioralPatterns, #MentalHealth issues, #EmotionalIssues, even physical issues. So much of these issues are rooted in our #traumas and #insecurities. I never realized this until I started looking into #ShadowWork, but it's true. So much of these things are connected and stem from roots we never healed from. It can be a #journey in itself trying to remember what the roots are and get through all the layers of our being.

So I just want to conclude this post with a word of #encouragement to whoever needed to hear this today. You are capable of so much more than you realize. Your wounds happened, they were awful, but you don't need to let them define who you are or who you want to be. Embrace your #shadow, work with your shadow, send love to your shadow, but don't allow it to consume your entire being. You do not need to remain #trapped in this fragment of the #past. You are #worthy and deserving of #MovingForward, and living a life where you feel #happy and at #peace. ❤️ It is 100% possible to get there.

A few things that have helped me on my own shadow work journey that I'd like to share with you are:

» #EFT (#EmotionalFreedomTechnique / aka #Tapping). This is a process of tapping on certain #MeridianPoints while repeating #affirmations that address things you're emotionally struggling with. This is a known treatment for #anxiety and #PTSD. This practice helps with #EmotionalRelease, so if you feel you need to cry doing this practice, allow yourself to.

» #DreamWork. #Dreams are one of the best ways of uncovering what's going on in our inner world and is an incredible tool to get to know yourself on a deeper level. In my experience, my #CordAttachments and unhealed traumas often reveal themselves in dreams, via #dreaming about people, places, or circumstances that have connection to my past or caused me distress. Dreams are often extremely #symbolic and so as you become more observant of what your dreams are, you also need to analyze what certain #symbols in your dreams represent to you on a personal level. It is a very #intuitive process, and sometimes you'll just automatically know what something represents based on the feeling it gives you. Keeping a #DreamJournal is also really important as it will give you the opportunity to go back and reflect more if at first a dream doesn't make sense.

» Talk to someone you trust. My husband has been my rock through my shadow work journey. He might not have many answers for me, but just having someone to confide in and a shoulder to cry on is such a huge support during the process.

» Join shadow work #SupportGroups. #Facebook has some really great ones. It's a great way to connect with others who are also working through things. There are also people there who have overcome many of their traumas that can offer resources that got them through theirs. And sometimes just talking about it with these groups will help you put your own puzzle pieces together.

» #Reiki is another thing that helped me. I highly recommend seeking out a #Naturotherapist in your area who practices this. #Naturotherapy takes into account the mind, body, and SPIRIT, and our #spirit is such an important aspect of ourselves that is often ignored in the world of #ModernMedicine.

I hope this helps someone on their own healing journey. ❤️ If anyone has any questions about anything I've mentioned here, please don't hesitate to ask and I'm more than happy to answer the best that I can. 😊

Just finished my first solo dementia caregiver support group meeting. Two new attendees! It's nice being a facilitator and a caregiver at the same time because I get to listen and I also get to vent. My comics work well as an icebreaker too. And I get to eat my own muffins so that's a perk. 👍

#caregiver #caregiversupport #dementia #supportgroups

#introduction Starting a new life on a new platform. 45 years in tech followed by 6 years as Alzheimer's #caregiver for my wife. Volunteer advocate for #supportgroups, #AlzheimersAssociation, anti-fascist, pro-facts. #Writer and #author. https://bluenortherpress.com/

i used facebook groups for support in my transition. It was very helpful that membership was hidden, interactions inside a group didn't show up to everybody and content was focused. I now want/need digital support but there is just no way i'm going back to fb. Is there a fediverse solution i don't know about? #fediverse #supportgroups #mastodon

i used facebook groups for support in my transition. It was very helpful that membership was hidden, interactions inside a group didn't show up to everybody and content was focused. I now want/need digital support but there is just no way i'm going back to fb. Is there a fediverse solution i don't know about? #fediverse #supportgroups #mastodon

RT @emmagenetics
There’s little use in a genetic test result if it’s incomprehensible. Hats off to the #acuteecare @AusGenomics team for championing plain English reports linking families directly with #managementguidelines + #supportgroups https://twitter.com/zornitzas/status/1584400482931384320

one of the problems with DiAngelo's "White Fragility" #WhiteFragility is one of the most racist-harm-causing qualities of those of us who are white in the USA is our lack of embodiment skills. so, yes, our fragility has harmful and racist consequences AND us denying our feelings does, too.

we white people need practices and spaces like #SomaticAbolition #therapy #SupportGroups #Recovery so we can learn to stay present in our body as we face the realities of racism and our part in it.

Having a huge day today at the Rare Disorders NZ Support Group Leads Hui.

Amazing people, and amazing stories of hope, resilience, and compassion.

#raredisease #raredisorders #supportgroups #healthcare