Tag: Neami National

starting casual work as a Peer Support Worker

I am stoked to announce that I’ve been offered a casual position as a Peer Support Worker at Safe Space, a program of Neami National. I will be using my lived experience to support others experiencing acute psychological distress …

… which when I say it out loud is actually kind of daunting if I’m honest, I don’t think it really dawned on me yet that I’ll be working with some of the most distressed and dysregulated members of our community. Sharing my story, helping others to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I love this image: a person who has travelled some way “further” down the path, turns around and sees a fellow behind, turns around, and brings their lantern to illuminate the way forward through this confounding and confronting world. That’s peer work … ancient AF.

The peer support worker is a non-clinical, advocacy-based role, where I’ll be supporting health-seekers to pursue recovery from mental illness on their terms, helping them to navigate the mental-health system and “carrying the lantern” a bit.

I’m very excited about it, because I have been gravitating toward this work as a volunteer in the last couple of years anyway, and this will be a great chance to get direct experience of working with individuals and learn how to help.

Thank you to everyone who has graced my path on this journey.

recovery is a process …

trigger warning suicidality

… not a product or a destination

I am very grateful to have had a call with my Peer Support Worker from Neami National today. I cancelled a number of appointments to clear my desk for three days of downtime during the TAFE holidays, but wanted to have this check-in, and I’m very glad I did.

She reminded me that recovery is not a thing we get to and then is over, finished, mission accomplished. It is a process, a journey, and it is important that I don’t become complacent when I am doing well. I need to remain vigilant, within reason ~ the cost-benefit scales are going to tip if I spend all the time I feel well just anticipating the next trigger and stumble.

She also helped me find some direction in navigating my path of trauma recovery, specifically. I am going to ask a Family Constellations practitioner if I can see them under Medicare on a Mental Health Care Plan. Circle of Security might also be an option, and Neami themselves ran a program of this ~ Nikki participated, and I understand there is a lot to be learned about how we can work with the attachment styles that resulted from attachment trauma, which is certainly a big factor in the constellation of things that trigger me.

When I am triggered, sometimes I get derailed from the wellness train for days at a time, and if things are going especially unwell, I can stay derailed for weeks, heavily dysregulated. It’s not okay. I can do my sadhana all I like and it does work, I am making slow but sure progress toward more-consistent wellbeing by applying myself to the modularity sadhana. But my sadhana is for the long-game and I need something more direct or immediate that’s going to help with the trauma so I don’t get so easily triggered.

After a wake-up call recently, wherein I spent a whole night feeling triggered and acutely suicidal, I am taking the process of trauma transformation seriously again ~ for one thing, I am seeing a friend who does Root Cause Therapy (RCT) at Creative Roots Breath Therapy. I never gave up the process altogether, though I have not done much Somatic Experiencing with Tracey lately. It’s definitely time to take deeper dive.

But yes, it was good to check in with my Peer Support Worker again. They provide a great (if little-known) service to the community, and if you’re curious about that, let me know. Or check out Neami here.