AN is a supportive community, and I am proud to be in it.

[thushan]

"Nothing is so awful or so small that we can't talk about it with someone." - The Youth Site.

I heard this quote in Christian Education class at school, a few years ago. I understood what it meant, even then. However, I only thought of it in the context of small problems, or small hurts. Only recently in my experience, I understood the full meaning of what it meant. There is absolutely no shame in telling us if you are feeling sad, feeling empty, feeling so pained that you want to end it and kill yourself.

ATARnotes prides itself in being a very supportive community. Before you roll your eyes at the cliche, think of the full meaning of this. We are a safety net, we are a group of people whom any of us can rely on if things go really awry. We are potentially the difference between life and death.

Today, when one of us was feeling such excruciating pain that she wanted to kill herself, I saw a powerful force spring into action. A force of support, of love, of companionship, of friendship, of mateship. I saw this force slowly but surely pick up our comrade (yes, this is the most appropriate word to use here) off the relentless quicksand. When someone wants to kill himself or herself, it takes a really powerful, genuine, raw form of support to pull that someone up from the doldrums. And that is what I witnessed. And that is why I say, and this is the second time I've said this - the first time was when something similar happened here, but to a lesser degree - I count myself to be extremely proud, extremely grateful to call myself a member, a National Moderator, of ATARnotes. The love and support you on AN have shown tonight is a great example for the wider community. THIS is how a society should run. THIS is how we should treat our companions, our classmates, our friends, our family.

Again, if you feel really really sad or down, or you really need someone to talk to about things, make a thread on ATARnotes, or send one of us a PM. We care about you.

Once again to those on you on ATARnotes, I'm very proud of you. What you have shown tonight is some of the most phenomenal support work I have seen in my entire life.

[pi]

Well said!

Furthermore, I'd like to extend Thushan's acknowledgement to AN's IRC channels too. There are some seriously great people there (some active, some older members) that do some seriously great work in the background.

[Jenny_2108]

^ AN IS SO AWESOME! It saves my life today <3

[nisha]

Amen brother.

[Dejan]

Omg this made me happy, I am glad to hear of this. Back to writing essays it is

[paulsterio]

Thushan, after reading this post, I agree with everything you have said, ATARNotes is one of the best communities I've seen to date and I'm glad to be a part of such a great community, I'm proud to be a regular member and poster on ATARNotes and I'm also extremely grateful to be employed by ATARNotes as an author. I have seen many great things on this forum and one of those things was today where everyone banded together to help a fellow friend in need. Much praise has been heaped on AN and I don't think there's much more I wish to add that Thushan hasn't

However, I would also like to take this moment to give a massive pat on the back and congrats to one of my best friends Thushan, not only is he one of the most genuine and supportive people I know, but also one of the most caring, compassionate and intelligent guys out there. I can't express what an honour it is to be his friend. I know that more often than not, he's someone I can trust to talk to about anything, someone who is fun to be around, yet very mature and serious when the time calls. If there were no better way to describe it, I wholeheartedly believe that I've become a better person through being your friend Thush and whatever happens, I know that you'll always be a good mate.

[Thu Thu Train]

I'm probably just re-stating what Thushan said but:

Please remember guys that there are always people who are willing to help you get through whatever problems you may be having.

AN is a great community and members of this forum has helped me multiple times with many personal problems even when they didn't have to. Come on to the forums and talk to someone on the forums or log on to the chat and talk to those of us who are there. We're always willing to listen and help you. Repeating what was said above: "There is absolutely no shame in telling us if you are feeling sad, feeling empty, feeling so pained that you want to end it and kill yourself. "


I'd like to say though, if you are seriously considering suicide please talk to someone. A member of the forums, a teacher, or if your school has a counsellor see them and even your GP can help you.
(Some of you might be uncomfortable telling your parents but you shouldn't be ashamed to tell them; they love you and want what is best for you.)


There are also organisations to help you
Lifeline - 13 11 14 (24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year)
Kid's Helpline - 1800 55 1800 (24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year)
Suicide Prevention Line - 1300 651 251(24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year)


People have said that they've had bad experiences with them but I'm still putting them there.

I know what it's like to feel like you're not good enough and that the only way out is to kill yourself, I went through it 4 years ago when I was your age and I still go through now. But there are always other options and  you CAN get help.


I'd also like to add that if one of your friends at school has seemed down lately or even mentioned suicide casually please talk to them personally or a teacher at your school immediately. Suicide is not something that should be ignored or taken lightly.

[slothpomba]

MyNameIsBob mentioned a lot of useful things. Most of them are for times when things get really bad, it's important to know these resources.

I'd just like to mention it doesn't have to be at a stage where it is really bad and your at your absolute lowest for you to talk to someone or get help.

I think it's harmful if we make normal human feelings into a medical diagnosis. Everyone feels sad or lonely or out of control from time to time. It's also normal to feel like this for a chunk of time. Some people call these things depression or anxiety but these are really just the normal ups and downs of life.

However, when it becomes a constant part of your life, when feelings like these keep visiting you and they start having a significant impact on your life in general, it is worth speaking to someone about them.

There almost seems to be a view in a large part of our society that people can control these things or they're simply weak. You have to be a pretty strong person to put up with things like that.

It's just as out of your conscious control as any other disruption to someones health. We don't see people going up to diabetics and telling them to stop babying themselves with all this insulin stuff, that they're weak and telling them to just get over it. Any kind of mental health issue is just as out of a persons conscious control (thats why it becomes a big issue afterall, rather than regular daily emotion) as something like this. It would be silly to suggest a diabetic stop taking their insulin and try make themselves better or walk it off, they need help to get better. Mental health issues are much the same.

For those of us in uni, it's worth seeing the counseling services or GP's available. For those still in high-school, it's tough dealing with these things. You don't have a lot of the independence uni brings and it's hard to explain these things to your parents. No one should have to suffer though. It's very much worth talking to your GP or your school counselor. Like i mentioned above, problems like these are just simply out of our control. Much like the diabetic, sometimes, we need trained people to help us get through these things. It's definitely worth a shot, there isn't much to lose. Either you'll be much the same or there will be the very real potential to get better.

These people can be very helpful

If it's a more serious or chronic problem, treatments like counseling or medication actually work rather well. The person treating you won't make you do anything you don't want to do, so, don't let this stop you. Medication in a fair few cases might only need to be taken for a short term (not the rest of your life like a lot of people think) to help change things. Counseling is very useful in building up your coping skills that you might not have had previously. You don't only get well, you actually get better, you develop some resilience you didn't have before. All these things are very useful, so, don't be afraid of seeking help.

There's plenty of info available on google.

Medicare will cover most of the cost of counseling if you see your GP first to get things sorted.

Community psychological groups like the Krongold center (near monash) or Drummond Street (in carlton) are low cost and won't deny someone care because you lack the ability to pay.

All things worth keeping in mind. Things can get better. Sometimes, things are just simply out of our control, we're not to blame and we might need or want some help to get better. There is no shame in this either. In a Country like this, there are plenty of people who care and numerous resources available.

Don't be afraid to speak to someone or get help.

[ninwa]

I think it's more appropriate to put it this in thread rather than start a new one, since this initiative happened as a direct result of the same events that inspired this post.

We're launching a Mental Health Hub in recognition of how important mental health is, and yet how little attention it gets. We're aiming for it to be a safe place where you can discuss any issues you're having in your life that you might not otherwise feel comfortable disclosing on other parts of the forums.

Posting on that part of the forum is anonymous (unless you're a natmod or admin, I don't know why the plugin thingy isn't working for us sorry D:).

Obviously, natmods and admins will still be able to see your IP. However, we take your privacy very seriously. We will NOT trace your IP to find out who you are, unless:
1) you're trolling, which will earn you a permanent ban no questions asked; or
2) we harbour genuine concerns about your physical wellbeing and are considering calling the authorities.

I've started it off with a few main resource-type threads, but please feel free to add to them as I've probably missed a lot of things.

Also, props to Thushan for first approaching me with this idea about 3 months ago (hence why some of those posts were started in October last year )

[MagicGecko]

Wise words brother!