SANE Voices Newsletter - Edition #1

[rav3n]

18 for Vic is pretty nice, hope you enjoyed the sun! i need to have my coffee soon too, what sort of coffee do you like? @Cuddlebear how are you feeling this week? 

i tend to fidget a lot with my hands so it's nice to be able to put them to use with legos instead! i've been buying harry potter-themed ones - so far i've completed a flying car one and a phoenix one. the next one will be the 'knight bus' which is a purple triple-decker bus. 

glad that the art therapy session went well!! it sounds like a really nice release, i'd love to try it out one day. what sort of art activities do you do? having a great teacher just makes it even better, i hope you have a lovely time at your second session today!

[Cuddlebear]

@rav3n  Good morning. How are you going? I’m still having a hard time and I wish so much it was different. I just can’t do basic things and am socially isolated too. I don’t want to bother people with my depressive situation so I hope I’m not being a burden here. 

I really love the Harry Potter Lego. It’s so good to help too when you feel fidgety and you create something cool. Does it help settle your thoughts too? Like art therapy or art in general when you are doing it you are concentrating on what you are doing and brain settles a bit too and focuses on the task. The triple decker bus will be amazing lol I’ve seen it at the shops and it looks good! 

Art therapy went well. We were exploring using different types of clay. The therapist is introducing me to different art stuff and next session we will explore paints. This will help me decide which type of art equipment I want to use in sessions. I like how she does that and it helps explore how art equipment feels and what emotions it stimulates. I’m luck I was able to access this at no cost through a local government funded program. I’m still on waiting list for a clinical psychologist. In my experience so far art therapy helps in ways traditional talk therapy doesn’t. I would recommend it to other people. 

[rav3n]

you're never a burden here @Cuddlebear!! i'm always happy to see you around and i'm glad you feel comfy reaching out here - we're here to chat so pls do feel free to share 💗

hmm now that i think about it, yes - it does help me to focus on something outside of my thoughts! also i like how it's not too hard but not super easy either, so i'm motivated enough to keep going without feeling frustrated. 

ooo i love the sound of art therapy!! i was watching the last webinar we had (the one with Ruth about hidden impact of military service on families of veterans), and she was talking about how EMDR therapy and creative activities work in similar ways when it comes to processing and healing trauma. so i've been trying to lean into more creative activities (like lego) - i also bought polymer clay recently so i might give that a go too! what sort of clay work were you drawn to? is it like sculptures/pottery stuff? 

[Judi9877]

Hi @Ru-bee and others here. What a great newsletter that you’ve produced! I really enjoyed it with all the different sections and the topics that are covered in it- very interesting and informative as well. Please keep the hard work up! I’d like to be tagged for the next newsletter and for any submissions I could possibly make in the future. 

Take care!

Judi9877

[Ru-bee]

Awesome @Judi9877 we'd love to have you be a part of the next one! We'll definitely tag you when the time comes to start brainstorming for our next one 😀

[rav3n]

@Cuddlebear @ENKELI @Ainjoule @AlwaysMyself @Oaktree @KirSa_EnigmA @MissinTooth @Harmonee 

it's time to reveal what the image on page 9 of the newsletter is...

a close-up of a stack of cardboard coffee cups on top of a coffee machine at a cafe.

@AlwaysMyself you guessed correctly, well done!! 🎉
thanks for participating everyone!! ✨

[Shaz51]

congratulations @AlwaysMyself and @ArraDreaming   😍

[Till23]

@ArraDreaming also correctly guessed the answer for the image 

a close-up of a stack of cardboard coffee cups on top of a coffee machine at a cafe.

Congrats @AlwaysMyself and @ArraDreaming 

[AlwaysMyself]

Well done too @ArraDreaming ! 

Is this a sign we have spent too much time in cafes looking at stacks of cups in our pasts?? 🤣😆 (...I know I have... despite never having worked at one, so I have no excuse for it lol)

[Cuddlebear]

@rav3n Wow I couldn’t figure it out! Well done @AlwaysMyself !