Suggested Wellbeing & Mental Health Section - would anyone else find this useful?

[Sunshine]

Hey everyone

I've noticed we cover many angles of cannabis here except one, yet it does pop up in so many news reports, research articles and member comments... wellbeing and mental health.

Many of us are prescribed for conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, neurodivergent symptoms, and the mental health side of neurological pain, but there's no dedicated space to discuss that properly.

So I wanted to float the idea of a new section, and see if there's enough interest to make it worth adding. It could be a space for things like:

- Managing mental health alongside a prescription (what helped, what hasn't... Strains, terpenes and type of administration etc).

- Neurodivergence (ADHD, autism etc.) and cannabis.

- Talking to clinicians about mental health honestly, experiences, advice and reassurance.

- General peer support and checking in on each other (I disappear from here for long periods at a time due to my own MH struggles and no one knows/ notices )

A bit about where I'm coming from: I volunteer in mental health, mainly in a neurodivergent peer support role. I was prescribed for anxiety and depression myself, and my prescribing clinician acknowledged it was also helping with my AuDHD symptoms. So this is something I have both lived and volunteer experience with, and I'd be happy to help get the section off the ground or keep an eye on it if that would be useful to the team

To be clear: this wouldn't be about pushing anyone to talk about their mental health if they'd rather not. I also understand the want/ need for privacy around these matters... Not sure if there is a way to "hide" the topic without a search, or if that would defeat the object... Something to consider maybe.

Would you care to share your thoughts? Drop a reply or even just an upvote if you think it would be a useful section to have. And if the answer's a resounding silence, no hard feelings!

 

[joint_account]

Hey everyone

I've noticed we cover many angles of cannabis here except one, yet it does pop up in so many news reports, research articles and member comments... wellbeing and mental health.

Many of us are prescribed for conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, neurodivergent symptoms, and the mental health side of neurological pain, but there's no dedicated space to discuss that properly.

So I wanted to float the idea of a new section, and see if there's enough interest to make it worth adding. It could be a space for things like:

- Managing mental health alongside a prescription (what helped, what hasn't... Strains, terpenes and type of administration etc).

- Neurodivergence (ADHD, autism etc.) and cannabis.

- Talking to clinicians about mental health honestly, experiences, advice and reassurance.

- General peer support and checking in on each other (I disappear from here for long periods at a time due to my own MH struggles and no one knows/ notices )

A bit about where I'm coming from: I volunteer in mental health, mainly in a neurodivergent peer support role. I was prescribed for anxiety and depression myself, and my prescribing clinician acknowledged it was also helping with my AuDHD symptoms. So this is something I have both lived and volunteer experience with, and I'd be happy to help get the section off the ground or keep an eye on it if that would be useful to the team

To be clear: this wouldn't be about pushing anyone to talk about their mental health if they'd rather not. I also understand the want/ need for privacy around these matters... Not sure if there is a way to "hide" the topic without a search, or if that would defeat the object... Something to consider maybe.

Would you care to share your thoughts? Drop a reply or even just an upvote if you think it would be a useful section to have. And if the answer's a resounding silence, no hard feelings!

Evening @Sunshine

Thank you for posting this.

The more MH resource the better as far as I'm concerned. There's a lot of people around here who would really find things like that useful and an awful lot more people who aren't signed up but who are considering a prescription and may find some info around the topics you've mentioned really useful.

There is a dedicated mental health check-in post that sees a lot of use. Usually on a Tuesday but it isn't only for Tuesdays.

https://forums.medbud.wiki/threads/check-in-tuesdays-a-weekly-space-to-share-and-support.5321/

And straight up, I just want to apologise if we've made you feel like we dont care or notice when you've had time away from this place. We all care and we all want to help and support eachother the best we can.

How are you doing at the moment?

 

[Sunshine]

And straight up, I just want to apologise if we've made you feel like we dont care or notice when you've had time away from this place. We all care and we all want to help and support eachother the best we can.

How are you doing at the moment?

Evening

That's super kind of you, thank you, though there's no need to apologise... It's difficult to check in on people who don't ask for help or make their struggles known. I have a patchy presence across all of the communities I'm involved in. I accept that's how my MH works, and at times I need to withdraw from everything and everyone. Other times I do forget people exist... (out of sight, out of mind) so maybe it's me who should apologise

I see the love in here, and I'm grateful there is a community of people with a perspective and an understanding that many others seem to lack. I have love and support at home, for which I'm also grateful.

Right now I'm waiting for some MH support, titration for ADHD meds, and have been winding down on the MC front in preparation. It's obviously not easy reducing something you've relied on for so long for relief, but I've reached a point now where the side effects of most MC strains are exasperating rather than helping the symptoms that impair and impact me the most... For now, MC still helps me relax and lower my cortisol of an evening, or at unbearable points of the day.

Thank you for checking in

Thank you also for sharing your thoughts and the link, I haven't explored the quiet room yet but will have a read and drop a comment sometime

 

[Fiddlesticks]

A bit about where I'm coming from: I volunteer in mental health, mainly in a neurodivergent peer support role. I was prescribed for anxiety and depression myself, and my prescribing clinician acknowledged it was also helping with my AuDHD symptoms. So this is something I have both lived and volunteer experience with, and I'd be happy to help get the section off the ground or keep an eye on it if that would be useful to the team

Hey @Sunshine
One of my jobs is as a peer support worker for a Scottish Charity and naturally I think they are the best. I would echo your suggestion albeit it has happened as organically as it could so far within the site.

Its nice to see that if a member wants to ask for help that there is someone here willing to reply. Also the advice and guidance given is of a good quality and more akin to older internet forums.
There is always an issue to what threads are open to public and such,that doesnt bother me so much under a pseudonym. People in distress can divulge personal information and the mods here are quick on that too so its fairly safe.

A big credit should go to @joint_account who's energy and genuine care for others shows in the tuesday support thread. If anything it would just be a repurposing of that.
Maybe having a subforum with threads more dedicated to the conditions would work, could help some people to share more. On the other hand having one catchall thread gets quick responses and a community focus.
Thanks for posting your good suggestion and I like the focus on the topic especially in relation to site users and the conditions they have.