VMIAC

The Victorian government has released the Mental Health and Wellbeing Outcomes and Performance Framework (https://buff.ly/4giSaMy). We are pleased to see this released two years after it was due. We will have more to say in the new year.

Great opportunity for your consumer-led project.

For me, holidays are complicated. They can bring joy and connection... but can also carry pain and isolation. I love reconnecting with family… But as a family violence survivor, I’m navigating unsafe dynamics and old wounds. I love festive foods… But as someone with eating disorders, I’m anxious about comments or judgement. I love seeing old friends… But as an LGBTQIA+ person, I’m tired of being misgendered or deadnamed. I love the many decorations… But as an autistic person, I’m often overwhelmed by the brightness and noise. I can find happiness in holidays… But as a human, I want to make space for unhappiness too. That’s why I created this *Un*happy Holiday Bingo. I hope it raises awareness of the realities so many of us face. Here’s what’s on the card: 💔 Grief & Loss: Missing lost loved ones and coping with survivor guilt. 🧑🤝🧑 Social Pressures: Unsolicited life advice and comparisons to family or peers. 💰 Financial Stress: Affording gifts, travel, and unpaid leave from work. 🏠 Family Violence: Unsafe gatherings, gaslighting, and dismissal of abuse. 🍴 Food & Weight: Pressure to eat more or less and comments about appearance. 🏳️🌈 Queer Exclusion: Ignoring pronouns, deadnaming, and excluding partners. 🌍 Cultural Erasure: Racist “jokes,” insensitive questions, and exclusion. ♿ Inaccessibility: Inaccessible events, sensory overwhelm, and casual ableism. ⭐ Intersectionality: Bonus Bingo space for two or more of these experiences. I hope this helps make sense of the complicated feelings the holidays can bring. It’s not about fixing or erasing the hard parts. It’s about acknowledging them, holding space for them, and knowing you’re not alone in the heaviness. If you’re struggling this season, I hope this reminds you to rest, to set boundaries, and to make the holidays what *you* need them to be. 💙 [Thanks] Thank you to everyone who’s supported me to name all these, whether this be through learning (and holding boundaries), balancing priorities, checking in, providing accommodations whilst I’ve been a little wobbly, and just reconnecting to myself and what matters to me. This includes, but is definitely not limited to Arielle, Belinda, Ben, Caroline, Conor, Crystal, Dylan, Emma, Erin, Georgie, Hannah, Jeanette, Jennifer, Kate, Laura, Laura, Lucy, Luke, Melissa, Michelle, Rosie, Simon, Thomas Feng, Zach, and Zinab. And, of course, thank you to everyone who reads my posts - really, it means more than I can say. [Image Description] A square image with the heading “Unhappy Holiday Bingo” and the aforementioned elements on white squares, each with red icons. [Hashtags] #Holidays #Christmas #Diversity #Inclusion #Equity #LivedExperience #LivingExperience #MentalHealth #Boundaries #SelfCare #Grief #Loss #Politics #Fiannce #FamilyViolence #Food #Weight #EatingDisorders #BodyImage #Queer #LGBTQIA #LGBT #Culture #Disability #Autism #Awareness #Advocacy

The National Mental Health Consumer Alliance’s Human Rights survey is closing soon! The survey can be accessed at https://buff.ly/3ArUa5U, and it closes on December 31 Feel free to share with your friends, and thank you for helping capture how mental health consumers/people with lived experience of mental health challenges/people with psychosocial disability are being treated regarding their human rights.

VMIAC is pleased to see the first annual report from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. We'll be digesting all the data over summer break and will share our thoughts and questions for the commission in the New Year Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission Annual Report (https://buff.ly/49tpGgU)

The Alliance is a signatory to this open letter to the Prime Minister, the National Cabinet and the Opposition Leader - Immediate Actions Required for Australians with Disability in Response to the Disability Royal Commission.

VMIAC thanks our 2024 Committee of Management for their leadership and support. Several members have moved on from the position, and we want to acknowledge their contribution.

The VMIAC AGM has just finished, and our 2025 Committee of Management has been elected. Thanks to everyone for coming and participating. Our members make VMIAC what it is.

VMIAC has had a data breach. Click on the link for more information.

VMIAC calls for the Office of Chief Psychiatrist (OCP) to move beyond risk assessments and to re-think its recent white paper on mental health assessments. We know there is no evidence that risk assessments effectively predict consumer behaviour. Instead, they can do significant harm when used to justify human rights breaches, including restrictive practices and compulsory treatment. It's been nearly four years since the Royal Commission demanded that consumers' values and experiences be placed at the heart of service design. Yet, we continue to see papers like this that neglect that principle. It's time for clinicians to work with consumers to drive decisions about our own care. Read the paper here: