Sharing your lived experience was the topic of a webinar our founder Michelle John was asked to speak at today (Thursday).

Organised by Pioneers Post and attended by representatives from social enterprises across the UK and beyond, the event highlighted how choosing whether to disclose our lived experience – and how much detail to share – was personal to every single one of us.

First to speak was the incredible Leigh Carey, CEO and founder of The Hummingbird Project in Northern Ireland.

Leigh and her team work with people to give them the skills and expertise to stay well, as well as identifying stressors early and either managing their own mental wellbeing or asking for help.

She said disclosing her own experience of mental ill health enabled her to be her ‘authentic self’ within meetings but said it was important to consider the benefits – both to yourself and to those you’re talking to – of sharing specific details.

Considering how relevant your personal experiences were and how safe you feel sharing them was important, Leigh said. She also highlighted how a mix of experience was needed around every table – whether the person had lived, learned or practice experience.

Michelle then talked about deciding on boundaries (in terms of what information you shared or did not share) and making those clear from the offset. But, she highlighted, choosing not to disclose personal information wouldn’t necessarily impact the attention a social enterprise received from the media. Indeed, PEGS had been lucky to work alongside journalists from the likes of Channel 5 and ITV News who had been incredibly sensitive and respectful in how they covered a story about Child to Parent Abuse.

She added: “Those experiences do not define who you are. You define who you are. Perhaps people will question and ask ‘who are you to’ but the question is ‘who are you not to!’ You’re not doing it for people who don’t believe you, or don’t believe in you. You’re doing it for the ones who desperately need you.

“You don’t need to justify why you don’t share details. No is a complete sentence.”

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