When I was in the psychiatric unit, we, the patients, were the biggest support to each other. We helped each other out as the nurses sat behind the glass bubble.
Guy, as sited in Bellamy et al.
Many former patients or individuals with lived experience of mental illness might say that peer support individuals with lived experience of mental illness providing support to others with similar lived experiences is nothing new, that it has been happening informally throughout history, as described in the preceding quote by one of the authors of this chapter.
Some might say that it is natural for humans to relate to individuals with similar lived experiences and for mutual support to occur because of those shared experiences.