GlenM Listener Profile

Does 7 Cups Make Us Wiser?

Site Updates / by GlenM

2 hours ago

July 2026 Community Update!

Site Updates / by GlenM

July 4th

...See more Dear Community, I hope you all are well! Short note from me this month because I want to point you all to our birthday events. Please join us in the celebrations! You can learn all about it here: https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/13DayCountdownto7Cups13thBirthdayCelebrating13YearsofCareMasterPost_384571/ [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/13DayCountdownto7Cups13thBirthdayCelebrating13YearsofCareMasterPost_384571/] Please also check out a new tool we developed to help you see the level of stress you are carrying and how you can access care to better strengthen yourself through the process. I also wrote this post titled “You are Not Broken, You Have a Care Deficit [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/YouArentBrokenYouHaveaCareDeficitIntroducingtheCareCalculator_384433/].” Check out the calculator here: 7cups.com/care-calculator P.S. Great conversation today on the AMA thread. Thank you all for participating! Read about it more here: https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/AnswersNowPostedBirthdayAMAwithGlentheCommunityTeam_384506/ [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/AnswersNowPostedBirthdayAMAwithGlentheCommunityTeam_384506/] H As some of you may already know, my schedule has shifted recently and I have fewer online hours than before. If you missed the announcement or want to see the details regarding my availability and where to get support, you can read my full update post here: An update on my schedule and getting the support you need (June 2026). [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/HsHangout_1970/AnupdateonmyscheduleandgettingthesupportyouneedJune2026_382330/] Because I don't have as much time right now, I am looking for some extra support to make sure our newcomers are looked after. If you are on the Welcome Committee (member or listener branch), or you’re a passionate listener or listener leader who enjoys the rooms, our new user exclusive room, the Welcome Lounge, could use community presence! The post is here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/welcome/TheWelcomeCommitteeTeam_2670/CallingallWelcomeCommitteeTeamsHelpneededintheWelcomeLoungeRoom_384763/]. Feel free to PM me, too! Badge access will be given after you have read a short best practices guide! The Community Beacon campaign [https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/CommunitySpace_2539/TheWeeklyBeaconSmallwaystohelpthecommunity_377289/?p=2] has been a smashing success! I feel like this campaign really embodies the spirit of support we provide here on 7 Cups, and I am so proud of everyone who has participated in any capacity! Every single act of kindness is a seed planted in our compassionate garden. I post a new week each Monday, and the recent week is here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/TheWeeklyBeaconCommunityHelpCampaign_2726/TheWeeklyBeaconSmallwaystohelpthecommunityJune29_385109/]. Thanks for everything! Hope June’s primary focus was advancing the Certified Peer Support Specialist Program. During the month, we began publishing the developed modules within a dedicated sub-community, which is currently badge-locked and will be made accessible once the program officially launches. We also made strong progress on development, with 10 out of 19 modules now completed for the program. Work is ongoing to finalize the remaining modules. Beyond this, the remainder of my work focused on maintaining ongoing operations across academy programs and supporting existing initiatives. SoulfullyAButterfly As Glen mentioned, we have rolled out several events as part of a countdown to 7 Cups turning 13. These have included live events - a big thank you to @Soulsings, @AmiablePeace77, @Suryansh and @CommunityModIris for helping me host these for both adults and teens. As we approach July 7, there are many pending events you can join. Other community activities include: 🧁 Submit Your Videos, Voice Messages, or Graphics Here! This is for our annual YouTube video [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/JoinUsinCelebrating7Cups13thBirthdaySubmitYourVideosVoiceMessagesorGraphicsHere_384569/] 🧁 13 for 13: Words That Define Us & Our Community [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/13for13WordsThatDefineUsOurCommunity_384451/] 🧁 7 Cups 13th Birthday Paper Plate Awards: Nominations Open!! [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/7Cups13thBirthdayPaperPlateAwardsNominationsOpen_384453/] 🧁 Color Your Season: A 7 Cups Birthday Challenge [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/ColorYourSeasonA7CupsBirthdayChallenge_384437/] 🧁 Support in Every Language: Share a Message of Care in Honor of 7 Cups Turning 13! [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/7CupsTurns13_2738/SupportinEveryLanguageShareaMessageofCareinHonorof7CupsTurning13_384511/] On a personal note, I’ve marked my 8th cupsversary with this poem reflection [https://www.7cups.com/forum/gratitude/CupversariesBirthdays_179/FromaSparkofHopetoaBeautifulTransformationSoulfullyAButterfly_383780/]. Looking forward to celebrating the 7 Cups birthday in July and what makes our community special!

You Aren’t Broken, You Have a Care Deficit: Introducing the Care Calculator

Site Updates / by GlenM

June 28th

...See more Hello Community! A few weeks back I shared a post with you here called "Care is Electricity [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/CareisElectricity_381633/]." The idea was simple. After all these years, I've come to believe the most powerful thing in healing isn't technique. It's care. One person actually giving a damn about another. The response from you and others surprised me. Many said something like: "I've always felt this was true, I just never had words for it." That stuck with me and made me think more about next steps. Because having words for something still doesn't tell you what to do about it. If you're going through a breakup, or you lost someone, or work is burying you, knowing that care matters doesn't tell you how much you need, whether you're getting enough, or where to go find more. We've got tools for everything else. You want to know if you can afford a house, there's a mortgage calculator. If you are trying to track your health you can look at your blood pressure, or measure your BMI index. If you want to know how much stress you're under, there's the Holmes-Rahe stress inventory, which has been around since 1967. It adds up your big life events and tells you how much strain you're carrying. But Holmes-Rahe always stops in a strange place. You take it, you add up your number, and it basically says "yes, you're under a lot, good luck." Nobody ever built the other half. You're carrying all this, so how much care do you actually need to get through it? What do you already have? Where are the holes? We just built that part. We're calling it the Care Calculator. It's three steps. First you mark what's going on in your life, the same kinds of events Holmes and Rahe named, plus a few they couldn't have seen coming in 1967. Then you map your care. You go through the people and places in your life, your partner, your family, a close friend, a faith community, a support group, a therapist, listeners/groups here on 7 Cups, and you get honest about how often each one really shows up. Not how much they love you in theory. How often care is actually reaching you right now. Then you see two bars next to each other. What you need, and what you have. And whatever space sits in between. That space is the whole point. When you can finally see it, something loosens. If you are carrying a huge weight and getting next to nothing back, of course you're wiped out. That's not a flaw in you. It's a gap. And gaps can get filled. That shift, from "what is wrong with me" to "I don't have enough care right now," might be the most important thing this tool does. Let me tell you a quick story about why I believe in this. This is just one story of a close friend. We have all seen similar stories happen here on 7 Cups. Years ago a close friend of mine was deep in addiction. It had swallowed his life. He had people staying with him who were using him, and he'd lost his grip on what was real. His mom went in and pulled him out. I drove back and helped him move, partly on the old recovery wisdom that sometimes you have to get away from the places and people tied to using. It was a long road. There were stretches where I wasn't sure he'd make it. But he came back, slowly. And when I look at what actually carried him, it was never one thing. There was a psychiatrist. There was therapy. There were NA meetings. There was his family, and a faith group that took him in and held on to him. Today he's working full-time, training to be a substance use counselor, and reaching back for other people stuck in the same hole. I'm about as proud of him as I can be. In my bones, proud! No single care connection saved my friend. A whole bunch of them, carrying current at the same time, over years, did. That is the heart of this thing. It counts every source of care as real. There's a quiet ranking in mental health, where professional therapy sits at the top and everything else gets called "support." Nice to have, but not the real medicine. I don't buy that. I'm not knocking therapy. Good therapists do things a friend or a volunteer can't, and some situations need exactly that kind of help. Therapy belongs on the map. It just isn't the whole map. What decades of research keep showing is that the relationship itself is what heals. The feeling that somebody is in it with you. That's the care current, and it doesn't need a license. It can come from a sister who calls every Sunday, a small group in your faith community, or a stranger on 7 Cups who decided to spend their night listening to you. Nobody needs one perfect source of care. We just need enough of them. Here is something to keep in mind. A mortgage calculator runs on real math. Care doesn't work like that. The stress side of this leans on decades of research, but the care side is our first honest guess. They're rough numbers meant to help you see your own situation, not some clinical readout. We're putting them out in the open on purpose, and we're asking researchers who study this to help us sharpen them. Treat it as a mirror or a reflection tool, not a verdict. And if it shows you a big gap, don't panic. Instead, look honestly at where more care could come from. Sometimes it's already around you and people just don't know how hard things have become for you. A lot of folks want to show up, they only need to be let in. Sometimes it's a support group, or a faith community, or a listener who's walked your road. And sometimes the load is heavy enough that you need a professional, and that's okay too. If you're in real danger or thinking about hurting yourself, please reach out to a crisis line or emergency services right now [http://7cups.com/crisis]. A calculator isn't the place for that. Here's what thirteen years with this community has taught me. Nobody should have to struggle or white-knuckle their way through the hardest parts of life alone. But people do it every single day, not because the care isn't out there, but because they can't see what they need or where to find it. They sit in the dark blaming themselves when the real problem is just that not enough care electricity is coming through. This won't fix all of that on its own. It's an early version, and the numbers still need real research behind them. But if it helps even one person stop asking "what's wrong with me" and start asking "where can I find more care," that's enough for me. I'd love for you to try it and tell me what feels right and what feels off. You all are the reason it exists, and your read on it matters to me. Not everything we try and do here works. We keep trying. This is another attempt. If it has value for you and helps, then please let us know. If you have recommendations on how to make it stronger, then please share those as well. And a big shout out to @AnnaSilverberg [https://www.7cups.com/@annasilverberg] and @InternalAcceptance [https://www.7cups.com/@InternalAcceptance] [https://www.7cups.com/@InternalAcceptance]for specific feedback and help on this post and calculator! You can find it here: 7cups.com/care-calculator [http://7cups.com/care-calculator]

Measuring the Care Alliance

Site Updates / by GlenM

June 16th

...See more Hello Crew! I shared a post called “Care is Electricity [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/CareisElectricity_381633/]” a couple of weeks ago. The gist is that caring for another person is therapeutic - it brings healing to them. In the clinical world, therapists use a tool called the Session Rating Scale [https://greenspacehealth.com/en-us/session-rating-scale-srs/] to measure this connection. It turns out, this tool is the single best predictor of what helps a person get better. A researcher actually did a study [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26485198/] (worth reading) looking at listener therapeutic alliance levels right here on 7 Cups and found they were on par with professional therapist levels! I write more about this in the Care is Electricity [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/CareisElectricity_381633/] post. Starting tomorrow, we will begin using the Session Rating Scales in member and listener (1:1) conversations. You can read more about how the scale works here [https://greenspacehealth.com/en-us/session-rating-scale-srs/]. How it Works: At 30 messages from the member, and then again at 100 message intervals (if it has been at least 7 days since the 30-message mark), members will see a modal that looks like this: After the rating is submitted, both the member and the listener will see the results in their chat. If you get a low score, remember: it is just data. It is not a grade, and it does not mean you failed as a listener in that conversation. It is simply a way for the member to let you know, in a less direct way, that they don’t feel quite understood yet. Mistakes are how we grow, so there is nothing to be ashamed of (check out my post: “We Are Not Our Mistakes [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/WeAreNotOurMistakes_259257/]”). You also have to take these ratings with a grain of salt. External factors can influence a survey - sometimes a member is just having an incredibly overwhelming day, or they may not have the words to explain exactly what felt off. Not every member will be able to give clear, helpful feedback, and that is okay. The goal is to stay open to what you can learn without taking every score personally. What do you do if you get a low score? (Adapted from here [https://www.supanote.ai/blog/session-rating-scale-srs-how-to-use-it-respond-to-feedback]) * Step 1: Reflect and Thank. "I notice the score on [item] is lower today. I appreciate you being honest. Can you tell me more about that?" Stay curious. Stay grounded. Do not defend, over-explain, or debate the number. * Step 2: Get One Concrete Example. Ask for a specific moment that didn't land. If they can't name it, offer gentle options: "Was it the pace? The focus? The depth?" Clarify whether the issue was the content of the chat or the way you were relating to each other. If the member cannot explain it, you can still respond with care: “Thank you for letting me know. I’m sorry it didn’t feel quite right today. I’ll keep this in mind and try to be more supportive moving forward.” * Step 3: Collaborate on Adjustments. Offer two small, testable changes moving forward. More structure? Slower pacing? A different focus? Confirm what success would look like for them, and let them know you'll check in on how they're feeling about it later. * Step 4: Reflect with Support. If a low score feels confusing, discouraging, or hard to understand, consider bringing it to a mentor on 7 Cups [https://www.7cups.com/listener/training/mentors/]. A mentor can help you reflect on the conversation, look for possible growth points, and decide what you might try differently next time. You do not have to process the feedback alone. The therapeutic alliance - or what I’m calling the “Care Alliance” outside of a therapist relationship - happens with friends, family members, educators, and especially right here on 7 Cups! Measuring this will help us better understand how the Care Alliance unfolds so we can - as individuals and a community - help people grow and heal. Any and all questions are welcome! Please share below. Update: All, update! We just ran the first batch of SRS scores. Drumroll please! Max score is a 40 (you add all the scores). 36-40 is considered therapeutic levels / therapist parity. Right now, our listeners are scoring a 34.76, which is remarkable! The results will get more solid as more results come in, but this initial sample is significant. Job well done!!! Score Averages Category Average Score RELATIONSHIP 8.79 FOCUS 8.67 APPROACH 8.70 OVERALL 8.56

June 2026 Community Update!

Site Updates / by GlenM

June 3rd

...See more Dear Community, Happy Summer! June 1! We are already here yet again. I love the summer because the world quiets down a little bit, especially around August. I wrote a post titled Care is Electricity [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/CareisElectricity_381633/]. You can also find a shorter LinkedIn version here [https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/care-electricity-glen-moriarty-4kmve/]. Thank you all for the comments and for sharing the post. The feedback has been encouraging. What we do here is very unique as we don’t really fit into any normal organization categories. The good news is we are getting better at describing it. The Care is Electricity post was another step in the right direction! We’ve also made some progress on the peer support certification front. We now have 6 or 7 of the modules completed and we are working hard to finish up the rest soon. We do have a meeting with SAMHSA in June to further help amplify the Academy [http://7cups.com/academy]. I’ve also been busy on the partnership front and hope to mention more on this front soon! Best, GlenM H Thanks to everyone who took part in May events in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, alongside Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) Awareness Month and Maternal Mental Health Month. Those who stepped in to write posts and host events have earned the exclusive MH Awareness Month badge! Congratulations @jesusredeemedme2425 @AiluraTheCat @TovaCares76 @YourCaringConfidant @SmoothOpertor55 @Angelanj Please visit this post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/CommunityActivitiesEvents_1908/Mayon7CupsMentalHealthAwarenessMonthChallengingStigmas_380880/]after reading the update to check out the great content from your peers! The Community Beacon [https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/CommunitySpace_2539/TheWeeklyBeaconSmallwaystohelpthecommunity_377289/?p=2] campaign has been a smashing success! Engagement and morale are soaring, thanks to your weekly contributions. The encouraging and collaborative energy in these threads truly captures the essence of what 7 Cups is about. It’s like seeing our best efforts at the forefront, and I am so proud of how you show up for each other and for yourselves!! As an extra incentive, everyone who reaches 30 days of participation in this campaign earns the “All for one” badge. The first batch of winners can be congratulated in this post! [https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/TheWeeklyBeaconCommunityHelpCampaign_2726/CongratulationstoourAllforOneBadgeWinners_381094/] If you’re new to the beacon, the weeks refresh every Thursday in this forum [https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/TheWeeklyBeaconCommunityHelpCampaign_2726/]! In last month’s update, I launched a special 7-week forum series aptly called The 7 Cups Values Series to explore our values [https://www.7cups.com/about/values.php] and what they mean to us. Each value has its own dedicated post. You can catch up on them by visiting the masterpost here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/welcome/7CupsofTeaMissionCoreValues_207/7CupsValuesSeriesWeek0PreJourneyOurMissionBuildingaBetterWorld_379125/] and let me know in the replies there which value you resonate with most! My availability will be changing for a while. All the contacts for coverage are outlined here. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/HsHangout_1970/AnupdateonmyscheduleandgettingthesupportyouneedJune2026_382330/] If you have any questions, my PMs are always open to you! Hope In May, we started work on building out the coursework for the Peer Support Specialist track. We’ve made solid progress so far, especially with developing the modules, and things are moving in the right direction. This is an important step toward eventually having our own Peer Support Specialist program in place. If you’re interested in learning more about this track, click here to learn more about it. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/MonthlyCommunityTeamUpdates_2602/May2026CommunityUpdate_380883/] We also had our first three listeners earn the Active Listener Recognition Certificates for reaching 10 or more Tulip nominations. A big congratulations to them. You can find out who they are and congratulate the rest of the nominees here. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/gratitude/AppreciationProgram_2310/TulipAwardeesMay2026_382573/] We also took some time to celebrate Eid al-Adha with the community. Even though Eid has wrapped up, you’re still welcome to join in and take part in the post here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/religion/Islam_2609/EidAlAdhaMubarak2026_382720/]. Aside from that, it’s mostly been steady maintenance work across the board. SoulfullyAButterfly We launched the Social Support Room group chat this month as a bridge between member community room and support room 24/7. After a trial and user feedback, this room is now badge locked and access is available to anyone who applies here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/groupmod/General_2446/AnnouncementNewTrialRoomSocialSupportRoom_381161/]. As part of the May Mental Health Awareness month events, one of our therapists, Ashley Flewellen (@AshleyNFlewellenLPC), held a workshop on Breaking the Stigma. We look forward to announcing new events and activities as we move forward to June.

Care is Electricity

Site Updates / by GlenM

May 19th

...See more When I care for someone, I imagine a heart-to-heart connection with them. It’s like a live wire or cord connects my heart to theirs. Care is electricity. When we are loved and connected, we are getting charged up by others. I send them care, compassion, and love through this current. This looks like me checking up on them, being interested in their life, and following how things are unfolding. Sometimes it includes giving more direct feedback. But most of the time, it simply consists of providing a high-warmth environment for them and truly listening. When I was a child, I could see how simple care transforms lives. My mother did in-home daycare throughout my childhood and adolescence. She cared for six kids alongside my sister and me. For most of that time, she cared for kids and families with fewer financial resources - parents who were actively struggling with addiction, loss, and deep pain. When these parents stopped by to pick up their kids in the afternoon, they’d sometimes stay for 30 minutes or even an hour. My mother was attentive. She simply cared for them. Sitting in that basement room, I watched people eventually begin to heal and recover. They were plugging in and getting their batteries recharged. I’ve been involved in human service roles my entire life. I’ve cared for people struggling with addiction, people facing homelessness, and people starting over after hospitalization. I’ve worked in cities where kids were swept up in gangs and given up on. I taught some of these kids how to skateboard and played basketball with them. I enjoyed their company and loved being competitive with them. Sometimes, "hanging out" is the most therapeutic thing you can do. You are generating a shared charge. I made sure they knew I saw them, and I never gave up on them. A lot of those kids healed, got on the right track, and have updated me over the years to let me know they are okay. I am proud of them. I’ve seen it in my own family, too. When relatives have been in tough jams, the connection from my heart to theirs was flooded with a high-voltage current of hope, compassion, and prayers. Other family members connected their wires to them as well, sending a collective surge of support. Eventually, they made it to the other side. They healed. Over time, I started realizing something important: people often heal through relationships before they heal through techniques. Being deeply seen, consistently cared for, and not abandoned during hard moments changes people. Sometimes the most transformative thing isn’t advice or intervention. It’s the experience of another human being sincerely staying connected to you. The Science of the Heart-to-Heart Connection In clinical psychology, the most important driver of successful therapy is something called the “therapeutic alliance.” The gist of it is simple: the client feels like the therapist likes them, understands them, and is genuinely on their team. Carl Rogers, one of the founders of humanistic psychology, captured this perfectly: “In my early professional years, I was asking the question, How can I treat, or cure, or change this person? Now I would phrase the question in this way: How can I provide a relationship which this person may use for his own personal growth?” For all of you in our community, you’ll be familiar with this idea as it is core to active listening and the emotional support relationships we all form on 7 Cups. In fact, way back in 2015, a study [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26485198/] was done looking at how 7 Cups listeners established a therapeutic alliance with members. A summary of the results follows: Results: Overall, the ratings of the sessions were high. Most participants who indicated that they received psychotherapy indicated that the service provided by the free emotional support program is equal or better than psychotherapy. Relating to psychotherapy and online emotional support advantages, different advantages were found. The findings suggest that receiving support from volunteers makes users feel that the support is more genuine, citing more personal and sincere caring because listeners aren't just doing a job. Authenticity Matters We have also measured therapeutic alliance levels with our AI, Noni. People rate her high, but they still prefer to talk to another human being. Why is that? I think it is because we need to know that we matter to someone else. We want to feel that care flowing from a person who is actively choosing to give us their time. Carl Rogers knew that genuineness matters. You know when a person truly likes you, and you know when they are just acting the part. I was talking with Cris about this today, and he mentioned a study involving phone calls. The researchers found that the person on the other end of the line just knew when the speaker was genuinely smiling, even without seeing their face. True care is felt and experienced differently. It carries a real electric charge you can't fake. The 7 Cups Electric Field This breaks care entirely out of the mental health infrastructure box. Humans are fundamentally electric. You can get that electricity from anyone - friends, family, or even the shared collective energy of a group. Forced solation, being "in the hole," or deep loneliness is the removal of that charge. It is another way of saying, I am not getting a charge from another person. My battery is draining out. 7 Cups is an electric field where people come to get charged up. A person comes to the site looking for support. They raise their hand and say, "I am in pain. My battery is low." A listener picks up the chat. They connect a live wire, or cord, from their heart to the member’s heart. They send a current of care. The new member begins to heal. Sometimes, that member joins a group or connects with multiple listeners, receiving currents of care from all over the world. Eventually, their own battery charges up. They cross a threshold, and then they start to pass that current to new people who are raising their hands. I sometimes imagine this as us all sitting around a warm fire. The new person arrives. We greet them and give them a bowl of hot soup. They are thinking - Wait, is this real? Can I trust and relax here and get help? Time goes by. The next new person arrives. The person that was just unsure welcomes them, invites them to sit by the fire, and gives them a bowl of soup. This happens thousands of times each day. Tools Run on Power Care is something we all naturally do for one another. I have a strong hunch that this simple, horizontal care may end up being the most powerful therapeutic ingredient in the world. The ideal clinical therapist knows how to create a strong alliance and use technical interventions. Think of therapists as having highly specialized power tools to help you. But those tools run on electricity. If there is no electricity - if they don't genuinely like and care for you - then the tools simply will not turn on. The therapeutic alliance, or the "Care Alliance," as I want to call it when we talk about regular people supporting one another, is the power source. Sometimes, you need technical skills to fix a specific problem. But often, the raw electricity of care is entirely sufficient on its own. The traditional therapeutic alliance describes the trust and emotional bond between a therapist and client. But I think there’s a broader human version of this that exists outside clinical settings entirely. A Care Alliance forms anytime someone genuinely feels: “This person sees me. This person cares about me. This person is with me.” It can happen between friends, listeners, parents, peers, mentors, spouses, group members, or even strangers during difficult moments. It is not built on credentials or technique first. It is built on authentic emotional presence. Therapy is one place where this alliance can happen. But human healing relationships are everywhere. We are going to start measuring this Care Alliance in a more deliberate way on 7 Cups. When a person cares for you, and you know it, there is an extra texture, a raw energy that travels through that bond. True care hits differently. I think this care is very healing and powerful. We launched 7 Cups in 2013. We’ve been at it for 13 years. We’ve optimized most of the site and apps to make it easier to use. We’ve added dozens of mindfulness activities, ways to find listeners, groups, self-help guides, etc. You name it, we’ve done it. This has all been done with the goal of helping people heal and recover. For years, we’ve focused on improving tools, features, activities, and accessibility on 7 Cups. Those things matter. But more and more, I think the next chapter of healing may not be technological optimization. It may be helping people form deeper, more authentic bonds of care with one another. Here is an image that I think captures how this "heart-to-heart" connection actually works. I wanted to share these ideas with you all and ask you to help me better understand this care alliance. How does it happen on 7 Cups and in real life? What do you think of the way I’m describing it? What am I missing? Feel free to share examples, video clips, stories, or ideas. Any and all help is very welcome. Thank you!

May 2026 Community Update!

Site Updates / by GlenM

May 3rd

...See more Dear Community, I hope you all are well! May is already here. My middle daughter graduates from high school this month and is then off to school where her big brother is a senior. We’ll just have one left in the house! We’ve been busy at work on a number of fronts. One big focus for me lately has been the process of peer support and credentialing. Our training Academy [http://7cups.com/academy], under the excellent leadership of @hope already meets about 80% of the criteria needed for accreditation. However, we have to build and expand different modules to make sure we are meeting all of the requirements and learning objectives. We are working on these modules now. Certified peers can be seen as the middle layer in between volunteer listeners and licensed therapists. Many of you have already taken all of the peer support courses. The new curriculum will be much more robust. Look for more from us on this soon! I’ve also been working on a mental health certification for faith organizations. Religion plays a big part in most people’s lives. William James (one of the first psychologists) famously said: "To the psychologist the religious propensities of man must be at least as interesting as any other of the facts pertaining to his mental constitution." Many people turn to their religious or spiritual leaders before seeking mental health support. I think it’d be great if faith organizations could signal to people in pain in their membership and community - hey we are a safe place and we care for you! I also wanted to take a moment to point to some beautiful, recent, posts if you haven’t seen them. I often open the app and read the feed before I go to bed. Talk about the warm fuzzies. Like a warm cup of tea for the heart! Check them out here: -Before and After 7 Cups: What Changed in You? -Appreciation to Listeners and Members -From Strangers to Support System [https://www.7cups.com/forum/welcome/Icebreakers_2095/FromStrangerstoSupportSystem_378316/?post=4169051] I hope you all have a lovely weekend! Best, GlenM ------------------------- H Thanks to everyone who took part in April’s events; the overarching theme was Volunteer Month, and there’s some excellent content written by our very own community members that I urge you to check out when you’re finished here. Here’s the link to April’s masterpost. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/General_2421/Aprilon7CupsTheGiftofCaringHonoringYou_378579/] May is another crucially important month to 7 Cups: Mental Health Awareness Month. The lineup is (here) [https://www.7cups.com/forum/projectsandevents/CommunityActivitiesEvents_1908/Mayon7CupsMentalHealthAwarenessMonthChallengingStigmas_380880/], and you can earn the MH Awareness Month badge for contributing content! Speaking of contributing, listeners, we are actively onboarding new hosts to open the Listener Community Room and provide a lighthearted space to hang out and play games. See how you can get involved by clicking on this post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/listenerjourney/General_2422/CallingAllListenersOperationListenerCommunityRoomRevival_376514/]. I'd been reflecting on the core, the heart, and the soul of 7 Cups, from the community to the foundation upon which we stand. There's a lot of 7 Cups lore that most who've come here in recent years may not be aware of. I launched a special 7-week forum series aptly called The 7 Cups Values Series to explore our values and what they mean to us. Each value has its own dedicated post that will be added to the bottom of the introductory series post linked here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/welcome/7CupsofTeaMissionCoreValues_207/7CupsValuesSeriesWeek0PreJourneyOurMissionBuildingaBetterWorld_379125/]. The Weekly Beacon Campaign invites help from the entire community in the form of everyday acts of participation to support one another. Get credit for what you’re already doing and earn the All for one badge! Join this week’s challenge here. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/TheWeeklyBeaconCommunityHelpCampaign_2726/TheWeeklyBeaconSmallwaystohelpthecommunityWeek7April26_380705/] ------------------------- Hope April has been a steady, behind-the-scenes kind of month. Work officially kicked off on the Peer Specialist Track, with early drafting and content development now underway. It’s still in progress, but things are moving forward. A big shoutout to @soulfullyabutterfly for putting in consistent work on shaping the content for this track. We also introduced a clearer breakdown of how volunteer hours are calculated. This is especially useful for listeners who need their hours verified for external requirements but aren’t part of an Academy program. The goal here is simple: reduce confusion and make expectations easier to understand so people can plan ahead. You can access the post here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/academy/ResourceCenter_2269/HowYour7CupsVolunteeringHoursAreCounted_380493/]. The Tulip Award also went through a major update. Milestone certificates are now being introduced for nominations, adding an extra layer of recognition along the way. The badge will still remain, but the Tulip counter is no longer limited to a single year. All nominations, from the time Tulip was launched, will now count cumulatively. More details are available in the full post. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/gratitude/AppreciationProgram_2310/TulipAwardsUpdateNewMilestonesRecognitionSystem_380520/] Lastly, we have also added new elective options to the Quality Listening Program (QLP) to better reflect the work listeners are already doing. The total number of electives required hasn’t changed, but there’s now more flexibility in how you complete them. This includes updated credit for topic-specific training guides and a new elective based on Tulip nominations. Check out the post for the full breakdown and details. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/qlp/AnnouncementsandUpdates_2201/NewElectivesforQLPTrainees_380194/] ------------------------- SoulfullyAButterfly This month, we have been working behind the scenes to develop a peer support curriculum. Additionally, we will be launching our FC Mother partnership based training content to support maternal health in May in honor of Mother’s Day. We are also developing new growth paths based on faith-based interventions. One of our therapists, Ashley Flewellen (@AshleyNFlewellenLPC), held a workshop on the importance of self-care this month. You can read some insights and copies of activities that a participant documented here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/generalsupport/General_2440/IncredibleinsightsfromAshley_378648/]. Continuing our monthly events, expert workshops and activities, we are excited to launch several new closed group initiatives. This includes a Stress Management Huddle (a closed group), and an openly accessible Social Support Room. You can expect announcements for these initiatives soon.

The Kayaker's Bet or Wager

Way of the River / by GlenM

April 21st

...See more Dear Community, Life is a river. We are on a river in a kayak, and life is flowing by us. Sometimes, the waters are smooth, calm, and peaceful. But inevitably, we hit the rapids and get stuck on rocks. Sometimes these are just minor jams, but other times we can crash on them so hard it feels like we might not survive. We’ve been exploring this in our Way of the River community [https://www.7cups.com/forum/wayoftheriver/]. It is incredibly easy to feel defeated when the water gets treacherous and chaotic. But there is a fundamental truth we have to remember: we don't learn to become master kayakers when the river is smooth. We learn how to be master kayakers on the rapids. Adversity challenges us to overcome. It asks something of us that calm waters never do. To help navigate those terrifying stretches of water, I want to share a mental tool that I rely on when things feel impossibly hard. It is a simple shift in perspective, but it helps me quite a bit and I hope it helps you. I call it The Kayaker’s Wager. The Kayaker’s Wager: The conscious choice to treat every significant obstacle not merely as random chaos or bad luck, but as a challenge that may be asking you to grow, adapt, or see something differently. Because our community is made up of people from all walks of life, this wager takes on different shapes depending on your personal beliefs: * For the spiritually inclined: It is the choice to trust that even when you cannot understand the rapid, there is a Higher Power present in the river. It is trusting that God, or the universe, has woven hidden lessons into the hardship, using this exact obstacle to shape you, strengthen you, and call something greater out of you. * For the secularly inclined: It is a psychological stance. It is the wager that even if the universe is random, you possess the agency to extract deep meaning, resilience, and wisdom from even the most painful moments. The Pascal Connection: Why You Have to Place a Bet You might be thinking, “But Glen, what if my suffering doesn't have a hidden meaning? What if life is just random and this rock I'm stuck on is just cruel bad luck?” This is exactly why I call it a wager or bet. It is inspired by a famous idea from the 1600s called Pascal’s Wager [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascal%27s_wager]. Blaise Pascal was a brilliant mathematician who realized that when humans face massive unknowns, we often freeze because we are waiting for absolute proof. Pascal argued that in life, you cannot opt out of betting. You are already in the river. Because you are forced to play the game, you should stop waiting for certainty and instead choose the interpretation that gives you the best chance of living well and moving forward. When you are stuck on a rock, look at the two bets you can make: 1. You bet the rock is just random, meaningless cruelty. If you make this bet, you may naturally feel defeated, powerless, or emotionally flooded. Your energy drains, and you stay stuck. The absolute best-case scenario is that you simply survive it and eventually get back to baseline. 2. You bet the rock holds an invitation to grow. You make the Kayaker's Wager. You assume there is something here worth paying attention to, even if you cannot yet see it clearly. You stop fighting the current and ask: What is this moment requiring of me? Patience? Courage? Surrender? A new skill? Let’s look at the math of this bet: * What if you’re wrong? What if the universe is just chaotic? By placing the bet and acting as if there were a lesson, you stayed calmer, de-escalated your panic, and figured out how to unstick your kayak. You survived the rapid with more grace. Even when you "lose" this bet, you still win a better quality of life. * But what if you’re right? What if that obstacle really was a turning point? If you're right, you don't just return to zero. You are fundamentally changed by what the rapid demanded from you. You become what we call antifragile [https://www.7cups.com/forum/siteupdates/GlensNookCommunity_547/Antifragile_29142/] - you are no longer only trying to avoid chaos; you are learning how to be strengthened by what once would have broken you. Sometimes this can even become the beginning of what psychologists call post-traumatic growth [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-traumatic_growth]. Not because pain is "good," but because profound meaning can sometimes be forged from what is hardest. As you all know, we believe that the problem is the path. You don’t need to have a grand, flawless plan for life. Instead, you just need to solve the next biggest problem in front of you. The key is you’ve got to make the bet - and trust the river - in order to unlock these gains. You don’t get to unlock those gains if you stay only on the familiar, comfortable, normal, predictable path. What do you think of the Kayaker’s Wager or Bet idea? We are all navigating this river together, and nobody paddles perfectly. Our job is not to pull others out of the water, but to paddle alongside them until they remember they are the master of their own vessel. Think about a "rock" you are currently stuck on right now—a problem that has been causing you stress, fear, or frustration. What would it look like to make the Kayaker's Wager today? If you chose to meet that rock as though it had something to teach you, what might that lesson be? What strength might this moment be asking you to build? Share your thoughts in the thread below. Our community is made up of the very best folks, and we are all paddling alongside you.

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