Update: Depression Support Group Chat
Hi everyone,
I hope you are having an easy week and have a comforting weekend.
I want to inform you that starting Monday (01/15/2023), we will be having a 2-week trial period to make Depression Support Room open and available for all members 24/7 to join in, share and seek support.
We have come a long way since 2019. We went through a lot of ups and downs together and put a lot of effort into building group chats as the most compassionate and supportive space for our community.
We noticed how members supported fellow members and listened to each other with compassion and understanding. We appreciate and are grateful to everyone for cultivating an uplifting and caring environment in the Member Group Chats. T H A N K Y O U!!
Purpose of the Room: Facilitate and provide a comforting and non-judgmental environment to encourage sharing and feeling heard by all who are going through depression. I know it can be hard but you are not alone.
Here are a few common guidelines to keep in mind when participating in the room:
- Please encourage and give space to everyone to share.
- Please have an open mind, be respectful, and maintain non-judgmental and compassionate behavior at all times with fellow members and listeners and vice-versa.
- If your share is triggering, please precede your share with “Trigger Warning” ahead of time.
- If there is a moderation situation, please fill out the request form to call a mod in the room. Save or bookmark this form
- Follow the Chatroom & Community Guidelines.
Please feel free to share your feedback, suggestions, and concerns at any time as well as any ideas or topics to discuss in the Depression Support Group Chat. Thanks for your help, as always!
@ASilentObserver Thankyou for the update! 💛 *ghost hugs back*
@ASilentObserver
Thank you, Obs for putting in the effort to create this large space for supporting people with depression.
I infer that it involves committing Community Moderators for all those long hours, a big human resources effort from 7 Cups.
I hope the trial is successful, and this very ample supportive space stays forever.
A couple of suggestions that come to mind are to include the word "Lonely" in the "advertising", as isolation is closely related to depression, and is how many people perceive it. For example: "Do you feel down and lonely? Come join ... "
Another (maybe obvious) is to promote it intensely during the trial, through frequent Cups-wide notifications, "featured threads" on the homepage, etc.
Maybe scheduling in advance Sharing Circles across the week, and sessions with related topics might also help to promote engagement.
Thank you again for this quantum leap initiative to support members suffering from this hugely widespread and very distressing emotional health issue.
@ASilentObserver This will be a very interesting trial, I hope it goes well so that perhaps other rooms may follow suit.!
Listening - One Step At A Time!
@ASilentObserver
About triggering others. Isn't that nearly impossible? Should every sentence start with "Possible trigger warning:"? I don't believe the term "trigger warning" should even be used. Simply stating that what you're going to talk about might be upsetting to some. That's far more meaningful than using internet rhetoric.
Everything else seems great.
@FrugalTony I am so sorry you feel that way.
I have been here almost 3 years, and we have always had that in place.
I am glad we have the use of "Trigger Warnings".
It has been really helpful to other members.
Which we have to keep in mind, it is NOT about you, it is about everyone.
Let's try to be more mindful of others, while at 7cups.
You do not, have to go to this room or any room here at 7cups, no one is making you go, please keep that in mind.
If you have issues, with the chatroom rules, then I suggest you take it up, with ASlientObserver, our group support manager.
Here is their contact information: https://www.7cups.com/@ASilentObserver or e-mail them at: obs@7cups.com
If you do decide to use our group support rooms here, please be mindful, that we do require the use of "Trigger Warnings", if you share something that could trigger someone.
A lot of our members, have Flash Backs and other issues, and it takes a lot of guts for them to share, their story or what they have been through.
So I do not think it is too much to ask, to use the word "Trigger Warnings", before sharing something that might be triggering to others.
Furthermore, it is not too much, to ask, you to follow the Chatroom Guidelines, either.
They are there for your safety and to help keep the rooms supportive.
One of our rules here, is to be respectful of others and that also includes, those in leadership here at 7cups.
Question: How would you feel, if you got triggered by something?
Something to think about.
Those chatroom guidelines are followed by everyone, if they are not followed, then there are steps, in place to deal, with those who do not follow the guidelines.
We take safety and our members emotional state, and welfare very seriously.
We at 7cups, try to keep the rooms as supportive as possible.
Safety is #1 here at 7cups.
We would love to have you join us, we really would, but we have guidelines to follow, and we all have to follow them.
It is not hard.
You follow the rules, then everything is cool.
You do not, then YOU suffer, whatever, you have coming.
I hope I made my point.
I am not trying to give you a hard time, I really am not.
I am just making sure, that we all follow the guidelines.
Like it or not.
The guidelines are here for a reason.
I do not want to see you get into trouble, for not following our guidelines.
I care about you and everyone else here at 7cups.
The membership, has worked very hard for this day, please do not be the one to rain on their parade.
@ASilentObserver thank you for this. i have been waiting years for there to be more chat resources for people with depression like myself.
i'm a little confused about what this will look like. i'll obviously find out tomorrow when it starts, but is this going to be like the Sharing Circle chat (meaning a 24/7 sharing circle but for depression) or will it be like the Support Room 24/7 where it's just open for anyone to share and it's not as regulated as the Sharing Circle chat room?
@ASilentObserver Thank you for this very important update.
Yes, we have come a long way since 2019.
But, we still have a ways to go.
It is a work in progress.
@calmMango9611 Where is the depression forum? Is there a link? I can never find anything here.
@Screenname333 here Screen: https://www.7cups.com/home/depression/
@ASilentObserver thank u
@ASilentObserver Thank you for helping me out.
