Has this program helped your depression?
Honestly, this is my best shot at getting any sort of help with my mental health. My family doesn't believe in mental illnesses and would just laugh and call me dramatic if I tried to talk to them about how I was feeling (they did this when my sister tried to talk about her anxiety). I just don't know what it's like to have to chat with either one of the listeners or one of the professionals. Are they accepting of your feelings or do they just judge you? I'm really nervous about going to one of them because I don't know what it is like. Any advice?
Hey @Fuzzybunny17 . Hope all is well for you. I think you have some amazing general inquiries.
For starters, I am speaking from a listener account, but I do have my fair share of experiences -- both negative and positive -- from the member side of things. In terms of 7 Cups, listeners cannot really give advice since we aren't legally trained to do so. It may cause more harm than good. If you're here for that, it might not be the best resource; however, what we can give to those seeking support is comfortable, resources, a supportive ear, and a safe environment. Listeners can hear you out when you need to rant, have a compassionate and friendly chat when you're feeling down, and anything in between as long as they are comfortable with doing so and it follows the community guidelines. I believe it really depends on the listener themselves. Some people are more experienced, some people are more new to active listening. Some individual you just 'click' with, others you don't really enjoy their vibe, and that's okay either way! It's a lot of trial and error when connecting indirectly through the chat requests. Although, you can narrow down what you're searching for via the browse listener page and search with key words and drop down selection boxes for what you are looking for. Some listeners even have a profile/bio that explains a bit about them and their style of listening.
In terms of professionals, there is a therapy option for the adult side of 7 Cups that costs $150 a month I believe. This connects you to an actual certified counselor or psychologist. With that being said, we also have group support chat rooms and the forums (which you've found -- yay!) that are full of plenty of nice people willing to discuss over some things with you.
I hope this helps, and eases your nerves a bit. I wish you the best of luck with connecting to someone.
