"I came to 7 Cups for..." "And stayed for..."

@Heather225

I first came to 7 Cups looking for a supporter as I expressed situations I was going through; I stayed because I found joy and happiness as becoming a listener - to support members in any and everything!

@Heather225

I first came to 7 Cups looking for support, care, joy and love; I stayed because I found some and am trying to spread some to make myself feel better too

I honestly don’t remember starting here, so I don’t know what I came for…

But I stayed because of @Tinywhisper11. <3

 I came to 7 cups because I was looking for a program in which I could find fulfillment in being supportive. I'm staying here because that's exactly what I found.

This is actually site number four, or number five if you want to include the chat room I shut down a few years back. Unfortunately, that chat room was one of many, most of which were about either trolling, flirting, or social media. Therefore it wasn't very good at attracting people interested in meaningful discussion.

My first experience with giving support was back around 1993. It was in the form of a message board. Incredibly, I’m still in touch with some of those folks.

Next, I found a mental health forum and spent a few years there. Then it began to change, becoming much more like social media, with a focus on frenetic, hard rock music. The core leadership shifted from being supportive to seeking their own popularity.

After that, I came upon a program that had no forums, but only a real-time chat feature. With that one, the infrastructure was very awkward. It was close to impossible to carry on a conversation with one individual while not being flooded with messages from others. The messages came "in line" with the discussion already taking place. In other words, imagine 15 or 20 text messages appearing in the same chat window, making it far too easy to mistakenly respond to the wrong message. It was exhausting. It was also distressing because invariably there were 15 to 20 people seeking help to each person who might be able to provide it. As it turned out, the software in use was the same as was being used overseas to facilitate communication related to the Russia/Ukraine conflict.

Maybe it was coincidence, or perhaps it was something more, but the machine I was using crashed. I threw the hard drive away, and installed a new non-Windows operating system. Despite the problems, I did gain the lot of useful experience. I also took crisis counseling training in order to start with that organization.

So, here I am at 7 cups! This program is far, far, extremely far better than any of the others I've experienced.

The people here are very genuine and sincere. It really feels like a safe place. Beyond that, it's very effective in helping those seeking support.

I plan on sticking around.

I came to 7cups to listen and it's been barely 2days but I already want to stay back and enjoy the comfort of you guys

@Heather225 

I first came to 7 Cups looking for venting as a member initially. It really helped & I stayed to give back to the society (people/members) as a listener. It gives a new purpose to life. 

I first came bc I was really depressed and I thought I didn't want anyone else to feel this way, I helped, then find a friend here, it lasted 5 months and he was kinda my first real love..then it ended and everything went bad from that point so I came back at the beginning.

@Heather225

I came to 7 Cups to offer comfort and support, and stayed for the meaningful human connections and also because helping others heal became my purpose.

@Heather225

I came to 7-Cups for help with my mental health, I stayed to help other people with theirs! :)

@Heather225

I first came to 7 Cups looking for help and support.

I stayed because sometimes helping others, help me just as much.