HI EVERYONE

@Monty456

Welcome 🤗 

Nice to meet you!

It might be good for you to be paired with a more experienced mentor 🩷

All you can do is your best.

I find it's important to take a break after a difficult chat.

Set boundaries with your time 

And don't let a member make you feel bad, and continue to chat, when it's too much, you matter too 🩷

@Monty456hi

@Monty456 hi

@Monty456

Hello Monty! 

It can always be a good idea to reach out to a more established listener, and get assistance if need be. It is always important to take care of yourself, and determine when you need a break. The best way we can all help each other is to also help ourselves stay mentally healthy! 

I am always here to chat if you need! 

@Monty456

Hi there! I am new as well, though I made my account years ago, I have only begun to try it out this week because I definitely didn't feel ready before. 

There's an old saying, "You can't pour from an empty cup," which is why it took me quite a while to feel ready to become a listener. Even still, there will probably be many instances where topics and conversations get too heavy and I'll need to take a step back and self care. This is how I treat my interactions with others in general, and I will extend it to 7 Cups so I can present my best self to the community! 

Like others have said, connecting with a mentor can probably really help. I need to do that as well! Maybe it can be one of our weekly missions to connect with a mentor? 

I wish you well on your journey as a listener! Remember, we are all only human and doing the best that we can with the tools we are given. Making efforts to show that you care by listening to what others are going through and offering them support is a really selfless use of time - just make sure you are also carving time out for you and offering yourself support! 💖

@Monty456 welcome to 7 cups 💐. It's really good to have you with us ❤️.

Listening to people’s stories can stay with you and sometimes it does affect your own mind too.

I think it's safe to tell people what you aren't comfortable hearing.

I asked a listener if they were OK listening to my story (I've gone through significant childhood trauma) and they said yes.

The they hardly spoke to me for the rest of the conversation.

I'd say if you aren't comfortable listening to stories about trauma (or whatever triggers you) then say it early on, rather than things getting uncomfortable later on.

@Monty456 being a listener is like being a doctor u care for your patient but u still gotta work with both brain and heart at the same time