June 2018 - Member Welcome Event! (New to 7 Cups in June, let us formally welcome you to our community)
I am VERY excited to announce this new event! Member Welcome Parties!!! Wooohoooo!
We know being a newbie at 7 Cups is hard. Taking the first few steps to get support, talk about something on your mind or share an experience is challenging. So we want to honor you for taking that first step to getting help, joining a community and bettering your life. New listeners - this is for you too! Taking your first chats, making your first forum posts... this is hard wrok! We are so proud of all of you and we want to formally welcome you to 7 Cups!
Don't worry, we know everyone likes to party... so while we will be honoring newbies, everyone is invited to join in and help!
This event will work much like a High Five Live! @kate & I will open the Live chatrooms and hop on a live video call with you!
During this event, we will welcome and honor all new members who wish to be formally welcomed! And we will highlight the accomplishments of newbies!!
So…. if you are new to 7 Cups in the month of June… good news, You get to be part of THE FIRST EVER MEMBER WELCOME PARTY!!
Please fill out this form to let us know you are a newbie!
If you are not new this month, you may fill out this form on behalf of a newbie you have met this month. Someone you want to make sure gets a special 7 Cups welcome!!
DATE: Thursday, June 28th
TIME: 5:00 PM EST
LOCATION: Live Rooms & Google Hangouts on air broadcast
HOSTS: Laura & Kate
RSVP: By posting to this thread! All welcome to come celebrate our new members!!
I joined because I am struggling with lonliness, depression, and feelings of stress. I think that most people are better off than me, no matter how much I "think of how good I have it." I feel as if I will die alone and I just want to feel happy. I try to control my dreams, but struggle about being lucid and dreaming about what I want to.
@Cardinal333 you just spoke my mind. i go through the exact same feelings and sometimes it gets hard to handle them. I'm here so i could connect to people gong through the same things so i could help them and myself figure it all out
Goin thru a break up and other stuff on top of that
The inspiration for my username came from someone saving my life.
@GoldenHeartOfTheSea
Sounds beautiful! May I know more about the story and name? (That is, if you do not mind?)
@NalaHakeem
Sure! Please do not read this if you get triggered easily. I went on a tour in San Francisco with my classmates. I hope it's not too triggering for anyone, but I was going through a long period of my life where I was severely depressed and suicical. I was walking up to the bridge alone, and of course the path there is twisty and turny and lined with bushes so I couldn't be seen easily. But it just so happened that some of my classmates that I hardly even knew were going up the path and stopped me before I got to the bridge. They asked if I wanted to take a picture with them! They said they didn't have enough people which I thought was odd as there were four of them, they didn't really know me, and they wanted ME in their picture. No one ever wanted me in their pictures. They were suspiciously enthusiastic. I thought they knew what I was thinking about the bridge. I didn't really want to take a picture so I just continued walking to the bridge, then started running so they couldn't catch up to me. I kept peeking over the edge to see how far I had ran. I wanted to take a picture looking across the bay. I kept running until I found a spot where I could take a nice picture. After taking the picture I stared down at the rocks below, all of the people on boats and surf boards swimming and all the children playing. It's so sad to imagine all of the tagedies that have taken place there. My original intent was to go on the bridge, stare death right in the face, and be able to walk away. I realized I needed that moment alone, but not for long. I was not exactly in my right mind while on the bridge. My four classmates finally caught up to me after I had that moment to myself. They had prevented the possibility of my death. The four of them were so happy for some reason. I still didn't want to take the picture but they convinced me to. In the first pictures my smile wasn't exactly real. I wasn't feeling happy. Then one of my classmates behind me started being silly in the pictures and doing bunny ears behind my head. I laughed, and I felt truly happy then. The five of us ran back laughing. I will never forget that moment. It is bone-chilling to look at those pictures every time I see them, yet they make me so happy. All those feelings and memories captured in one photo. After that, and my talks later at night with my teachers and chaperones, I wasn't suicidal anymore. I am forever grateful for the people who helped save my life. That is why I'm Golden (For the Golden Gate Bridge), Heart (for my strength and love), and I chose to say "of the sea" instead of "in the sea" for my survival. The power behind just some simple words can be so deep. And "a picture is worth a thousand words" as they say.
After that incident, it had a great impact on me and that is why I became a listener on 7cups!
-Sincerely,
GoldenHeartOfTheSea
@ GoldenHeartOfTheSea
What a delicate yet beautiful anecdote!
It is, indeed, an unfortunate experience to have overcome. Depression and suicide are concepts deeper than the depths of the sea, and once they have firmly grasped the last piece of motivation and sense of purpose, there is not much persuasion our frontal lobes can formulate to decide otherwise. However, if fortunate, as in your situation, it will take the slightest gesture of another, regardless of their familiarity, that would reiterate the notion that you have been breathing water all along.
I appreciate the time and fortitude you donated by sharing your story, it is quite the inspiration.
And, I am absolutely fond of the intricate origins of the name GoldenHeartOfTheSea
Golden: For the Golden Gate Bridge
Heart: For your strength and love
Of the sea: Symbolizing your existence despite suicidal motives
If that simple gesture from a foreign classmate prevented you from ending your well being, I can only imagine the impact an experienced survivor as yourself is bestowing upon others.
Again, much gratitude and respect your way, GoldenHeartOfTheSea.
I'm new here (obviously) and I joined for many reasons. The biggest being; my mom passed away almost exactly a year ago (tomorrow is the exact day) and ever since then stuffs been hard. My caretakers now aren't doing a very good job, and I'm still pretty shook from when my older brother abused me. I tried to talk to people in real life but they always said "oh, he's your brother, it's not abuse!" Or "you've only got 2 more years until you can move out, they can't be treating you that bad!" so I've joined this to get more support nshit.
@SleepySnuff I'm so sorry that happened to you. One of my family members (my older sister) was abused, too. It's a destructive thing, and you deserve to have people in your life reminding you that you are worth loving. I hope that you find some solace here, especially around the anniversary of your mom's death. I can relate to that. My dad passed away three years ago. The anniversary is like a tornado through my life.
Hi all... I'm here coz i need someone to talk to. I'm going thru a lot lately - pretty much all of these bad stuff -- depression, anxiety, worries, low self esteem and most especially loneliness. I was seeing someone and we had a falling out. Been trying to be positive but sometimes i get dragged in the hole again. I'm taking it one day at a time and hope to get back on my feet feeling happy again one day. One thing i dont wanna do is meds this is why i'm trying it here. There's always people to talk to and so far it's helped me keep busy and not think about stuff that will make me feel sad.
@gentlePal3257
I'm here for you. Feel free to message me any time!
@Laura So, I missed this, it looks like. I joined about 2 hours ago. Typical.
Hi. Trying this out. 22 year marriage was ended by a phone call and email. Now I have to figure out how to go on. My daughter is having to watch me cry constantly, her dad is barely in contact and I have no way to pay my bills.
Hi,
I am here because my stress and anxiety have kind of taken control of my life at the moment.
This semester in school kicked my ass mentally and I brought back some PTSD when I wrote about my abusive upbringing to my father hiring someone to murder us to taking care of my grandpa while he was in hospice and then watching him die.
Also coming to terms with the fact that both of my grandmother's have cancer. I'm always in some sort of physical pain and the doctors don't know what is wrong.
Sooooo, yeah. Hi, everyone!
@justducky0416
Hello, and welcome Justducky0416!
My, it sounds like you have been through quite a journey. You could have easily been the individual in the other side of the screen, asking for help, and yet, you chose to be an Active Listener! Incredible, I am confident that you have the potential to make an impact on the lives of many, especially those who suffer similar experiences. I look forwarxd to seeing you around the Threads Justducky0416
Well, you probably wonder how we got here...
Or not. Bu still, hi.
I'm just a troll, a joker and a "popular girl" (in a hermetic nerdy circle) that hides behind the mask every day.
I'm here because of the breakdown that lasts longer than ever. I'm too angsty to go to the therapy, I'm too introverted to talk to my friends.
I'll just probably volounteer as a listener, so I can help myself without speking about myself, but currently just digging around...