Like a lot of people, I found 7 Cups of Tea through Tumblr.

I've had a Tumblr page for years, a couple actually. Throughout the years I would search things like 'alone', 'sadness', 'depression', and 'anxiety'. I even looked through the 'thinspo' tags because I had heard that phrase mentioned and had no idea what it meant. Within the last year or so I started getting the "Are you okay?" message from Tumblr when I would search these certain tags. The first time I saw it I actually cried. Tumblr cared enough about everyone on their site to say 'hey, are you okay? do you need help? here's some info that might help you'. I had never experienced that on a website before. I had been part of LiveJournal for over tens years at that time and they never had anything like that, I know 7 Cups probably didn't exist that far back but it meant so much that a site I was on all the time cared enough to say something.

For a long time I just closed the window asking if I was okay and kept searching the tags that would have pictures or posts describing my feelings. I eventually was diagnosed with major depressive disorder, general anxiety disorder, and fibromyalgia. It was relieving to finally know that I wasn't just sad or dramatic or imagining the pain I constantly felt. But with the fibro diagnoses I fell back into a dark place again. I started searching the tags for pain and anxiety and that familiar message popped up again. This time I read it all word for word and click on the link for 7 Cups of Tea. I was linked to a listener named Aleezaand she helped me feel so much better about what was going on in my life. I've talked to other listeners when I needed it and it's been a life saver. Aleeza mentioned to me that I could feel better by helping others and volunteering. I decided to become a listener here and it's been so rewarding. I finaly feel like I'm making a difference and helping people. I'm glad I found this place and I'm glad for anyone that's helped me through a tough time. Everyone here that's here to help is just amazing and I wanna give you all far-away-high-fives.