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Hello, everyone!
As you might be aware, there are some on-going forum changes [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SiteUpdates_100/CommunityInformation_742/ForumRestructuringUpdateCommunityPagesLiveNow_287090/] taking place. You can use this thread to provide any feedback, suggestions on forum [https://www.7cups.com/home/] functionality (functions, features, utility, any technical aspects only) or bugs that you encounter.
This is mainly being done to help keep things organized as it can be hard to gather it from various places/people and ease up the process for everyone to pass on feedback further to the 7 Cups team.
We encourage everyone to use this thread for its purpose anytime and use it for only that. Kindly review this post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SiteUpdates_100/Feedback_37/NewCommunityFeedbackProcess_264411/] for any other feedback/behavior reports that don't involve forum functionality.
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Dear Community,
H just pinged me to let me know the community update is due! I was like woah, wait, we are already through January?! Time is flying by. I hope you all are off to a strong start in 2023!
As you can see below, we’ve been working hard on a number of fronts! I wanted to highlight a couple of features that we have rolled out in case you missed them. The first is a journaling feature. If you go to your path and scroll down you’ll see a prompt. This is only visible to you. This includes all your activity on the site, test scores, and any journal entries you make. We will be starting a program where we do a line a day in the journal feature. My daughters use the one second a day video app so this will have a similar feel. You’ll eventually be able to see all the lines together and then easily look for themes as well. I think this will be both insightful and fun!
Another one is updated open search on the forum. This search capability is a significant upgrade over our old search. You can find threads that we were previously not able to surface. Try it out when you get a chance and let me know what you think!
Last, I want to thank everyone for the thoughtful feedback on The River post [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SiteUpdates_100/GlensNookCommunity_547/TheRiver_296728/?p=3]. I enjoyed the conversation with you all! As always, thank you for looking out for those that are struggling and helping us all lift one another up!
Best,
Glen
Heather (H)
As you know, our community is our focus, and the most important thing is serving our community. You are the community. You are what 7 Cups is made of, and we want the decisions we make to be made together. We want to continue to do great things with you by involving you, as contributors and leaders, and collaborating to keep driving the 7 Cups mission
Every quarter we run a survey to gather information on quality, morale, and overall satisfaction, and identify improvement opportunities. We received 71 responses, and lots of good constructive feedback. Some of the things we’ll be addressing include improving communication regarding rollouts and changes, and cross-collaborative communication across teams, faster rate of badging and cheers awarding, and working on tightly organizing a table of contents that showcases all of our leadership roles, as well as suggestions for the listener community and quality advancement.
In the meantime, I’ll be sharing some of the positive feedback from this survey for you all to enjoy and as reminders of how wonderful you all are. Stay tuned for that to be dropped later in the week right here in this subcommunity [https://www.7cups.com/home/siteupdates/]!
This month in our Leadership Spotlight series we highlighted: Star001 [https://www.7cups.com/forum/ProjectsEvents_184/LeadershipSpotlight_2282/LeadershipSpotlightStar001_297255/] and amiableVision1813 [https://www.7cups.com/forum/CommunityProjectsEvents_184/LeadershipSpotlight_2282/LeadershipSpotlightAmiableVision1813_296811/]
We’re always looking to recognize the talent in our community! If you know someone who demonstrates great leadership qualities, please nominate them! [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHVHsSPon2gUT04Kud-FzM2C0Davv7wanaI60ve-B16z4hiQ/viewform]
Laiba (Hope)
Since the last update, the Academy has been focusing on improving leadership training. We now have form based mentor training for Internship and QLP, we also updated our internal mentor documents such as the mentor guides for the programs above. We have also been reaching out 1-1 to let experienced listeners who meet role requirements, know of the academy mentor role. If interested, you can apply here! [https://www.7cups.com/forum/ListenerLearningJourney_149/ListenerResources_61/Applytobecomea7CupsAcademyMentor_243570/1/#2635020]
7 Cups Academy celebrated 3 whole years! That means we have marked three years of supporting our community’s listeners and members in improving their personal and professional skills. What a journey it has been. Do join us in the celebrations here. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/BuildingCommunityProgram_208/AnnouncementsandUpdates_2197/7CupsAcademyTurns2_296575/]
Obs
On the Group Support front, we opened Depression Support Group Chat (Adult side) [https://www.7cups.com/forum/DepressionSupport_52/WelcomesIntroductions_1357/UpdateDepressionSupportGroupChat_295863/] to bring more support and compassion for the community members. You are not alone in the journey towards healing.
In the Teen Community news, we updated Teen Take Over schedule [https://www.7cups.com/forum/TeenOnlyZone_123/TeenZoneCommunityTeam_590/UpdateTeenTakeOverSessions_296775/] to every Monday at 8.00 p.m. Eastern time and scheduled topics for discussions as per discussion with the teen community.
Also, we optimized the Listener Community Discussions process and made it easier for a listener to become a discussion leader /host to lead uplifting and learning discussions. If you are interested in trying, please check the application here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/ListenerLearningJourney_149/ListenerLearningDiscussions_1896/JoinListenerCommunityDiscussionsTeam_296388/].
SoulfullyAButterfly
We started off the New Year with an amazing compilation of the community’s reflections of the past year and what words we will hold on to during 2023 - see the community’s 3rd word “cup” results here [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SiteUpdatesInformationFortheCommunity_100/SoulfullyAButterflysContentGarden_2136/2022and2023WordCloudActivityResults_295040/]! Our dominant word for this year is “growth” and I am excited for us to have started this year with great progress made.
Season 2.5 of Huddles is still ongoing with different prompts posted into these group chat rooms 2-3 times a week. We have gained a lot of insight and are looking forward to announce the next season of Huddles soon.
Our dev and product teams have worked hard on chat feature upgrades which will be launched soon. Alongside the efforts in forum restructuring involving the grouping of current topics present in some communities in collaboration with community leaders, we have planned to launch two new communities soon - stay tuned for launch information for the Women’s Issues and Work and Career community spaces early in February.
In the content world, the Content Development and Marketing Program has marked 2 years [https://www.7cups.com/forum/ContentVolunteerTeam_198/CDMAnnouncementsandUpdates_2194/Celebrating2YearsoftheContentDevelopmentandMarketingCDMProgram_296449/]since its launch as a 7 Cups Academy Program. We have had 78 graduates and our mentors and leadership teams are looking forward to supporting these graduates and prospective trainees. To help facilitate content production, @Clarisse29 has stepped up and has been training to be an editor. Last but not least, Team Lightship continues to active mental health awareness and support. You can learn more by viewing January’s community event here. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/CommunityProjectsEvents_184/SocialMediaOutreachTeamLightship_1619/JanuaryCommunityEvent_296579/]
EvelyneRose
We've seen a great deal of increases in quality from our teams. Anonymous Evaluations will be putting out a monthly forum post detailing educational skill based guides that will cover common quality points. The AL Tests are being passed with increasing numbers, as well as grading tests weekly. We are also reviewing Quality Mentor applications weekly. Safety Patrol is currently reformatting to match the current needs of the site. Listener Coaching and Care Team continue to provide compassionate support and skills coaching for the listener community.
CheeryMango
Thank you to everyone who has played a part in making our communities active and supportive. We’ve seen a boost in forum engagement for numerous communities and hope this continues to grown
All forum supporters, community mentor and community mentor leaders are asked to fill out the Subcommunity Leadership Check-In Form [https://docs.google.com/forms/u/2/d/1IiVSq3OubFdfQ1nkI8ZHCy_QXABHXyyz55JKRRAEu50/viewform?usp=mail_response_notification&edit_requested=true] for the month of January so we can keep updated on what’s going on in your team and roles and see how we can offer our assistance.
We are looking to expand our Leadership team and welcome all those who are interested in helping out with processing applications, helping communities with engagement or hosting events to apply HERE [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeyv6kc1dwwoSifUXYWtqE6mSGva8iQe6t23F74hlhLrCN1rQ/viewform]. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.
Thank you always for your continued support in the subcommunities!
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I put this feedback elsewhere but I'm not sure who writes or edits the Crisis Page. It needs to be updated. The suicide line in USA is now 988 and has been since July 2022. Please, someone update this. The original number will go to 988 automatically but one of the purposes of changing it was to make it easier for people in crisis to dial in. I think our crisis information should be up to date.
Linking the page referenced.
If anyone feels too stressed or too much in crisis to read or understand the guidelines, please go to the crisis page https://help.7cups.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026242193-Crisis-Resources [https://help.7cups.com/hc/en-us/articles/360026242193-Crisis-Resources]
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Thank you for being a leader on 7 Cups!
Community leaders are a significant part of our community. In stepping into a leadership role with 7 Cups, you have agreed that you align with our values and wish to uphold our mission. You have the ability to inform and influence our community members. So, it is important to lead by example and be a role model to inspire others to aspire to be someone like you to extend the support to others.
In addition to the community guidelines, rules, and policies [https://www.7cups.com/about/communityGuidelines.php] currently in place, we are including a list of reminders, as well as one new rule.
➡ As a community leader, you may be provided with confidential information to perform your work on a team or a project. Use this knowledge for its intended purpose only. In other words, please do not abuse your privileges. We trust you to be responsible and maintain confidentiality.
➡. Refrain from engaging in triangulation. This is a very common mistake people make without even realizing it's happening. Triangulation manifests itself in our community as one person who will not communicate directly with another person, and instead use a third person to relay communication to the second, thus forming a triangle. Triangulation is damaging because it interferes with healthy conflict-resolution and lends itself to rumor spreading by taking a private situation between two users and exposing it to more people. Read more about this and take the Triangulation Pledge. [https://www.7cups.com/forum/ListenerCommunityampSiteUpdates_38/LaurasOffice_169/WhatisTriangulation3StepstoAvoidingStoppingitfromhappeninginthecommunity_35107/1/]
➡. Community leaders must maintain strong boundaries. Being a role model, and a trustworthy and reliable leader, users may become dependent on you. To nurture healthy relationships with the community, it's imperative that you set boundaries for yourself and respect those of others.
➡. Community leaders accept feedback gracefully. Getting feedback can be hard to hear, especially if it's more of a constructive criticism than a praise. Leaders should be able to accept feedback gracefully if given constructively. We all are human and all have things to work on and grow.
➡ Please honor and follow our social media policies (i.e. no off-site contact with community members). 7 Cups is a safe environment for you to build and create connections. We love that you are building supportive relationships with each other and enjoy connecting! In order to preserve this safe space, we ask you not to solicit off-site contact. Also bear in mind, once you take interactions off 7 Cups, we are unable to assist you in the event something happens outside of our site.
➡ Reporting is our responsibility. You are the eyes of our community. We have several ways to report incidents that cover all areas of the site, and we rely on you to direct users to those channels. We also rely on you to use them as well. As the slogan goes: if you see something, say something.
➡ We respect your right to use whatever sites you'd like. However, since we launched, we have discovered that some of our leaders have also been working with non-crisis sites that are similar to 7 Cups. We are all for competition, but we want the intention behind it to be solving broader emotional health challenges. We don't want the competition to be a negative interaction between companies. To protect our community and its ongoing progress, we ask that if you would like to pursue leadership with us that you do not affiliate yourself in leadership positions with non-crisis sites similar to 7 Cups.
(When I say similar sites, I am referring to any site that offers the same services as us. This would not include therapists, AA, NAMI, and assistance programs that share our broad goal to provide support in the healthcare industry but are not set up to operate like we do. They all offer different components that work in tandem with us.)
Leaders: please reply below if you have read and understood these rules!
If you have any questions, you may PM anyone on the community team (@Hope, @ASilentObserver, myself).
[edited for clarity]
Last post
2 days ago
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Georgia Institute of Technology is conducting a research study to understand how people use and perceive different types of communication with the help of technology when providing support to others. First, you will be asked some general questions about your experience with conversations on 7 Cups. Then, we will ask you to help us design a tool by answering a few questions on a worksheet that will be given to you. Lastly, we will ask a few questions about your tool and how it can help with peer-to-peer counseling.
To participate in this interview, you must:
*
Be a current listener on 7 Cups who has had a conversation with a member in the past week
*
Be 18 years old or older
*
Be located in the U.S.
Listeners of all experience levels who meet the above criteria, including Mentors, Mentor Leaders, or Ambassadors are encouraged to apply if interested.
The study will take approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour to complete and you will be compensated with a $20 Amazon gift card for your participation.
Note that while the researchers will reach out to accepted listeners via email and have a 1:1 with them for the interview, all personal information will be private and kept separate from 7 Cups. This data will be kept confidential and not used for any other purpose by the researchers as well.
If you are interested in participating in this research, please fill out this interest form [https://forms.gle/NXZ4BJZtHNKvK6uW9]. We will reach out to you if you are a fit for the study.
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Hi everyone,
We have kept our tradition of creating word "Cups" or clouds [https://www.7cups.com/forum/SiteUpdates_100/SoulfullyAButterflysContentGarden_2136/2022and2023HelpUsCreateaCupCloud_293650/] for the previous year and the New Year for the 3rd year now! I am very excited to share our resulting cups with all of you.
For 2022, our dominant community word is Perseverance!
For 2023, our dominant word is Growth!
Here's to another great year with personal as well as community growth!
Feel welcome to share your reflections in the replies to this post.

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We are going down the river of life in our kayak. At the start, it may feel unnatural or a little clumsy. Maybe we lose our paddle or get stuck on rocks, but with more experience we gradually learn to read the water.
With a little more experience we can begin to feel the current pulling us. Sometimes we might not want to follow the current. Instead, we might have our eye on a beautiful spot across the water on the side of a river bank. Many of us will work really hard to cross the river to get to that spot. It will require a lot of extra paddling because we are going against the current.
One sad, but instructive experience happens when you finally make it to that hoped for spot and realize it is not as good as you had imagined. You were sure it was going to be beautiful, but somehow it fell short of that beauty. This is frustrating because it took so much energy to get there.
Some of us are stubborn, slow to learn, or both, and we have to make this same mistake many, many, many times.
Eventually, however, we too learn how to read the water and follow the current. Sometimes the current leads us right past the spots we wanted to go and then surprises us around the bend with a far better spot. These are great situations. Oddly, even though we shouldn't, we often give ourselves credit for finding the new spot, when most of the credit should go to the current. Still, these are great times and should be deeply enjoyed because they do not happen all the time.
Other times the current can lead us down more treacherous waters with rocks, eddies, and sticks that can be tough to navigate. Sometimes we lose a paddle, flip the kayak and get wet. In particularly tough times, we may even get injured. We don’t usually take “credit” for our role in these situations and instead happily blame the current.
Why do these more challenging times happen?
I believe they happen so that we can learn. Nobody wants to feel the anxiety, difficulties, and sometimes pain that happens during these times, but these are indeed the times that teach us the most skill. We don’t learn to become master kayakers when the river is smooth. We learn how to be master kayakers on the rapids. Adversity challenges us to overcome.
So, what is the right approach?
The approach is one that goes against our natural impulses. It can sometimes feel like it goes against everything that is within us, especially when it is painful and not what we had hoped for. The stoics were master kayakers and they have a statement, “the problem is the path.” They encourage us to steer into the challenges and to trust the current. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy [https://www.7cups.com/act-therapy-techniques/] (ACT) encourages us to see the challenge as an opportunity to learn to solve a problem that we’ve been ignoring. These are wise words.
Abraham Maslow, another master kayaker, tells us to go further. He instructs us to see the challenges as a gift, to embrace them like we would a friend, to listen deeply and carefully to what they are telling us, to listen to their whispers. He encourages us to see the challenges as ends in and of themselves; and warns us not to look past them as a means to an end. He wants us to see and appreciate them for what they are – independent, difficult, and beautiful experiences.
The river of life brings us smooth, deep, and troubled waters. Thankfully we do not paddle alone. We find other kayakers on the water that also teach us lessons. Most of the lessons come down to following the current rather than insisting on our own plans. This key lesson is a lifetime lesson.
Reflection question: We have all gone through challenging times, or rough rapids, and overcome them in the past. What would you tell a friend going through difficult waters now?
I’m thankful that I have found all of you on the river. Thank you for paddling alongside me 🙏✨❤️.
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I was trying to reply to a thread and I used the Video button to add a YouTube video.
But I got the message:
Uh oh! An error was encountered saving your post. (Code 065)
But when I posted the same reply using a Link to the video instead, no error.
Any insights would be appreciated. Thank you!
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[ Content Warning for discussion revolving around the theme of death. ]
Hello Community! I hope all is well. It is starting to warm up here...finally! We are at the start of doing more deliberate work on flourishing [https://www.7cups.com/path/playlist/finding-happiness-through-well-being-a-positive-psychology-path/]. Part of this includes finding your purpose, calling, or sense of meaning in life. This can sometimes be hard to do. I've done the following exercise with hundreds of people and more recently with our team and in the Academy [http://7cups.com/academy]. People tend to find it helpful in putting words to something that can be a bit challenging to capture. If you try it, then please let me know what you think in the comments. Feel free, if comfortable, to share your results as well. Or other exercises that are similar in helping you reflect on your life's purpose. ---
Exercise
Imagine you wake up one morning. You feel rested. The birds are singing. It is a beautiful fall day. The sun is shining and there a few clouds in the sky. You get dressed, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and decide to head out for a weekend drive. The trees are starting to turn. You can see the different shades of yellow and red.
You get to one beautiful tree lined street, like a canopy overhead, and you notice that many of your friends and family members are parked. They are dressed up and they are heading into a building with two white doors. You get curious so you pull over and park your car. You are dressed casually, but you decide to go in and see what is going on anyways. You climb the stairs and walk up the sidewalk. You call out to a few of your friends with a warm ‘hello’, but they do not respond. Strange. It seems like they are ignoring you.
You open the door and there is a long hallway. Nice thick carpet. The lights are dim. You walk down the hallway to a big room and follow all of your family and friends in. It is a very nice room. Kind of formal. People look sad. You attempt to make eye contact, but, again, nobody will look at you.
There is a big central aisle that divides the room. You decide to walk down it. As you are walking down it, you see that there is a lectern and three very special people seated at the front. You know these people. These are the people you are closest to. This is starting to get odd.
You also notice that there is a casket. You walk over to the casket and are taken aback. You were not expecting this. The person in the casket is...you. You are at your own funeral. It is the end of your life. You are much older than you are now.
No wonder nobody can see you. You are dead. You grab a chair, get comfortable, and begin to listen as each of the people seated at the front get up to say something about you.
Instructions:
Get a pen and a piece of paper or open up a doc. Write down what each of these people say about you. Just write what you want them to say. Don’t judge it or get lost in whether or not it is accurate or will be accurate. The important thing is to write it down.
If you are married, or envision yourself in a long-term relationship, then imagine one of these people as your spouse or long-term partner. What do you want this person to say at the end of your life?
If you have children, or envision yourself with children, then imagine the second person as your grown child. What do they say about you?
If you have a long-term friend, or envision yourself with a long-term friend, then imagine the third person as that long-term friend. This can be someone that you’d think of as a best friend. What do they tell others about you?
Finally, if you have a co-worker that you are close to, or someone you volunteer with, then imagine what this person says about you.
After you’ve written it down, condense what each person has said into 3 simple sentences. If you have 3 people, then you should have 9 sentences. If 4 people speak at your funeral, then you should have 12 sentences.
Remember, this is the end of your life - whenever you imagine yourself dying. I think I’ll die when I’m like 85, so I imagine myself as 85 in this exercise.
Interpretation:
This exercise is designed to help you identify what you think is most important in life. These are your true values. If you were to live your life in a manner that reflected these values, then you would be a happy person and you would feel like your life was well lived. If, on the other hand, you live your life in a manner that is inconsistent with these values, then you will more than likely be an unhappy person and will feel like you did not live a meaningful life.
Whenever we take on a project, it is is very smart to do what Stephen Covey recommends and “begin with the end in mind.” If you identify what you want the end to look like, then you can arrange your steps to make sure you get there. Your life is no different. Right now you are at Point A in life. This funeral exercise shows you Point B. You have to live in a manner so that your path connects Point A to Point B.
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Hello Community Leaders,
I hope you are all well. As you may have noticed or heard that certain leadership badges have auto-removed lately. I believe some have been affected and some of them are not. But. please know we haven't removed any badge unless it is auto-removed due to not meeting the monthly requirement to maintain the badge.
If you have lost one or more than one badge this month, please let us know through this form so we can able to reassign them to you: ⏩ Rebadge Form [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1mGcf_HWH0lmV6Dg9fy8TO2dE3PpGn6giAg0xgf1eGjk/viewform?edit_requested=true]
Note: As the month is about to end and a new month going to start, if you haven't met the goal to maintain your badges for this month yet, please take some time to work towards it. We appreciate your hard work and tireless efforts to support the community. Thank you for your patience and support.
Welcome to 7 Cups HQ. This is where all news and updates will be posted by staff and ambassadors, subscribe to stay in the loop!
Community Leaders
Community Mentor Leader
Community Resources
Self Help Guides https://www.7cups.com/supportGuides/selfHelpGuides.php
Feeling stressed? Visit our mindfulness resource center https://www.7cups.com/forum/MindfulnessSupportCommunity_106/ResourceLibrary_1062/
How about joining a discussion about what you find most challenging? Schedule is here: https://www.7cups.com/home/communityCalendar.php
Group Support Chatrooms https://www.7cups.com/connect/groupChatrooms.php
Forums with info on many areas you may be looking for https://www.7cups.com/forum/
Looking for an online therapist? 7cups offers this now, see here: https://www.7cups.com/online-therapy/?ob=1