Good mental health forum?

[Kotori]

Hi everyone, I used to lurk/post on the old boards and am very grateful for all the help I have always received from this site. I was about to post again, asking for some advice on how to better deal with a toxic relationship with a family member, but I thought maybe I should avoid hoarding resources here seeing how I am now well above 25 ( ). Can anyone recommend a message board that deals with relationships and mental health, and that is run/moderated by mental health professionals? There's quite a few out there from what I've seen so maybe someone can recommend a specific community? Thanks for any input

[Sam W]

Hi Kotori,

Good to see you again! A resource that looks promising is called 7cups (the website is here: http://www.7cups.com/ ). It has options to talk to different types of staff, as well as options to do group chat rooms. If I think of others, I will post them here!

[Heather]

It's really nice to see you again, by the way, Kotori.

And if you'd like to use our services as well as others, know that it's okay. With adolescence effectively expanding for many people over the last few years, we've gone ahead and expanded our service base to include people through their twenties, but I certainly appreciate your thoughtfulness!

[Kotori]

Thanks Sam! I'll definitely check 7cups out And Heather, if you are okay with it then I might open a post explaining my situation - I am going to get back into therapy soon as well (moved back to Europe so I had to stop my therapy in the US), but I can't start until a couple of weeks from now and would be grateful to hear any sort of feedback in the meantime.

[Sam W]

Hi Kotori,

You're welcome! For your situation right now, I want to add that one thing that might help in the interim (if you haven't tried something like it already) is to develop a plan for how to do self-care and get support. That plan could include strategies and techniques that you and your previous therapist discussed that you've found work for you (some people even write them down, in case their jerkbrain makes it hard to remember them in moments of need). I would also include some things you find calming or pleasant (coloring, exercise, playing with a pet, cooking, etc). That way, if you have a rough mental health day, you have some things to draw from.

[Kotori]

Thanks Sam. I am trying to take care of myself using strategies I learned during therapy. I find mindful meditation the best way to center myself in a crisis and am a big fan of it Talking to someone about it (someone who is willing to hear me out and understand and support), however, is what helps me the most. So since my support network in "real life" is very small, that's why I am looking for a forum full of kind people. I have tried 7cups and the atmosphere is great, although I haven't been able to find a qualified therapist or counselor offering support there, so I'll keep looking for that as well.

(Also, quick offtopic question, is there any way my old account and new account can be merged? So I can look for my old posts and such)

[Heather]

When we had to upgrade the boards around two years ago, the old one was so old that we couldn't migrate accounts or any other data over, which is why it only exists now as a locked arvice, linked at the top of the current UBB.