what are we doing to support ourselves?

When you want support through something scary or rough, and help pulling yourself together and getting through, this is the place.
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We ask that users looking for general, ongoing emotional support post in this area of the boards, and that you use this space to both ask for, give and receive that support primarily from each other, rather than from our staff and volunteers. As a staff, we simply are often too overextended with all we need to do in running the organization and its services to do that for extended periods of time, and one of our main aims of our community at the boards has always been to facilitate peers to better be there for each other.

Users often report that they have no in-person peers they can talk to or seek support from: we want this to be a space for online peer support and somewhere everyone can get some practice asking for, getting and giving support so that doing it with people in your lives feels more doable.

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darkingbog
not a newbie
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Jan 10, 2026 11:58 pm
Age: 17
Awesomeness Quotient: my open mindedness & showing up for others 8~)
Primary language: English
Pronouns: your own pronouns
Sexual identity: emerging, queer(?), just myself
Location: western washington/seattle metropolitan area

what are we doing to support ourselves?

Unread post by darkingbog »

hi all, i hope wherever you are the weather is treating you nicely and that your day/afternoon/evening has some peace.
i wanted to open a thread and invite you to share ways that you support yourself or others. scarleteen talks a lot about the best partner you can have is actually yourself-- how are we practicing this? is there things you do in your free time that make you feel "a little more like yourself?" therapy helps for sure, but lately i'm exploring more non-institutional forms of taking and giving care, and i'm curious about other's outlets. art? talking to friends? please share! in checking in with myself, i've realized that my self-care list could be longer, so i wanted to ask all you young people what you do to "stay sane" (or ride out difficult feelings) lately. :?:

-darkingbog
kindness rules, actually !? :roll:
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Heather
scarleteen founder & director
Posts: 10833
Joined: Sun Jul 27, 2014 1:43 pm
Age: 56
Awesomeness Quotient: I have been a sex educator for nearly 30 years!
Primary language: english
Pronouns: they/them
Sexual identity: queery-queer-queer
Location: Chicago

Re: what are we doing to support ourselves?

Unread post by Heather »

I love this topic, darkingbog! Thanks for posting it.

I agree, therapy is a biggie for me, too, and always has been. Making music, textile art and feathering my nest tend to be my best creative outlets, and getting outside is a huge one for me, always has been. Talking to friends: absolutely.

In terms of giving support, I feel like I have been hearing people say they want to be supportive of others a lot without actually doing it, and I think one of the biggest ways to do that is just by listening to who we want to support, and only offering feedback or advice when they ask for it. I also like to provide care and support for people in my life by cooking for them, offering to help with things that are challenging for them (like, I just helped clean my bestie's place a couple weeks ago), getting *them* outside if they need help, and introducing friends to each other who I think would be good mutual supports.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead
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