InvaderStitch Listener Profile

InvaderStitch

187,966

L Virtuoso 2

Rating

Number of ratings153 Number of reviews55 Listens toTeens & Over 18 LanguagesEnglish Listener sinceMay 5, 2014 Last activeover 6 months ago GenderFemale PathStep 487 People helped281 Chats1,587 Group support chats347 Listener group chats1,312 Forum posts1,267 Forum upvotes2,867

Bio

Hello! I know that talking to a stranger for emotional support can be a bit scary at first, so let me tell you a little bit about myself!

I have been a listener on 7cups off and on since 2014. I enjoy listening because it allows me to tap into my strengths of compassion and empathy to help other people get through difficult moments. I have a lot of life experiences that have allowed me to help many people on 7cups since I joined over 8 years ago! I enjoy being a support for someone in difficult moments, but also enjoy celebrating the good moments and successes with people as well!

I am comfortable with most topics and if there is a topic I am not familiar with or am not comfortable I will let you know so that you can find someone who can provide the best support you deserve! I do have personal experience (either myself or someone I know) when it comes to the following topics:

Dissociative Identity Disorder
Complex PTSD (CPTSD)
Borderline Personality Disorder
Spirituality (separate from religious beliefs)
Addiction/Substance Use
ADHD
Depression
Anxiety (Social Anxiety, Generalized Anxiety, Panic Attacks, and Anxiety Attacks)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Self-harming
Domestic Violence
Managing emotions
Recovery
General Mental Health

The main topics I'm not very comfortable or familiar with that 7cups offers support around are:

relationship stress
breakups
men's issues
sexual health

If the topic you are needing to discuss is one of these listed in red, I may not be the best listener for you, and that's okay, there area many other listeners more experienced with those topics ready and willing to chat!

I am not online as frequently as I used to be so if you are looking for a consistent, frequent listener I am not able to commit to that at this time due to commitments in my personal life.

Thank you for understanding!

Recent forum posts

The Connection Between Social Anxiety and PTSD

Trauma Support / by InvaderStitch

February 28th

...See more Today I was sitting at work DREADING making a phone call I needed to make and it just made me realize how much my social anxiety really paralyzes me. It also made me curious about how often Social Anxiety and PTSD are related to one another. The Connection According the the article I found on psych central [https://psychcentral.com/ptsd/childhood-trauma-social-anxiety]only about 3.2-16% of individuals with social anxiety have a PTSD diagnosis, however almost half of people diagnosed with PTSD also have social anxiety disorder. This suggests that for SOME people, social anxiety may be related to social trauma. While there is debate over whether or not social trauma meets the criteria for PTSD, it does seem to create some of the same symptoms such as flashbacks, avoidance, distorted thoughts, or changes in reactivity. If you’re experiencing these symptoms because of a social trauma, your experience is completely valid (and not uncommon). Social anxiety presents itself in an individual when they experience a large amount of stress in social situations including a fear of being judged or humiliated. It can also be accompanied by physical symptoms such as a racing heart, interfere with ability to speak or interact with others, it may also make going to work or school feel impossible. Sometimes social anxiety feels pretty debilitating. Having social anxiety makes you more prone to experiencing social trauma and developing PTSD symptoms related to the trauma because of increased sensitivity and stress in social situations. A study in 2020 that looked at the prevalence of PTSD in individuals with Social Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and a control group without a diagnosis of Social Anxiety or OCD. What they found is that ⅓ of individuals with social anxiety experienced had PTSD whereas the prevalence of PTSD in the control group and OCD group was not significant. This research suggests a correlation between Social Anxiety and some sort of trauma. Treatments The good news is that there are professional treatments that can help you manage social anxiety disorder and PTSD. The article recommends * Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) * Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) * Prolonged Exposure (PE) * Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) * Internal Family Systems (IFS) Some treatments that have been shown effective for social anxiety, but not specifcially trauma include: * Interpersonal Therapy * Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) * Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) * Psychodynamic Therapy There are also some classes of medications that help with social anxiety that you can talk to a healthcare professsional about if therapy alone isn’t helping. Tips to try on your own Some tips for in the moment that help with both PTSD and social anxiety are: * Name the feeling: If you’re able to name what your experiencing and recognize it as a response to a trigger, the feelings tend to pass more quickly. * Breathe: Focusing on your breathing and slowing down and deepening your breaths is a proven way to calm the nervous system which will reduce the symptoms you are experiencing in the moment. * Connecting to your surroundings: shifting our attention to your senses can help you get out of your head and have a calming effect. If you’re paying attention to your senses it’s a lot harder to pay attention to your thoughts. * Distraction: Some people use humor to distract from the discomfort. Other ideas include calming music or simple activities that take your mind of the anxious feelings. Discussion Questions What are your thoughts on Social Anxiety and PTSD? Does Social Anxiety interfere with important aspects of your life? What is your experience with social anxiety? Do you think your social anxiety and PTSD are interconnected? What are some tips you have that might help those of us struggling with social anxiety manage our symptoms? Any other thoughts about the information?

Let's Talk about Self-Compassion

Trauma Support / by InvaderStitch

April 6th, 2023

...See more How Self-Compassion has Transformed my Healing Journey During my years in and out of residential, inpatient, partial hospital programs, intensive outpatient programs, and various group therapy sessions, there have been a few things that have really made a difference in my life, that have allowed me to start to heal and break the never ending cycle of going in and out of treatment. I still see a therapist and psychiatrist to monitor my mental health, but I am on the longest stretch of being out higher levels of treatment than I’ve ever been. One of the things I think highly contributed to this was learning to have self-compassion. What is Self-Compassion? According to Cambridge dictionary, compassion is defined as: “feeling or showing sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of others, and wanting to help them.” For many people it is easy to look at another person in a similar situation to ours and extend compassion, but when we see our own situation we blame and shame ourselves. Self-compassion is the opposite of blaming and shaming ourselves. It’s offering ourselves the same kindness, empathy, and understanding we would provide another human being. Self-compassion is an act of genuinely caring about yourself as a human being. 3 Elements of Self-Compassion Kristen Neff is a researcher whose entire career is dedicated to studying self-compassion. Her TEDTalk is what really changed the way I view self-compassion for myself and hope maybe it can make a difference for you also. On her website she talks about 3 elements of self-compassion they are self-kindness vs self-judgement, common humanity vs isolation, and mindfulness vs over-identification. What do these mean? Let’s dive in a bit more. Self-kindness vs Judgement Self-kindness refers to being warm and understanding of our shortcomings, whether we failed at something, are suffering in some way or feel inadequate. When we meet these shortcomings with self-criticism we don’t do ourselves any favors. When has harsh criticism ever motivated you to do better? Criticism is more likely than not to leave us feeling defeated and stuck in our situation. Rather, when we meet the shortcomings with compassion, we can look at our experiences with a sense of curiosity and we have the opportunity to learn and grow. Common Humanity vs Isolation Common humanity just means recognizing that we are human just like everyone else. That just as we don’t expect others to be perfect, expecting ourselves to be perfect would be expecting ourselves to be superhuman, which can be isolating because no one is superhuman. Neff says “self-compassion involves recognizing that suffering and personal inadequacy is part of the shared human experience–something that we all go through rather than being something that happens to ‘me’ alone.” Mindfulness vs Overidentifying In order to practice self-compassion, having a balanced approach to negative emotions and feelings is incredibly important. We don’t want to suppress nor exaggerate our feelings, but allow them to exist in a way that is balanced and honoring that they exist for a reason. Mindfulness of our experiences allows ourselves to experience our emotions and current state in a way that is non-judgmental so that we can observe our negative thoughts with openness and clarity. Mindfulness helps prevent us from over-identifying with our negative feelings, so that we are not swept away in negative reactivity!” What does self-compassion have to do with trauma? Many times people with trauma in their history struggle with self-compassion. We often believe that we are defective or that we don’t deserve compassion even from ourselves, usually because we have not been treated with compassion for much of at least a portion of our lives. Sometimes for trauma survivors, the idea of self-compassion can be so overwhelming and triggering because it goes against everything you’ve ever known. The reason I am so convinced that self-compassion changed my life is because the moment I realized that I didn’t deserve all of the bad stuff that happened to me, I actually started fighting for a better life for myself. I’m still not where I want to be, but I’m fighting for myself in ways I never have before. I set boundaries with people that aren’t good for me, I don’t allow people to make me feel inadequate or inferior because I realize that I’m human, just like everyone else, and the things I used to think and believe about myself I would NEVER say to another human, so why should I say them to myself. Click this link to access the TedTalk [https://youtu.be/IvtZBUSplr4] that introduced me to the understanding of self-compassion I have now What are your thoughts on self-compassion? Do you see ways in your life you could practice self-compassion? Perhaps you are a self-compassion pro and can share some tips with the rest of us who would like to learn to be more compassionate toward ourselves.

InvaderStitch's Appreciation Corner

Group Leadership & Development / by InvaderStitch

February 7th, 2021

Search more from @InvaderStitch

Feedback & Reviews

by far, the best conversation i’ve ever had with a listener. they were respectful, they were kind, and they were empathetic. amazing person in this world. couldn’t be more grateful. thank you. :)

She asks good questions

Lovely personal very kind great listener

so kind and wise, thank you so much

Thank you for listening

A great and compassionate listener ❤️

It feels nice to talk to someone who really understands and makes good suggestions

Pretty normal and decent person, not sure what more you can really want. Also willing to try learn about things they don't understand for you. Just 10/10 great person to talk with.

The Listener pretty quickly understood what I'm talking about. I could really connect to them and it felt good that someone understands me.

I have not talked with Stitch for a long time. I am glad she said hi tonight and that we could catch up a little. I find it helpful how Stitch points things out to me. Like, things about me or how things are different since we spoke last. It can be hard for me to see change in myself so it is helpful for me when others notice and point it out to me (positive things or not-so-good things - both can be helpful). Thank you, Stitch!

very beautiful soul and reasonable, real, honest, warm, helpful

Really kind and supportive - was nervouse at first but they really made me feel at ease comfortable and heard. Was made to feel cared about and human and they really took the time to get to know me as a person. Thankyou so so much! Cannot wait to reconnect!

Stitchy is one of the most amazing listeners in here, she’s super patient and will be with you no matter what. She has an incredible heart and will listen, support you and validate all of your feelings. She’s one of a kind and I really appreciate all of her help I can be who I am without fear of being judged

I love her because she understands me and has a huge kind heart, and helps me. Thank you Stitchy!

Lovely and kind and super understanding listener. She really gets me, and I feel more relaxed and connected after speaking with her. Thank you so much Stitch!

Thank you Sitch for your empathy and understanding :-) So nice to speak with you. Take care

Very lovely person

She was very prompt and empathetic

Love you Stitchy! Thank you for your help when I was stressed. It made a big difference. Thanks so much!

Thank you Stitch. I enjoy a lot speaking with you, and I feel I you can relate to me so well. Thank you for being generous in using your time to chat with me. And thank you for validating my emotions. Take care

Thank you, so much! It's a lovely feeling talking to you, no judgement, strong compassion - you made me feel heard and understood. Amazing person and listener ♥

She can really relate to what I am going through. She understands and she truly cares, much more than the mental health team I am with. Thank you so much Stitch!

THANK YOU Stitch! Chatting with you was very calming, I felt understood and I felt you related a lot to what I've been going through. You're a kind person.

great listener 10/10 on the full skill set , makes you calmer

good

Talking to Stitch was so natural and easy. She made it simple to just....well spill all my emotions and feelings out. Even when I'm all worked up, her calmness seems to just seep from the screen. Stitch made me feel comfortable and at ease in my situation.

She's the best thing ever

He really responded fast! and hes very nice and calm. im not afraid of him at all and he knows just how to talk to me. he is helpful and we are getting along nice ly. im glad we met and are talking. i am continuing to converse with him to see where it will takke us in sponsorville...

Very caring listener

Such a wonderful soul. Really genuine and took the time to hear me out as I even jumped around a lot. Definitely would love to talk to then again!

Stitch is amazing!

great person!!! would love to meet this person for real, feel as if he/she could be a great friend!!

Great listener!

really helpful

Good suggestions, made me feel less alone.

A great and empathetic listener! It's very nice to get input but not be overpowered by the person you're talking to.

Invader invaded my heart with happiness

This person was so helpful. They helped me with my problem. I will be sure to contact them on this amazing app next time I have a serious problem. Thank you

Best listener youncan find

Crystal725 was compassionate, and responded in time quite well; and really was just there for me, to listen to me

Hello, my name is Steven. I want to tell you about Crystal725. She is an amazing listener. She always has helpful things to say and is always easy to talk to. She really cares about the people she is helping and is very relatable:) On a nightly basis she helps me cope with anxiety, depression, and family struggles. I have only talked to her for a short month or so but she has helped me do so many great things. Thank you crystal725 for being such a good help to me. And making me feel like I have a good friend just a click away.

Cared to listen to my experiences, shared their own, didn't mind my slow response times but still got to me after.

Thank you for your help.

Really great listener, able to listen effectively and relate with the person thats having an issue

She is an intelligent wiz who can change your life.

:) Thanks, Crystal.

Very nice, genuine.

I'm going to use her in future instances!

First time talking and it's good to be able to speak to someone when you need to. It's great not being judged!

She's great

Fantastik!!

Crystal was really lovely to talk to. :) I felt much less down in the dumps about the way my eating patterns were starting to go. Gotta at least try to be healthy!

Silver is everything I could have asked for in a listener. Her kind and caring nature made it very easy for me to talk to her.

AMAZNG ABSOLUTELY ONE HUNDRED % WONDERFUL SHE IS PERFECT she really helped me thanks girl

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