Skip to main content Skip to bottom nav
bestRaspberries1517
3,488 M Seeking Light 2
PathStep 338 Compassion hearts290 Forum posts67 Forum upvotes71 Current upvotes71 Age GroupAdult Last activeAugust, 2024 Member sinceApril 6, 2020
Recent forum posts
Having frustrations with worsening anxiety :(
Anxiety Support / by bestRaspberries1517
Last post
February 14th, 2022
...See more I've been an anxious person for as long as I can remember. As a kid I'd be referred to by family members as Nervous Nelly, even. These days, I've developed some healthy coping skills in my toolkit (like deep breathing, meditation, positive/kind self-talk, and mindfulness, to name a few), but I gotta admit that the past week or so I've been having worse anxiety. I partly blame it on PMS, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating, you know? It doesn't help though that typical social media sites, like Twitter and Tiktok, have been contributing to my increased anxiety as of late, in addition to some financial hardships I'm facing. On the whole, I'm trying to do what I can to help myself out via coping skills, but sometimes it doesn't feel like enough. Unfortunately, I can't access proper therapy or other professional care at this time, but I don't want to stew in this anxiety alone, either. How do you cope with increased levels of anxiety? How do you feel more in control of things when your anxiety makes you feel somewhat out of control? Any tips or just support is greatly appreciated. It can feel so isolating sometimes, and I don't want to burden those close to me with these feelings.
So worn down from this
Addiction Support / by bestRaspberries1517
Last post
March 4th, 2021
...See more I've tried to be strong over the years but at this point, I'm so worn down. I wasn't blessed to have a relatively normal grandma. Instead, I have a grandma who is utterly pill and alcohol addicted, and it's incredibly hard to live with. My living situation is complicated, so I won't get too deep into it, but it's taking a toll on me and my family. I'm a caregiver for my mom, and in addition to that I work from home. With the whole covid situation going on, I don't have any kind of refuge away from home and I'm falling into a deep depression. How do you cope and keep yourself strong and resilient when living with an addict? I've barely slept, the rest of my family has gotten 0 sleep all because grandma hasn't slept. She's just been awake all night and all day yelling and saying utter nonsense from being strung out. It's hard to feel compassion toward grandma. All I can feel is anger, upset, and resentment. I wish I could be a kinder person. I know I'm capable of it. But her addictions are seriously taking a toll and I'm stuck here for the time being; leaving isn't an option. Times like this, I wish I could afford therapy because I'm having such a rough time. The number of days I feel stressed far outnumber days where I feel at peace. At this point, I feel my family and I are cursed to a life of stress and unhappiness. I just really needed to vent. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
My Little Diary
Journals & Diaries / by bestRaspberries1517
Last post
January 27th, 2022
...See more Hi everyone, you can call me Raspie, Raspberries, I don't really mind. I just stumbled across this section of 7cups and thought "wow, this seems like it could be so very useful!" So here I am, writing up my first diary entry of sorts. Everyone, feel free to comment and interact if you'd like, I don't mind one ounce. I want to get more comfy in the community, so this seems like the perfect way to take a step in that direction. I've started using 7Cups recently when I was in a very frustrating mental funk. I've slowly been coming out of it, but I still find myself coming here every day--whether to interact in the group chats, seek out a listener when I need it, or take a step in my Growth Path. To be honest, it's becoming something of a habit and I'm already noticing improvements in how I'm dealing with my feelings. It's amazing. So, gushing about the site aside, I feel so very happy. Today was an excellent day--got my room freshened up, took a soothing shower, got other necessities done... so now I'm sitting here writing up this first diary entry, listening to hilarious scambaiting videos while contemplating watching something on Netflix, maybe. Kinda unsure on the latter thing. To be honest, before making my way here to this site recently, I'd just decided to take a break from social media sites (not including chat apps, if you count those as social media--I gotta maintain contact with friends somehow!) because they were taking a huuuge toll on my mental health. Drama, petty arguments, you name it... it wasn't a very conductive environment to fostering a more healthy frame of mind. I am so happy to report that so far, I am almost a week clean from my social media usage! My goal is a full month, and then I'm going to be remanaging my use of such sites. It's all about balance. I wouldn't benefit from cutting it all out entirely, but I think it couldn't hurt a single ounce to cut down on it even a smidge. I don't count 7Cups under what I consider traditional "social media" even if may count as such a site. Lately when I feel bad, instead of screaming into a social media void where I don't feel heard, I talk to friends, or if I feel like I'm annoying them (especially if it's something I've vented about a decent bit of times, lol) I come here to talk to listeners or pop in group chat. If it gets particularly bad, like if I feel like I'm in an emotional crisis, I get in touch with one of the crisis textlines and wind up feeling not only heard, but so much better. One of my resolutions I set for the year was to take better care of my mental health and reduce some of my social media time, and I am finally making good on making progress with those goals. Not to say it's super duper easy; this is one of those things that takes time and courage, and a whole ton of self-reflection and the ability to confront uncomfortable emotions in order to make progress. But knowing it's totally possible to take those first steps makes me feel so capable and confident. Like, I'm not doomed to the more unhealthy patterns of thinking I'm prone to forever. I can reprogram how I think, even if it will take time and practice. On that note, and on a sadder topic for a moment, I'm currently unable to pursue full-on proper therapy for personal reasons I won't delve into. I dream of a future where I can do so, though. But for now, I think this is an excellent resource until I get to that point. Not that it's a replacement for full-on medical mental health care, of course. One step, one day at a time. My sleep schedule is all over the place lately, but I want to try and write an entry once a day at least. They'll probably end up being longer in nature, like this, so I can fully reflect on my thoughts and feelings and later parse them out when I reread them. Or I could discuss it all with you guys, too. It's not good to always be in my own head without hearing input from others and not taking in new perspectives. I don't really know what else to say for now. I think I'll watch something on Netflix and mess with some Playdoh/clay for soothing purposes and then go to sleep. :)
Talk to an expert therapist
Hello there, I'm Graham, and I'm thrilled to be a therapist within the warm...
Talk to Graham Now
Badges & Awards
34 total badges
Hand Shake Linked Quintet Bubbly Chief Chat Honest Voice Confident Voice Strong Start Reconnect Lifting Up First Post Reaching out Helping out Appreciated Voice Contributor Community First Compassion Helpful heart Kindness personified Loving Soul Bundled Group Chimer Member Oath Forum Companion Forum Helper 7 Day Streak 14 Day Streak Meet & Greet Teammate Group Friend Forum Friend Meaghan's Heart Strong Bond I Hang 10