starryKoala69 Listener Profile

starryKoala69

144,045

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Number of ratings122 Number of reviews30 Listens toTeens & Over 18 LanguagesEnglish, Hindi, Punjabi Listener sinceAug 7, 2015 Last activeover 6 months ago GenderFemale PathStep 296 People helped212 Chats744 Group support chats290 Listener group chats1,582 Forum posts868 Forum upvotes1,036

Bio

Somebody once said "The biggest room in the world is the room for imporvement."

Hello,

I am starrykoala and i am a volunteer and trained active listener here on 7 cups. I am here to help you with what ever you are going through. I am a writer and a survivor myself and would like to help you in any way i can.

I will be completely non judgemental and you can trust me with anything you share. i am here to help and not judge you.

"We may not have wings growing out of our backs, but healing is the closest thing that will give us that wind against our faces.” ― C. JoyBell C.

Recent forum posts

Forum Activity: University Mental Health Day!!!

Community Projects & Events / by starryKoala69

March 14th, 2017

University Mental Health Day!

Community Projects & Events / by starryKoala69

March 11th, 2017

...See more University Mental Health Day! "People assume you aren't sick unless they see the sickness on your skin like scars forming a map of all the ways you're hurting." Hello to all my lovelies!!! Today is the day for awareness!!! "I've never met a strong person with an easy past." It is the biggest day of student mental health activism. This day focuses on the relationship between mental health and physical activity, exploring the ways in which students can help manage their mental health and well-being by keeping active. Mental health is an issue that affects everybody, with our mental state and emotions continuing to fluctuate from day to day. This means that providing people with information about wellbeing and mental health is extremely important, especially for students, with an NUS survey revealing that eight out of ten students (78%) say they experienced mental health issues. With many students at university often experiencing periods of loneliness or isolation, University Mental Health Day is a great way to show how getting out and taking part in physical activity can help to improve state of mind, and to raise awareness of the support that is available to students who struggle with mental health difficulties. "Don't let your struggle become your identity." Students, who hold the future in their hands, have to sometimes suffer in silence just because of lack of awareness. If us spreading the words helps us in remedying that let's do that, share it far and wide and let's vow to make that one scared and lonely soul smile. No awareness is bigger than self awareness! You don't have to be positive all the time. It's perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared or anxious." The Student Support Subcommunity on 7 Cups offers a place where people can share and communicate their fears out loud. Today, we would like to contribute this day to raise awareness and promise ourselves that we would do everything in our hands to remove the stigma that surrounds Mental Health. "Take a shower, wash off the day. Drink a glass of water. Make the room dark. Lie down and close your eyes. Notice the silence. Notice your heart. Still beating. Still fighting. You made it, after all. you made it, another day. And you can make it one more. You're doing just fine."

March 2: University Mental Health Day!!!

Community Projects & Events / by starryKoala69

March 2nd, 2017

Self Care, why is it so important?

Healthy Living / by starryKoala69

February 4th, 2017

...See more Hey all! i found this article and thought i should share it with the self care community! (Reference : Lifehacker) Youre overwhelmed at work. You have a ton of projects piling up at home, and your calendar is packed with overdue tasks. To make room for all of this stuff, you skip lunch, stop going to the gym, and forget about your social life entirely. When were stressed, self care is usually the first thing to go. And that only makes things worse. As fluffy and indulgent as the phrase self care may sound, its just a few basic habits that are crucial to your functioning. Most of us grew up believing that the more you sacrifice, the bigger the reward. In high school, for example, I once signed up for a debate tournament and forced myself to stay up all night preparing. I figured pushing myself to the point of exhaustion had to pay off. Of course, the next day, I was so exhausted I could barely form coherent sentences, and I tanked. The point is, its easy to take the hard work pays off adage too far, to the point that it becomes counterproductive. Your abilities are worn. Your skills arent as sharp. You lose focus. You might think youre working hard, and maybe you are in some ways, but youre not working efficiently. Self Care Isnt Just Important, Its Crucial Its easy to neglect taking care of ourselves because when were busy and overwhelmed, even a small reprieve feels like a luxury. So actually taking time to eat lunch, exercise, and hang out with friends? That just feels like slacking. That mindset backfires, though. Self care actually helps you make progress faster for a few reasons: Self care prevents overload burnout: Weve all been there: you push yourself to the point that you cant take anymore so you just give up. Self care helps you avoid getting to that point. Self care reduces the negative effects of stress: A small amount of stress can serve a purpose, but after a while, it just breaks down your mind and body. Taking care of yourself means keeping your stress from taking over so you can function at full capacity. Self care helps you refocus: When I was stuck on a complicated math problem in school, my teacher would suggest walking away and coming back—taking a break, basically. Breaks are the epitome of self care, and studies show theyre great for helping you perform better. Sometimes I treat self care as a reward. Im so hungry I can barely think, but Ill force myself to finish a batch of work before I eat lunch. What Im really doing is making my job more difficult by allowing myself to run on fumes. In other words, self care is not a reward. Its part of the process. Sometimes we get so used to rewarding ourselves with lunch or even a trip to the bathroom, though, that we forget exactly what it means to take care of ourselves. "Self-Care Isnt a Reward. Its Part of the Process" Rewards can motivate us to keep working hard. They're the light at the end of the tunnel. Make Time to Eat Well and Exercise, Even If Youre Busy Its easy to neglect exercise when youre overextended because, well, exercise requires time, energy, and often a change of clothes or trip to the shower. Its daunting, messy, and uncomfortable. Its important, though, so you want to make time for it in your daily routine. Consider teaming up with a workout buddy or a group to hold yourself accountable. If youre busy, try an app like Sworkit. It suggests specific exercises and routines based on how much time you have, even if its only five minutes. Or, find a gym thats close to work, or better yet, along your commute. This way, you get a workout and you beat traffic. Of course, no matter how busy or unmotivated you are, sometimes you just have to get up and do it. Everyone wants to eat well and find food thats good for them, but its hard to cook or plan meals when youre busy. When I have three deadlines on my tail, Im much more likely to reach for leftover pizza rather than make myself a salad. Its also hard enough to eat healthy in a world filled with processed food, though. Start small, as our own Beth Swarecki suggests. Do you want to eat less sugar? Control your carb intake? Focus on one area at a time rather than trying to overhaul your entire diet at once. Also, sometimes eating junk feels like self care. I often treat myself with a handful of Oreos. Nothing wrong with the occasional indulgence, but in contrast, I think of healthy food as the enemy, so I dont eat it as much of it as I should. This really involves changing the way you think about eating well entirely, but you can start by experimenting with healthy foods you might actually like, and not trying to force yourself to eat stuff you hate just because its healthy. Practice Good Emotional Hygiene The physical aspect is obviously important, but when a lot of people talk about self care, theyre talking about emotional health: dealing with stress, anxiety, sadness, depression. And thats probably because we tend to ignore it more. As psychologist Guy Winch asks, We brush and floss but what daily activity do we do to maintain our psychological health? When youre feeling any kind of intense emotion—stress or anger, for instance—it helps to take a quick break to process it. What exactly are you feeling, and why? It might help to run down a list of feeling words to help better pinpoint your emotion. For a long time, when Id feel anxious or stressed, Id work right through it, frustrated the entire time. For example, if my boss asked me to fix something I worked hard on, Id get upset and stressed out, rush through it, all the while beating myself up for being a failure. I was hurt and frenetic—not the best conditions for getting stuff done. Instead, I now try to set aside a minute to acknowledge my feelings, even if its just admitting to myself that I feel rejected. I simply stop what Im doing, walk away for a second, and pinpoint my feeling. Acknowledging it serves a practical purpose. For one, it forces me to slow down and think more rationally. Its like taking a break. It also keeps my emotions from taking over even more. My boss tells me to fix something and I feel rejected, but now I know that. So when I start to tell myself Im a failure, its a lot easier to remind myself, youre not a failure, youre just feeling rejected about this project right now. Take More Breaks, Get More Done Because time is so precious and our lives are busier than ever, we probably all are inclined to Why You Should Keep a Journal (and How to Start Yours) Some of the most influential people in history kept detailed journals of their lives. Keeping a journal is a good idea, too. Its cathartic. And in a study from the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment researchers found that journaling for 15–20 minutes helped study participants cope with traumatic, stressful, or emotional events. It sounds very touchy-feely, I know, but thats sort of the point of emotional hygiene. You want to take time to deal with your feelings so you can control them and get back to work. Controlling them means acknowledging and understanding them. Protect Your Schedule A few years ago, I was consistently working 50-60 hours a week, and predictably, I was stressed, irritable, and unfocused. This is common, according to research from John Pencavel of Stanford University (PDF). He found that after about 50 hours of work, employee productivity and output plummets. Protecting your schedule often means learning to say no to things, which can be tough. Wharton professor Adam Grant suggests: The Deferral: Im swamped right now, but feel free to follow up The Referral: Im not qualified to do what youre asking, but heres something else The Introduction: This isnt in my wheelhouse, but I know someone who might be helpful Of course, sometimes you just have a boss or manager that asks for too much. In that case, you may need to schedule time to discuss your workload and your responsibilities. Its easier said than done, and not all bosses will understand the need for self care, unfortunately. However, its a better option than simply continuing to say yes. Say No Without Wrecking Your Career If you're like most people, you probably feel overworked and possibly unappreciated. Maybe youre the one squeezing too much in your schedule, though. One way to combat this is to add empty events in your schedule. This way, if a task takes longer than expected or something else comes up, youve budgeted the extra time for it. Finally, squeeze some time in your schedule for yourself. Create some down time in your schedule to devote to activities you enjoy: reading, catching up on game highlights, looking at the clouds. Block that time in your calendar, too. Then, do everything you can to defend that time. Defend a Portion of Your Time to Devote Solely to Activities You Choose The more youre capable of doing, the more other people will want to eat up your time. Spend Your Time (and Money) on What Matters Sometimes being busy feels good. When I was working 50-60 hours a week, I felt successful just because I was constantly working. I wasnt necessarily getting anywhere, though. It was the illusion of progress. In fact, I put off a lot of goals I wanted to accomplish in exchange for the satisfaction I got from crossing stuff off my to-do list. Sometimes, real progress means being unproductive. It can be hard to put tasks and obligations on hold, but sometimes thats exactly what you have to do in the spirit of self care. Focus on the one big thing each day that will make you feel accomplished. This way, youre aware of what really matters to you, which makes it easier to prioritize your time accordingly. And your money is a lot like your time. We all spend it wastefully every now and then, and thats to be expected, but ultimately, you want to spend it on what matters to you. When were stressed, its common to spend mindlessly. That usually makes things worse, because money is a huge source of stress for a lot of us. The Comfort Principle: Spend Money Where You Spend Your Time Learning to manage it is another way to embrace self care, and you can start by creating a budget with a purpose. Even if the purpose is getting out of debt, it helps to declare why getting out of debt is important to your bottom line. Maybe you want to travel. Maybe you want to feel secure. Either way, make the goal about you, and not only will you feel better about it, youll also be more apt to stick to it, and therefore less stressed. Taking care of your basic physical and emotional needs should really be the backbone for getting stuff done, but ironically, self care is usually the first thing to go. If its gotten to the point that youve perhaps even forgotten what it means to take care of yourself, these points should help you recover.

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Feedback & Reviews

You help me a lot and recommend her as your listener!

Best listener ever!

A really lovely listener who puts her time and attention to you entirely throughout and can understand me completely!

Awesome listener so far! Keep up the great job and help more members!

I must say the great support... ;w;

I would most definitely recommend starryoala69, she is here to listen to you whatever you are going through, I'm glad i found here. she understood, she has a non judgemental and empathetic ears. don't hesitate to share your problems and experiences with her. she wrote like she was close friend, like an older sister of my. :D

I reconnected with Koala a number of months after first connecting with them. They are someone that is so easy to talk to, takes time to get to know you, and shows that they truly care and are there to support you through whatever emotions you are feeling. Koala is very understanding and supportive. I've been lucky to have been able to connect with them.

Very warm, empathetic and non-judgemental human being.

starryKoala69 is very nice. He or she does not judge the venter and instead tries his or her best to help and also empathises with the venter, making the venter feel a lot less alone and safe.

First time user, listener explained the process to me, very empathetic during our conversation and promised confidentiality. Talking has really helped, thank you.

very supporting person, helping me feel better and gave me the support i really needed!

Best listener I have ever talked too, and I've spoken to a lot. Very patient and genuine in trying to help. I would recommend her highly!

great listener who takes the position very seriously and is always prepared to help, couldn't of asked for a better one

Awesome! Really kind and helpful and really fast response time.

Thank you so much for just being there and just listening to me. I feel so much better now, and you don't know how much I appreciate your help.

Great listener (:

Such a kindhearted, thoughtful and patient listener. Koala took the time to support me through some strong emotions, and helped me see that there is positive to look for...and that sometimes things just take time. Blessed to have been connected with Koala, an incredible person.

You are amazing! Thank you so much for your help. I will always remember you. You brought me a lot of hope. You raised me up. I love you. Take care. God bless you

I like it.

Logical-Caring-Helpful-Awesome. You really tried your best to help me out. Thank You very much for your time.

Very compassionate and caring. Extremely professional and has great response time. Wants to have feedback on your day to day life, to make sure that you are okay. Does great, informative group sessions.

starry is one of the best listeners i have i very much enjoy when i get a chance to talk with them

the person has a good involvement.

good, empathetic

Was very kind and refers well.

An excellent listener!!

very friendly

Good listening, helped a lot. Thank you.

Thank you for understanding and not pushing. Your suggestions were really helpful, and you made me feel like more of a person than a problem.

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