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Boundaries and You
by
Last post
 October 11th
...See more Boundaries can be physical or emotional, and they can range from being loose to rigid, with healthy boundaries often falling somewhere in between. This leads to the question, ‘What do healthy boundaries look like?’ To help ourselves answer this important question, the following are a few discussion questions! We invite everyone to participate, with the motive of learning from one another's views. Discussion questions: * Values are the things that are most important to you. Ideally, your boundaries will reflect your values. For example, if you value family time, you might set strict boundaries at work. What are your most important values, and how do your boundaries reflect these values? * What challenges have you faced when trying to set healthy boundaries, and how did you overcome them (or, how could you overcome them)? * What have you noticed as repeated patterns that are perhaps not so ideal for your wellbeing and boundary setting? How can you flip these patterns from negative to positive? What tweaks do you need to make? Your boundaries will shift (or grow) as you do over time! So it is important to reconnect with oneself, reflect upon ourselves, and redefine our boundaries to go with our values and priorities! Looking forward to hearing everyone's responses to the discussion questions!
Supporting your caregiver friend
by Hope
Last post
 September 2nd
...See more Hi everyone! Caregiving is hard to say the least but unless we are in that role, its hard to figure out how to support a caregiver especially as caregivers sometimes struggle with asking for their needs to be met.  * Listen to them share their struggles, highs and lows.  * Offer practical help: Can you pick up groceries, run errands, or watch their loved one for an hour? Time is their most precious currency. * Be mindful of their schedule and limitations when planning activities.  * Sometimes they need space, sometimes they crave company. Communicate Remember, even small gestures can make a big difference.  Let's share more tips in the comments! How do you support your caregiver friends?
Games you can play with your family members!
by Hope
Last post
 August 14th
...See more Hi everyone, It can be hard to do anything with family that does not involve screens or shopping so here are some ideas.  1. Backyard Olympics: Transform your green space into a hilarious arena! Organize sack races, water balloon toss, hula hoop relays, and even a cardboard box regatta in the sprinkler. Award silly prizes and crown the ultimate Backyard Champion! 2. DIY Escape Room: Channel your inner detective and create a themed escape room in your own home. Hide clues, solve puzzles, and work together against the clock to "escape" the living room (or basement, or attic – get creative!). 3. Community Scavenger Hunt: Grab a list of quirky items to find around your town or neighborhood – a vintage postcard, a four-leaf clover, a friendly dog with a bandana. Turn it into a photo scavenger hunt and capture the silliness along the way! 4. Fort Building Extravaganza: Gather blankets, pillows, chairs, and whatever else sparks your imagination. Build the ultimate indoor fort, complete with fairy lights, secret tunnels, and maybe even a pizza delivery portal. Cozy up inside and tell stories, play games, or just enjoy the feeling of your own cozy kingdom. Remember, the best family activities are often the simplest. The key is to be present, playful, and open to whatever crazy adventures unfold. So ditch the screens, gather your crew, and get ready for some unforgettable family fun! What games does your family play?
My love language is ___
by Hope
Last post
 June 20th
...See more Hi everyone! Understanding and expressing love within families can be complex. Let’s reflect on our ways of giving and receiving affection, but let's acknowledge that family dynamics aren't always defined by traditional units or conventional expressions of love. For some, reflecting on family love languages may evoke pleasant memories and heartwarming gestures. For others, navigating complex pasts or present challenges might make such exploration difficult. Remember, family can extend beyond blood ties, and love manifests in diverse ways. Whether it's through close friendships, chosen communities, or even acts of self-care, recognizing and honoring how you experience and express love is central to emotional well-being. What is your love language when it comes to your family?
Who in your family are you closest to?
by tommy
Last post
 June 17th
...See more Who in your family are you closest to? Why? If you do not have or cannot think of anyone in particular, do you have any friends that you appreciate a lot? Tagging our community taglist 💛 @addyor7 @adventurousPeach7700 @agreeableBlueberry7426 @AlexVincent @almarben2021 @amiableRaspberries644 @Avaray @benkimoo @bestRaspberries1517 @blue0moon @breeuniqemsns @CallunaDee @caringEyes817 @caringPink6587 @CautiousKitten4644 @ClearingBaggage22 @competentParadise6344 @Crankenstein @cyanVase4996 @Daemon85 @dancingIvory @diligentPlace1585 @discreetThinker5846 @DistortionHeart @dtanushree @dynamicPond275 @easyMango9861 @easyZebra1721 @EvelyneRose @fairmindedWisteria3450 @FluffyHamster666 @forcefulFriend4768 @freshOasis7877 @friendlySkies6250 @FrozenRob0t @gentleLove4111 @giraffe2011 @GloriaD @Goddessenergy8 @GoldenNest2727 @goodPapaya8943 @greenDrum7364 @hardworkingKite6195 @hardworkingStrawberries4640 @HempHealer @independentPrune479 @inventiveTurtle5247 @katerina214 @Kickan75 @kindCloud141 @Kjalen97 @lavenderBranch7351 @lilrezvert @Limegreen642 @LISTENER1610 @littleteddy06 @LovetoGod @lovingFlower72 @LovinHope @loyalShade3261 @Lu5566 @Margiewm @marvelloustree1111 @melloohi @miraculousPresence1609 @MissEG1988 @MoonChild1206 @Moonlemon48 @MrMarino @MsVee2021 @munchiegoosie @MusicalMelodyxX @mxmes @MySty2 @neonNest6685 @npetler24 @Onlyonefollower @peacefulPlum1025 @powerfulEast1407 @pramsay57 @quietChestnut6900 @Ramiluz1 @scarletPear1945 @selfconfidentWalker138 @sevtopaloglu @Sher217 @SherryTong @ShyCat1678201 @shymap84001 @Smokescrunch @SoarLikeAnEagle @softMusic9759 @spencer1234567 @Sraphoenix @strangermj12 @StressedTFOut0914 @Sunisshiningandsoareyou @tallFriend9158 @Taylorz27 @Tinylemon1 @toughCurrent7546 @TraumaOne @TruckKnitter @turkeybby @unassumingDog4740 @versatileSky19 @VioletPerson1783 @warmheartedSailboat2021 @WillGood @Wisesupports @WorriedNana @yellowSquare6431 @YourNeighbourhoodsuperhero
hello
by romasgirl
Last post
 February 14th
...See more hello, i joined this group because i needed to talk about my family, my mom is verbally abusive, my brother is physically abusive and my sister too. i dont know how to deall with it all
An Essay: The Impact of an Ill Relative on the Family Dynamic
by blitheSun94
Last post
 December 22nd, 2023
...See more Colorado summer kissed the morning sky as a storm boiled in the cauldron heart of the mountains. For someone I've always been reluctant to love was unwittingly lying at death's door, and the toll of the word "caregiver" loomed overhead. Beyond the world of my wildest imagination lied this request that would restructure my character. Being a caregiver can lead to emotional turbulence due to sacrifice, financial burden, and health care system navigation. In our youth Colorado was a novelty that afforded escape from the Midwestern tundra we inherited. We abandoned our well-paying employers and familial support to venture into the unknown. The dark skies and inevitable moods that followed were alleviated by the promise of three hundred and sixty days of sun. So, we packed our bags and would never return. Ben, the brother of my lover, would welcome us into the mouth of madness that year as we settled for a small condo in the Rocky Mountains. Impulsive and haphazard planning would isolate us from the resources of necessity. With a great deal of pride we severed our safety nets. After perusing small town Main Street during our second week in Grand County, urgency of priority boldly interrupted our morning coffee as strange symptoms surfaced at the breakfast table. Ben was transported to a local clinic where routine tests followed with the assumption of diabetes as it appeared in his family history. His mother, nervous and convicted, informed me she was making the eighteen hour commute from her home to ours and would arrive by morning. The following day Ben was seen by a specialist, admitted to the hospital, transferred to intensive care where his heart nearly gave out, and was subsequently placed on dialysis for kidney failure. After a gulp of whiskey and two hours down the mountain, I slept in the glacial waiting halls of ICU with an infant on my hip and no understanding to speak of. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report one in 10 American adults, more than 20 million, have some level of chronic kidney disease. Ben's case was unique in that he was tragically young and virtually a medical mystery. Blood work, a bone marrow biopsy, and thirty rounds of doctors followed his case all with zero answers inside the first ten days. Ben remained physically stabilized, while his psychological well-being went into orbit, and we felt the strain creep in. Due to our carefully selected isolation, receiving quality health care posed a challenge. The hospital in our county, for example, had one dialysis machine in its inventory and not a single nurse on payroll that was trained to utilize it. Medical practice was replaced by simply not knowing, dietary changes were implemented, otherwise livable income was replaced by laughable disability dollars, and weekend camping trips were otherwise occupied by arguing health-insurance loop-holes and pharmacy pit-falls. As a caregiver, I was unable to find effective support in my community beside our deliberate drive to leave our families behind. Thirty boxes of supplies and dialysis solution would be delivered to my two-bedroom condo in the mountains each month. The five stages of grief had plundered into my home. Within the first two years Ben would accumulate six figures of debt that would send me in tearful rages away from my P.O Box with the ridiculous notion that it was even feasible to pay them. The atmosphere of mental health declined considerably for us all and Ben, understandably so, struggled with the temptation of suicide. In this moment, Margaret Dulaney’s words in fact ring true: “There must be some truth to the notion that a healthy mind will produce a healthy body, but it can be a cruel, heartless notion for those who are not healing if they are made to feel responsible not only for their inability to heal but for the disease itself.” We have managed to escape the claws of a falsified dream despite meandering sanity and relationship casualty. Our perspective remains forever changed having trudged waist deep through the health care system in honor of those closest to us. We have buried our dead, and graciously strive to rebuild from financial and emotional collapse in the heart of the American south. More pervasively perhaps, we are no longer the adolescent offspring who without provocation, dare to venture from the nest.
What is one thing you admire in a family member?
by Hope
Last post
 December 7th, 2023
...See more Hi everyone! I hope you are doing well. We have discussed many times how our needs were not met or what should have changed etc and while all those discussions have their importance and its comforting to know we are not alone in our traumatic experiences but sometimes we tend to see the world with a negative filter and forget any good that exists. So when it comes to family relationships, you may have no relationship left with some family members and troubling ones with few but today lets focus on something you admire in any family member, it can be a sibling, parent, aunt/uncle or even a cousin. We are just trying to nudge our brain into thinking more about the grey areas of life. 
What is one thing that your parents/guardians did right?
by Hope
Last post
 November 28th, 2023
...See more Hi everyone! I hope you are well. A lot of times, human beings tend to focus on the areas of improvement, and what could have gone better. Admittedly, family relationships can be complicated and some parents do not meet their children's basic needs. This thread is not for people who had an entirely negative experience but rather for those who are still in touch with their families and have a complicated but present relationship with their parents.  A chance for us to reflect on what parents/guardians did right. This does not forgive any wrongdoings but rather helps one to see grey areas rather than seeing our childhood as black or white. 
What is your best Halloween memory?
by tommy
Last post
 October 30th, 2023
...See more Thinking back to all your Halloween memories... which is your best one? Which is the funniest? Share them all below 🎃 I think one highlight of my childhood would be when I thought it was "trickle treating" rather than trick or treating! 
One person I want to spend more time within my family is…
by Hope
Last post
 September 24th, 2023
...See more Hi everyone, I hope you are doing well. Think of all the people in your family and then those who you wish to spend more time with. Its hard to catch up with people for so many reasons. One person I want to spend more time within my family is…
One characteristic a caregiver must have is…
by Hope
Last post
 August 31st, 2023
...See more Hi everyone! Caregivers are the unsung heroes of our society. Whether it is caregiving for your family or undertaking it as a job, it requires incredible dedication. As per your experience/observation, what is a must-have characteristic for caregivers?

Family & Caregivers

Welcome to Family & Caregivers! This is a supportive space to share your thoughts and experiences.

“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other,”  Richard Bach.

 

What are the different forum topics for Family & Caregivers?

Community Space: A place for introductions, icebreakers, games, community check-ins and discussions.

Family Relationships: A place for you to discuss all things relating to family relationships.

Support for Caregivers: Are you a caregiver? Get support and guidance here!

 How can I help?

You can help us by simply responding to threads and sharing your story (if you're comfortable). Check-in with us, join a discussion, or start one! Alternatively, you can join us as a Forum Leader. Check out this thread for more information.

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 Family & Caregivers FAQ

Q: Are there any sub-community-specific guidelines that we need to adhere to?

A: You can find Sub-community-specific guidelines below, which you should follow in addition to the general forum guidelines.

 Help! I still have a question! 

If you need help, feel free to contact a community leader or post here, and someone will contact you!


Community Guidelines

Guidelines Specific to Family Support Community

1) Be polite, and non-judgmental - Everyone has a different idea of what a "family".  No two families are alike, so please be open-minded and supportive to everyone who shares here. 

2) Please use appropriate language for all ages - This community supports both teens and adults.  Curse/cuss words will be removed from posts.  

3) Some topics may be triggering - If you find a topic here triggering please step away and take a moment of self-care. We try to be inclusive and discuss a wide variety of topics so there will be something for everyone.

4) read  the 7 Cups Forum Guidelines before sending your post  

 

Read the 7 Cups Guidelines
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Community Resources

 Family Stress https://www.7cups.com/family-stress/  

Domestic Assault https://www.7cups.com/domestic-assault-survivor/  

Questions & Answers https://www.7cups.com/qa-family-stress-23/    

Financial Stress https://www.7cups.com/qa-financial-stress-26/  

Sleeping Well https://www.7cups.com/sleeping-well/   

Group Support Chatrooms Group Support chatrooms 

Family Forums https://www.7cups.com/forum/FamilySupport_191/