This song was very hard to record but, I chose to do so because being an incredibly vulnerable subject that not only causes me significant pain to reflect upon but it’s also somewhat difficult to reveal this level of personal emotional honesty so publicly because as you may have noticed, I have been less active in posting on behalf of End the Silent Epidemic and Friends for Life recently. For me, this is one of the signs that I am struggling significantly, because like many of you, while many of my days can be challenging, unless the situation is unprecedented, I persist and partake in as many of my normal responsibilities and passions as possible. When it comes to the honor, responsibility and privilege that is being the director of End the Silent Epidemic and Co-Founder of Friends For Life LLC, when I have to pare down my activity because of struggles, this is always the absolute last thing to go. So therefore, my infrequent posting is indicative of just how poorly I have been doing. But I have found that whenever I am in my darkest moments, turning to this community and sharing with you all something authentic and from the heart helps me feel like, even if I cannot meet my usual level, I can at least walk my talk by showing that IT IS OKAY NOT TO BE OKAY, and that there is TRUE & RARE STRENGTH IN PERSISTING & SHOWING YOUR AUTHENTIC EMOTIONS DURING TIMES OF ADVERSITY (rather than what society would have us believe and what stigma insists that we do, which is hide away when we are struggling and make sure to only come out and fix our instagram feed when we can showcase the most enviable and most often unrealistic moments in our live. By choosing to share this vulnerable moment rather than pretend things are better than they are or only post when life is going my way, I BELIEVE THIS IS A WAY TO ACTIVELY and TANGIBLY CHIP AWAY AT THE MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA. I often specifically choose to express myself through song because it is a very CONCRETE WAY OF ENDING THE SILENCE AND REPLACING IT WITH MEANINGFUL TRUTH! I choose this song, "Father Daughter Dance" by Kesha, because the past two years of my life have been perhaps the two hardest years I've ever known besides my very early childhood. My "father," although he in no way deserves that title, has played a devastating role in why I suffered then and why I am suffering now. Though my logical mind knows I am better off without him in my life, with it being well over two decades since he "disowned" me at the age of nine, for cutting my hair, a grave sin that had me officially cast out of the religious cult in which I was raised: Despite all the pain he caused me by "disowning" me, and far before that when he enabled the abuse in my very early childhood I sometimes find myself mourning the oddest things, like how I will never have a "FATHER DAUGHTER DANCE." I often wonder what it means that I think about these things and if I am the only one? Does anyone else have a parent who has gravely misstated them and they logically know that they are better off without them in their life but still sometimes regret the big life moments that will never occur because you don't have your mom or dad? Thank you listening to my video and reading my post. I hope it inspires a conversation in the comments below about anything related to this: such as others who've lived without a parent, those who've suffered abuse, neglect, abandonment or experienced the singular loss of a parent to death, (including of course death by suicide). It needn't be a parent, it could also be an important parental figure, adult or any loved one in general whose absence or presence in your life has either negatively or positively impacted you and you could discuss what you mourn regarding opportunities you will miss out on or memories you hold dear and treasure for getting to share with them. These are just some ideas to get the conversation started, feel free to take it wherever it needs to go to be the most supportive to you and the others within the conversation. Also, as a member, you can start your own thread (an article or multi-media post just like this that tells a story, posses a question, and ideally aims to start a meaningful peer-based support conversation: just press create new thread on the forum page)! Why One Must Sign-Up as Member To Participate (revamped our signup, takes <30sec, requiring nothing but an email address)! We want to explain why one is required to sign-up as a member in order to access the interactive components of our website (including being able to participate in the comments of this forum post, to crate your own thread, to use the private chat feature (like IG DM), to join passion-based special interest groups, and to RSVP to attend our virtual social, activism and educational events). Put most simply, sign-up process only requires two things, 1. an email address, 2. agreeing to the Terms. of Service, Privacy Policy, and Code of Conduct, because this empowers the site owners to legally remove harmful content and users to keep this a truly safe space. Please note we've completely overhauled the sign-up process based on your feedback, all personal questions and extraneous details have been removed and it's now a <30 second sign-up process that couldn't possibly be simpler in that it now only requires your email and the agreement to our policies (there are literally no down sides--it's 100% free, we will never share or sell your email address under any circumstances, or even send you forum updates unless you specifically click "subscribe to updates," you can unsubscribe or full-on delete your account at anytime, and you have the option to choose a non-identifying username if you prefer anonymity). So in summary not only is the sign-up process now easier, faster, and 100% castle and string free, but perhaps of equal or more importance we want you to know we only require sign-up so that we, the site owners, have a way of being legally empowered to host and safeguard an online forum where peer-to-peer based support for youth mental health, mental wellness and suicide prevention flourishes because participants feel safe sharing vulnerable and sensitive truths on this platform knowing that this is a true SAFE SPACE with an enforceable zero tolerance policy resulting in removal of material or users that stigmatize, silence, bully, shame, or are triggering, violent, graphic, hateful, or in any other way detract from the safety of the platform and/or disrupt our founding purpose.

Let's come together in our 1st official act as the peer-support warriors of the FFL Forum, by releasing a video montage comprised of our diverse, brave, emboldened faces, voices, & artwork conveying a unified & most powerful message to raise awareness, smash the stigma, & "END THE SILENCE"! What is the Initiative & What Role Do I Play? This forum, meet-up and safe-space is built upon our proprietary Friends For Life peer-to-peer gatekeeping support modelbased on a foundational guiding principle of absolute confidence in the unparalleled passion, ability and desire of the global youth population to build a kinder, more #emotionally intelligent, equal, ethical & authentic world: a world where suicide is not the 2nd leading cause of death in people 10-34 years old, causing more deaths annually than any physical disease in our generation's population! That is why, for our very first public action initiative as a PEER-TO-PEER SUPPORT PLATFORM, the FRIENDS FOR LIFE FORUM, MEET-UP, and SAFE SPACE would like to stay true to our guiding principle by placing YOU ALL AT THE CENTER of the initiative and also invite any interested member to take up a LEADERSHIP ROLE (see more below). Video Montage: We excitedly invite you to join us to be part of a powerful video montage showcasing all our amazing supporters from around the world coming together in one artistically produced video that conveys a simple yet powerful message in three simple and likely familiar words: “END THE SILENCE.” How to Participate: To participate simply submit a photo, 3-5 second video looking into the camera and either holding a sign, editing the photo with the words, or in a video cli, speaking the words “END THE SILENCE.” The deadline for submission is about 3 months from now but read the goals of the video below and if you’re as excited as we are after reading them, just grab your phone now and be part of this initiative within the next five minutes! What Will This Video Accomplish (Goal of Initiative)? 1. What will this video accomplish? Each submission will go such a long way in helping raise awareness, smash the stigma, and END THE SILENCE by showing how many of us are bravely stand in the sun, proud of who we are and what we have survived and, for many of us, continue to contend with many if not every day. Talk about true strength and grit. 2. Why video format and why so personal (is there an alternative)? People may be able to toss aside statistics or write-off other representations of this crisis, and we believe this is in large part because it is easy to disassociate the catastrophic numbers, we hear from the actual human toll being caused. So, we’ve decided on making a video showcasing dozens upon dozens of the diverse faces of our community from across the globe, individuals bravely stepping-up to. showcase their humanity, because when viewers witnessing the video, the tangible human toll will be unavoidable, impossible to simply toss aside and go on ignoring or worse yet, stigmatizing. Viewers will be shocked by the vulnerability strewn across grown men’s faces, because we live in a culture wherein men aren’t allowed to show such emotion. Parent’s will no longer be able to put off this issue when they see the innocence absent behind the eyes of a girl not yet 11, a girl that looks just like their daughter or one of her best friends. Note there is an option to submit an anonymous version explained below. * 3. How will the video impact the stigma, silencing and inaction surrounding youth mental health & suicide?The more of us who can stand proudly as our authentic selves, NOT ONLY NOT ASHAMED of our mental health struggles but RATHER, PROUD OF ALL OF THE TIMES WE HAVE FALLEN & REFUSE TO STAY DOWN—a strength that frankly few who don’t struggle with mental illness will ever have to develop— will demonstrate to those who would continue to perpetuate the lethal stigma that is in large part responsible for the self-harming and suicide robbing us and the world of our brothers and sisters, that we will not be forced into the shadows they are trying to back us into. 4. How is this related to the peer-to-peer forum: Last but certainly not least, the final goal we hope to achieve is to offer hope and a safe path forward via this peer-to-peer platform for our peers who have not been able †ø travel as far along their healing pathway as some of us have. Those who feel completely alone in their struggle and are beginning to contemplate or have already attempted suicide, believing it is genuinely their only way out. Perhaps more than any of the above, we hope this video will allow us to act as PROACTIVE STEWARDS OF THE SAFETY OF OUR MOST AT-RISK PEERS, by publicly, proudly, lovingly demonstrating that struggling with mental illness and suicide IS NOT A WEAKNESS, LAZINESS, A CHARACTER FLAW, A BURDEN ON OTHERS, & CERTAINLY, IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT ONE MUST CARRY ALONE! Our video will instead demonstrate how ONE CAN STAND PROUD IN THEIR AUTHETNIC TRUTH, whatever that truth may be, UNSILENCED, UNABASHED, and most of all, GENUINLY and DESERVEDLY PROUD. Why PROUD: for despite your life circumstances, emotions and or your own mind trying to convince you, in some cases on a daily and for a lifelong basis, your submission, showcasing your face or playing your unique voice for the world to hear, is PROOF POSITIVE that you are STILL HERE, because each day, no matter how hard you get knocked down or how deep you must dig to find it, you continue to choose HOPE and LIFE each time-I personally can’t think of anything worth being more proud of and I promise you, your submission, let alone the compilation of dozens of such submissions has the power to give hope to some of our most at risk peers who LIGHT THIS WORLD SIMPLY CANNOT DO WITHOUT! Why Participate: The best part of this initiative is that it achieves so many amazing missions simultaneously: Whether you’re doing it to raise general mental health awareness, smash the stigma, and END THE SILENCE, whether you’re doing it to help educate and hopefully open-the minds and hearts of those currently perpetuating this crisis, whether you doing this for that at-risk peer that could easily be your best friend or someone else you care dearly about, or whether you’re DOING IT FOR YOU because you DESEREVE TO BE DAMN PROUD of the fact that your STILL FIGHTING, THE FIGHT, we sure hope to see your submission ASAP! Leadership Team: WE ARE PEERS and A TEAM, ALL PEER MENTAL HEALTH WARRIORS armed with passion and good intent, whatever your skills set are encouraged to reach out to join the leadership team of this initiative. ANYONE WITH BACKGROUND IN VIDEO/PHOTO/PRODUCTION/EDITING: even if the time you have to offer is limited due to other commitments, any editing/production time donated by a skilled or semi-experienced producer could help us put together a truly professional and powerful final product that could take this project to a whole other level, so please consider reaching out if this is your wheelhouse! But again, all skill sets will be valued and put to excellent use! *Anonymous Submission: *If you would prefer your submission not reveal your identity you can submit a piece of artwork that excludes, you’re an identifying feature such as your face or voice and your contribution will still be incredibly powerful by play its own unique role in conveying the message, especially the more creative you can be in your expression if the message. You can use any medium from hand drawn submissions to computer-rendered images or anything else you can think up (ultimately please submit the highest quality photo of the artwork as the final submission).

Is it Friday? Well then you know what that means, it's our favorite day of the week here at Friends For Life, it's the day of the week that whether you are a partnered warrior or a solo warrior, it's time to send/post or otherwise communicate your one weekly mental health check-in to either you individual FFL partner, or in the case of this Friends For Life Meet-Up Group Forum Thread (that exists specifically for those who have committed to FFL and are actively seeking their future permanent FFL partner), to someone within this thread (i.e. via our private message feature) or a general message of support and positivity that is directed towards the group as a whole! In return, you will receive your own message(s) of peer support from members of this group. The truth is that those who show up in an authentic way and show legitimate investment in their peer's wellbeing will be the people who have the most success in making meaningful connections that yield the kind of peer support that can make tangible positive impact on one's mental wellness and reduce risk of self harm. So while all that is required of you as FFL warrior who is part of this group is to put up a short positive/supportive post once per week, the more time/energy/authenticity/thought, and follow-through one puts into providing support by one of the two following methods, will see their efforts returned in kind, and likely returned several times over. Here are the two ways you can provide support: 1. a meaningful group-oriented post ( i.e. one that engages the whole group by providing an uplifting message or perhaps starts a critical & provocative conversation). or conversely 2. one can concentrate their supportive comment on an individual that week by sending someone a support message via private messenger as a means of starting a conversation with someone who you want to begin to get to know better, perhaps as a way of exploring whether they could be a good match as potential future FFL! Tomorrow is our first Friday since this section has officially opened, help us get things started off on the right foot by posting your Friends For Life Friday peer-support post ASAP tomorrow and meanwhile consider spreading the wold about this youth mental health safe space, forum and Friends For Life meet-up platform so that as many young people as possible can benefit and we begin to build the kind of vibrant, diverse and large community that can provide ever-expanding levels of support ASAP !

Transgender Day of Visibility is a day for celebration. I made the below video as a celebratory montage to this occasion with the secondary purpose of hopefully starting a critical conversation about how we as peers (transgender individuals and cis-gender allies alike) can move the conversation forward and take action that will make future Transgender Days of Visibility occasions for even greater celebration because we will have done the work to make sure our transgender siblings are living in a safer world. I must give a TRIGGER WARNING that the video ends with a devastating statistic: 42% of American youth who identify as trans have report having attempted suicide by the age of 19 according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Normally it would not seem appropriate to mention such things in the context of a celebration, but after watching an IG live put on by The Trevor Project, I heard how what one of the Transgender guests was celebrating this year was "existing." As a black trans woman, this individual discussed how given that she is literally taking her life in her hands each time she walks out the door, it is simply the fact that she is still breathing when she returns home each evening that is a celebration for her. This combined with the above statistic made me feel that a discussion, action, and change in this area is obviously so long overdue, and I felt it was my duty this Transgender Day of Visibility to start that conversation here and now! So please watch the video and then please read the questions below that have been designed to help provide a framework to start this critical conversation (however please of course feel free to venture outside these questions and take the discussion where it should and must go to make true, immediately and lasting change! I would like to use this video to spark a two pronged discussion: For Tran-identifying members of this community please use this time and space to celebrate you amazing existence and tell us what you love about being trans. Conversely please feel free to share your fears or tell us how we can best serve you as allies. 2. To the cis-gender members of this community, I ask that you think of one way you can honor this holiday in a way that will somehow either personally touch a transgender individual in your life in a positive way and/or that will somehow address the above mentioned statistic: a suicide rate that makes trans youth the population officially most lethally impacted by suicide, already the #2 cause of youth 10-34YO. On a larger scale, besides this one day a year, how can we provide our trans brothers and sisters with the peer-support they need (which also includes advocacy and bigger picture work), to change the above mentioned, unthinkable statistic. NO MORE SILENCE, NOT ON OUR WATCH. Please comment below with your thoughts! *I wish to acknowledge up-front that I am cis-gender and recognize my privilege and potential blind spots and apologize in advance if that privilege has blinded me to anything in this post that is anything but helpful & supportive of the transgender community, please comment if so so that I may learn and improve to be a better ally and advocate! Please watch and enjoy the video, which again is meant to be a celebration of transgender pride and visibility. Here's How to Sign-Up (Video Demo) So You Can Join the Conversation: In order to participate in any of the interactive aspects of the website (the blog or forum discussions, the special interest groups, or attending events to name a few) one must sign up as a member: this is different than committing to being part of Friends For Life which you can decide later and is entirely optional. Signing-up is 100% free, takes about 1-2 minutes , and for those concerned about privacy/anonymity, you can even change your username to something non-identifying to maintain your privacy (this means the only people who will have any access to information about you is two people: the owners of Friends For Life LLC, Emma Aders (aka Siri Khalsa) and Jaikar Beasley, who would only view/engage your sign-up info for the singular purpose of attempting prevent self-injury or suicide if an instance occurs wherein one of our members is in imminent danger. On the sign-up page there is a link to a detailed explanation as to why we ask for certain sign-up details, how we are ensuring your privacy and protecting your information. If you have any further questions about signing-up check out our FAQ section on the homepage and check out the below video wherein we walk you through the 1-2 minute sign-up process and demonstrate a few things that may ultimately may help you better understand why it's overdue time to spend the next minute or two creating your account so you can jump right in, hopefully with this conversation! FAQs About the Forum, How & Why to Sign-Up, & How We Protect Your Privacy & Safe Space: If you find yourself a little uncertain about whether or not to create an account because you have some lingering questions about how the site works, how and why it's worthwhile to sign-up as a member (a process that is 100% free, takes 1-2 minuets and allows you to remain anonymous if you so choose), how we protect your data and privacy and the integrity of this safe space, or anything else, please check out the below video that covers FAQs and if we don't cover your question, please send us any questions to info@ese.org!

Author: End The Silent Epidemic's Nancy Cowden, LMFT aka @nanycowdenlmft This monthly educational segment is entitled “Mental Health in Real Life" and is written by End The Silent Epidemic and Friend For Life's resident volunteer Director of Clinical Mental Health Education, practicing clinical therapist to families and youth specifically, Nancy Cowden, LMFT. Nancy joined our team over a year ago and has been providing among our most popular mental health educational content ever since. We are so lucky and proud to be able to offer you, our beloved peer-support community this critical material that is informed by a most highly respected by patients and colleagues alike family and youth-specific therapist with over TWO DECADES OF CLINICAL YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH EXPERIENCE. You all seem to be equally grateful for Nancy's participation as her slideshows are amongst our most popular content offered We are so grateful for Nancy's content and we believe it is so popular because we are currently living in a world where a lack of basic mental health education has been found to be the #1 cause of youth choosing not to seek help (professional or other forms of help), when facing mental health struggles, even those life-threatening in nature in an astonishing and deadly percentage of cases: 96%! This almost unbelievable statistic has had an undoubtedly significant impact on the reality our generation faces: a reality in which youth suicide has become a true existential threat to the global youth population with suicide officially the 2nd leading cause of death in youth 10-34 years old, more deadly than any physical disease in that same age group. Due to a number of factors too long to list but largely due to issues of lack of access, unmatched supply of mental health professionals compared to the number of youth who need treatment, and so much else, around 80% of American youth with a DIAGNOSABLE MENTAL ILLNESS GO WITHOUT PROPER TREATMENT, meaning only 20% of American youth have the means and access to professional treatment (and that's only if they can manage to overcome the first barrier of realizing that they need help and are able and willing to ask for it, which as mentioned above is only about 4% of youth in some instances). This lack of access combined with the fact that youth are not seeking out help in the first place are two of the factors that make Nancy's original educational material so particularly priceless and popular*. Most of all, we are so proud and grateful to be able to disseminate Nancy's unparalleled content because we believe it is among the most practically and tangibly helpful of the resources we offer. As the title suggests, it helps readers understand how their mental health struggles might manifest "in real life," with each slideshow providing insight into tools, coping skills and or resources that can make these "real life" manifestation so much more manageable! For the purposes of this forum post we hope you will engage peer-support and engage in social interaction by commenting below with thoughts, feedback and we encourage you to strike up your own conversations pertaining to this or a related subjects that will help each of you to become more familiar with one another with each new post! If there is a particular "Mental Health In Real Life" clinical topic you would like Nancy to consider covering in a future segment, comment below so that Nancy can consider if and how she may be able to help!* *NANCY IS NOT YOUR THERAPIST, you should never consider these evidenced-based general recommendations as personal and/or clinical recommendations, NOR CONSIDER THIS MATERIAL AS A PROPER SUBSTITUTE FOR THERAPY IN ANYWAY (we obviously highly promote therapy as the gold-standard for anyone who can access it).

https://app.termly.io/document/privacy-policy/672a6081-4066-4158-9b01-599058b19d30

https://app.termly.io/document/terms-of-use-for-website/faa84784-a132-4871-b2bd-7a95ad73971d

Author: ESE's Hannah Love aka @mentalhealthohio This segment, entitled “Welcome to Class, is written by our resident school Teacher, Hannah Love. As a High School teacher, Hannah sees first hand how many young people struggle with mental health issues and thoughts of self-harm. With that in mind Hannah wanted to create a segment that is particularly relevant to school-aged youth in that it deals with the unique issues most often faced by this age group. For example, balancing school work with one’s mental health is a particularly difficult challenge unique to those in school. This monthly content will address issues of this nature, hopefully providing tips, resource, and data that gives you a leg up as you juggle school, extracurriculars, friends, family, homework, your job, and, of course, your health—mental and physical.

We are so happy you've chosen to try out this mental health, mental wellness and self-harm prevention community forum! This forum is free of charge w/the only price of admission being an open and non-judgmental heart and mind and sharing and listening w/compassion so that members may open up and discusss the issues that matter most in a safe and supportive environment! If you haven’t yet read our Forum Code of Conduct (COC), please do so before you begin posting (see bellow). Our COC clarifys the etiquette that we require be upheld so that we can ensure this is a platform where meaningful dialogue can occur and vulnerable truths can be shared without fear of judgment, bullying, or other inappropriate and unkind behavior. Please help us uphold this etiquette and maintain a true safe space by reporting posts and users that infringe upon our COC, especially if they are negatively impacting you. We’re so glad you have chosen to fight for your own mental wellbeing by joining a community dedicated to helping youth find peer-based support for their mental health struggles. In addition to leaning on your peers, please don’t forget to take advantage of the many 100% FREE resources we have shared on this forum and will continuously update to make sure you are getting the most relevant and up-to-date help! Just a few examples of these other resources are our original educational materials, our self-harm prevention resources, and our Friends for Life initiative (which has it’s own forum thread “FFL Meet-Up). Congratulations on standing up for your mental wellness and fighting for your safety and health, please go start exploring and once again, welcome to the @ESE forum! Emma Aders End The Silent Epidemic

The impact of discrimination and racism shows up in myriad of inhumane and unacceptable ways. The toll they are taking on the mental health status of the members of our communities of color has become unsustainable and deadly. For those of us who have struggled with mental health issues or suicidal ideations, we know what it is like to have your own mind try to take us down. Members of communities of color who struggle with these same core issues have to fight these same inside voices, however they are often amplified by the hateful voices of the inexcusable number of people who continuously propagate racist viewpoints. This thread exists to provide a safe space for POC to discuss mental health issues that are unique to this cohort. This thread is for POC and allies only.

For far too long young men have been taught to hide and feel shame regarding anything even resembling emotional vulnerability let alone seeking help for mental health struggles. This highly toxic environment has had among the most severe consequences of all. Young men die by suicide at a rate 3X that of young women. Despite this obvious public health emergency, men's mental health still remains a "hush-hush" subject, and very few male youth know where to turn to seek help when they are experiencing a mental health issue. This thread exists to provide a safe space for young men to discuss mental health issues that are unique to this cohort but is not exclusive to men for we want to encourage everyone, no matter how they identify, to take up the mantle of supporting men's mental health. Perhaps the best place to start is to END THE SILENCE AND STIGMA simply by using our voices (or in this case keypads) to start the conversation and make sure that young men everywhere know they have somewhere to turn and that they needn't and shouldn't suffer in silence a moment longer.

LGBTQ+ youth have to contend with so many challenges that heterosexual and cis gender individuals don't even have to consider. As a result, the rates of suicide in this population are among the highest of any population, with young trans individuals facing perhaps the highest rates of suicide of any group. This thread exists to provide a safe space for LGBTQ+ individuals to discuss mental health issues that are unique to this cohort. It's hard enough to find a peer to have an authentic mental health conversation with, but when you add in the additional challenge of needing to find someone to confide in who truly understands and has lived the reality of being an LGBTQ+ youth with mental health struggles, it can feel like you'll never find a peer to confide in. That's why this group exists and we hope that together anyone who chooses to join comes together to build a community wherein young LGBTQ+ individuals can feel welcome, safe, and like they finally have somewhere they can be their full, authentic self and find friends in which they confide in, knowing that this person at minimum has great compassion for their truth or perhaps even can directly identify with that person's every day lived reality.

Bullying (both in-person and cyberbullying) have is another epidemic that is ravaging the wellbeing and safety of today's youth. Between in-person and cyberbullying, approximately 20% of high school youth were bullied according to the most recent data released by stop bullying.gov. Anyone who has been bullied or is currently being bullied is more than welcome in this thread. We hope this will be a place where you can find some solace, community, and perhaps even some healing. Our founder Emma Aders who is a survivor of abuse, believes bullying is a form of abuse. Emma knows the incredible damage bullying and abuse cause, however, she also believes with all of her heart that us survivors are some of the strongest people alive. We created this thread so survivors had a place to come together and help each other keep fighting and to support each other while each of us walk our own individual path of healing.

Abuse comes in many forms: verbal, physical, sexual, emotional, spiritual, psychological and many others. Anyone who has been abused or is currently being abused is more than welcome in this thread. We hope this will be a place where you can find some solace, community, and perhaps even some healing. Our founder Emma Aders is a survivor of abuse and while she knows the incredible damage it causes, she also believes with all of her heart that us survivors are some of the strongest people alive. We created this thread so survivors had a place to come together and help each other keep fighting and to support each other while each of us walk our own individual path of healing.

This thread is for anyone who has survived sexual assault and is read/needing to discuss their trauma with fellow survivors/thrivers! Those who face sexual assault have among the highest rate of suicide, with those who face sexual assault at a young age, especially those assaulted before the age of 16 facing 10X the rate of the average individual. Our founder Emma Aders is a survivor and while she knows the incredible damage it causes, she also believes with all of her heart that us survivors are some of the strongest people alive. We created this thread so survivors had a place to come together and help each other keep fighting and to support each other while each of us walk our own individual path of healing.

This thread is for anyone who lives with undiagnosed mental illness but struggles with mental health issues and needs peer support and wishes to discuss this reality and struggle with others who experience similar difficulties. We hope you can find some solace in conversing with others who understand your everyday reality on a personal level. In addition to anything else you wish to discuss, we suggest finding someone who struggles with similar difficulties and talking with them about things that help alleviate their symptoms (i.e. successful coping mechanisms, types of therapy that have worked for you, etc.). We hope you find the help, community, and some like-minded friends that may be able to help you in your journey towards understanding and healing your mental wellbeing, therefore finally getting the support you've long deserved but likely gone without for too long!

This thread is for anyone who lives with any other mental illness not listed (official diagnosis or not) and wishes to discuss this reality and struggle with others who experience similar difficulties. We hope you can find some solace in conversing with others who understand your everyday reality on a personal level. In addition to anything else you wish to discuss, we suggest also discussing topics regarding things that alleviate what ever mental health issue you struggle with (i.e. successful coping mechanisms, types of therapy that have worked for you, etc.). We hope you find the help, community, and some like-minded friends that may be able to help you in your journey towards understanding and healing your mental wellbeing, therefore finally getting the support you've long deserved but likely gone without for too long!

This thread is for anyone who lives with schizophrenia (official diagnosis or not) and wishes to discuss this reality and struggle with others who experience similar difficulties. We hope you can find some solace in conversing with others who understand your everyday reality on a personal level. In addition to anything else you wish to discuss, we suggest also discussing topics regarding things that alleviate your schizophrenia (i.e. successful coping mechanisms, types of therapy that have worked for you, etc.). We hope you find the help, community, and some like-minded friends that may be able to help you in your journey towards understanding and healing your mental wellbeing, therefore finally getting the support you've long deserved but likely gone without for too long!

This thread is for anyone who lives with depression (official diagnosis or not) and wishes to discuss this reality and struggle with others who experience similar difficulties. We hope you can find some solace in conversing with others who understand your everyday reality on a personal level. In addition to anything else you wish to discuss, we suggest also discussing topics regarding things that alleviate your depression (i.e. successful coping mechanisms, types of therapy that have worked for you, etc.). We hope you find the help, community, and some like-minded friends that may be able to help you in your journey towards understanding and healing your mental wellbeing, therefore finally getting the support you've long deserved but likely gone without for too long!

This thread is for anyone who lives with OCD (official diagnosis or not) and wishes to discuss this reality and struggle with others who experience similar difficulties. We hope you can find some solace in conversing with others who understand your everyday reality on a personal level. In addition to anything else you wish to discuss, we suggest also discussing topics regarding things that alleviate your OCD (i.e. successful coping mechanisms, types of therapy that have worked for you, etc.). We hope you find the help, community, and some like-minded friends that may be able to help you in your journey towards understanding and healing your mental wellbeing, therefore finally getting the support you've long deserved but likely gone without for too long!