Easter Support Thread 2020
Dancer
Community Champion Posts: 8,103 Legendary Poster
This can vary from a wide range of reasons such as struggling with an eating disorder, not celebrating Easter, struggling with mental health issues, losing a family member or just finding things difficult at the moment. This coronavirus outbreak has had a massive impact on all of us.
Although we are far apart (and we are supposed to be following social distancing guidelines) it is important more than ever to stick together and look after ourselves. Talk to someone if you feel lonely or just bored. Spend some time treating yourself. Help the community around you. Spend time with the people that you love.
I hope that you are all doing well. If you are not, it is not the end of the world. There is always someone that you can talk to. They will listen to you and not judge you. Although they might not be able to directly help you, just knowing that someone is listening and caring can be a massive comfort.
Stay strong and well everyone. You are all amazing and so inspirational.
There are some helplines for anyone who is struggling at the moment:
https://www.themix.org.uk/get-support/find-local-services- Find additional support services in your local area.
https://www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team- Speak to An Agent from The Mix between 4pm and 11pm every day.
0808 808 4994- The Mix Telephone Helpline
https://www.themix.org.uk/get-support/speak-to-our-team/crisis-messenger- Crisis Messenger
https://www.7cups.com- 7Cups is an online community for teenagers and adults around the world. You can speak to a listener, join a group support chat (24/7,) become a listener or chat to a therapist. The therapy costs money though but the rest of the website is absolutely free. There are many opportunities to help out around the website and this can boost your confidence.
www.childline.org- Childline is a free and confidential service that helps young people up to their 19th birthday. There is a website full of information and advice as well as Ask Sam (a page where you write an anonymous letter to Sam who will respond to a few letters each week with advice and some words of support) and games for a lighthearted distraction. There is also the phone helpline (0800 1111.) You can even make an account as long as you are under 19. Your locker is your private and safe space that you can personalise. It includes a mood journal which you can use to record how you are feeling and why. You can also send a message to a Childline counsellor who will reply (be aware that different counsellors might respond depending on the time of day and the day of the week- the counsellors do 4 hour shifts once a week so it is very unlikely for you to speak to the same person twice.) The Childline website also has a 1-2-1 chat service which is confidential. Childline is completely free and confidentiality only gets broken for very limited reasons so you can ensure your safety.
www.kooth.com- Kooth is a free and confidential online counselling service for 10-17 year olds living in the United Kingdom. You can speak to a trained counsellor. They are BACP registered (British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy) so you can rest assured that the counsellors are safe people to talk to. Kooth is anonymous and has a magazine that you can read and contribute to. There is also a forum with live discussions 3 evenings a week about various topics from bullying to autism to anxiety. You can only have a live chat for 1 hour every week and you have to join a queue which can get quite busy. It is open from 12pm-10pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and then 6pm-10pm on Saturdays and Sundays. If you are not up to having a live chat, you can send a message to the team inbox and a counsellor will reply to you during opening hours. You also have a private journal on your account which can only be read by you and the counsellors. Just like Childline, Kooth only breaks confidentiality for a very small number of reasons. Rest assured that you are safe on Kooth.
https://client.chatwee.com/v2/popout/599c194bbd616d8b43891808- Group Chat happens on The Mix on Sunday evenings, Monday evenings, Tuesday evenings, Wednesday evenings and Thursday evenings from 8pm-9:30pm. Every other Saturday there is a session dedicated to support for under 16's so they have a quieter place to get support. There is also support circle every Tuesday which you have to sign up for. @The Mix always send you a pm with the password for that week if your space has been confirmed (there are very limited support places every week.)
999- If you are in any danger or feel unsafe always contact the emergency services.
"The way that I have found the light in my life is through the expressive arts because I know that I will be accepted for the way I am." ~ Me
"I'm going to get strong again and see you soon. " ~ Anonymous
Comments
Sending hugs and love to you.
It sounds like you are finding Easter really difficult due to the food aspect. Sorry to hear that you are struggling so much. It hurts so much to see the people I care about feeling sad.
It makes complete sense that you are struggling and that it is making you feel upset. How are you coping at the moment? I understand if you are struggling to cope.
It is okay to ask for help and you are never a burden. Remember that there are people out there who care about you and want to help you.
I recommend that you have a look at Beat. Beat is an amazing eating disorder website that has daily group support chats (a bit like group chat on here but it is currently between 12pm and 8pm.) There are multiple chat rooms depending on what eating disorder you would like to focus on.
There is also a 1-2-1 chat helpline that is avaliable every day for anyone to talk to an agent if they are struggling to cope with any aspects of eating issue.
There is also a phone helpline if you would rather talk on the phone rather than in a group chat environment or on a 1-2-1 online chat. Sometimes the line can be busy and they recommend that if you cannot get through straight away that you try again later or use the online 1-2-1 chat service.
The phone number is 0808 801 0677. For young people the number is 0808 801 0711. For students the phone number is 0808 801 0811.
Also, there is a lot of information as well as a helpfinder to help you find other services local to you that might be able to support you better. It is very similar to the helpfinder which is on The Mix website.
Here is the link to the website: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/support-services/helplines
Stay strong and keep fighting Bubbles. You can get through this although it might be really hard for you right now.
"The way that I have found the light in my life is through the expressive arts because I know that I will be accepted for the way I am." ~ Me
"I'm going to get strong again and see you soon. " ~ Anonymous
it just feels like im never fully free of unhealthy foods, like I still haven't finished my Christmas sweets/chocolate and now I have easter stuff on top of that, then in summer i'll have more from my birthday, then in autumn ill have more from Halloween and then we're back to Christmas and the cycle beings again, im just never free from it all