Should You Go to a Mental Health Support Group?

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• Should You Go to a Mental Health Support Group?
• From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Video: Bipolar Medication Side Effects: Weight Gain
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• Mental Health Quote

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Facebook Live This Wednesday

Join us for our Facebook Live tonight. We’re talking about “How to Ask for Help When You Need It.” And therapist, Emily Roberts, will be taking your personal questions on any mental health subject.

We start at 7p ET / 6 CT. We hope to see you there and feel free to invite anyone you wish.

https://www.facebook.com/HealthyPlace/.

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Should You Go to a Mental Health Support Group?

Mental health support groups are gatherings of people who come together around a common goal, usually to cope with a mental health problem and develop skills for handling it. Understanding the nature of support groups can help you decide if they are right for you.

Support groups can be specific, such as an eating disorders support group. Alternately, they can be broad, open to anyone struggling with any mental health issue (such as NAMI Connection groups).

Support groups are often

• led by a non-professional, usually someone who is experiencing or has experienced struggles similar to the purpose of the group (such as depression or OCD)
• tend to be open, meaning there isn’t an official start and stop date, and people can attend when it works for them
• Allow people to share struggles and get feedback from group members
• Help people learn new coping skills
• Offer social connection in a safe environment

If you are easily triggered by listening to others’ experiences or if you simply aren’t ready for this type of sharing with others, it’s okay to say no to mental health support groups. Your goal is to heal, and you get to decide if a mental health support group is right for you.

Related Articles Dealing with Support

• List of Bipolar Support Groups Online
• OCD Support and OCD Support Groups
• Finding Mental Health Support Online
• Families with Mental Illness Need Support Groups
• ADHD Support for Parents of ADD, ADHD Children
• Adult ADHD Support
• List of Self-Help Groups

Your Thoughts

Today's Question: If you have attended a support group, what was the experience like for you? We invite you to participate by sharing your thoughts, experiences, and knowledge on the HealthyPlace Facebook page and on the HealthyPlace Google+ page.

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From the HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

On all our blogs, your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Bipolar Treatment and How to Find the Right Psychiatrist
• Celebrities’ Mental Health Stories Can be Sources of Hope
• Twice Exceptional: Mental Illness and the Gifted Child
• Being on Time and Reducing Road Rage for Your Mental Health
• Travel Anxiety Tips for People Who Want to Go, but Don’t
• When a Bipolar Coping Skill Stops Working
• How I Healed from a Narcissist Boyfriend’s Abuse
• Life Is Good at 39, Even with Schizoaffective Disorder
• The Best Exercises for Depression Treatment
• Are You Hard on Yourself? How to Stop Self-Critical Anxiety
• Write a Goodbye Letter to Your Eating Disorder
• Complex PTSD and Low Self-Esteem
• Can a DID Headmate Kill Another Headmate?
• The Effects of Weather on Mental Health
• Feeling Helpless When You’re Suffering from Depression
• Loss of Identity in a Verbally Abusive Relationship
• ADHD and Creativity: Your Creative Gift Also Treats ADHD

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

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From HealthyPlace YouTube Channel

I'm Hannah. I Have Bipolar 2

Bipolar Medication Side Effects: Weight Gain

For many of us, one of the most troubling bipolar medication side-effects is weight gain. Unfortunately, weight gain from bipolar medications is common and frustrating to those of us who use them to maintain our mental health. (Watch Hannah)

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

Here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook fans are recommending you read:

1. Childhood ADHD and Stealing: What’s Going on with Your Kid?
2. How to Manage Slips in Binge Eating Disorder Recovery
3. 26 Self-Care Activities to Help Reduce the Effects of Stress

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

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Mental Health Quote

"Please don’t try to fix me. Please understand that I just get sad sometimes. Sometimes I shut the word out and I feel better I’ll let it back in."

Read more mental health quotes.

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That's it for now. If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or google+) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week, circle HealthyPlace on Google+, follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook. Also, check out HealthyPlace on Pinterest and share your mental health pins on our Share Your Mental Health Experiences board.

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index