Support groups abound on the internet! You can sit in the comfort of your own home and participate in any of a number of support groups for every illness imaginable. Simply search for your area of interest and visit the web sites! Many have one or more areas of support prominently displayed.
1. Forums (Bulletin Boards): Here you may post a message and return later to read any responses or respond to another individual's post. Forums are excellent for those individuals who wish to be interactive but may not have time to do so often or on a large scale. Most forums have rules posted, but common courtesy is the one of most importance in all of them.
In forums you meet and correspond with others who share your disorder. Friendships may develop and your friendship may continue through email or other forms of correspondence. Always remember that some people who have posted at any given time are not doing well and are in need of caring, compassion and support, not censure for something perhaps said in the wrong way.
Forums are available for almost any type of mental disorder or illness. Probably the best way of finding them is to search for the disorder you are interested in, in the search engines, then visiting the sites you find. Bookmark any with interactive support and return to them later to check them out.
Some sites on the internet offer support in more illnesses than one, and/or links to other forums. I recommend you check out:
Support Group.com............................http://www.support-group.com
Concerned Counseling ..............http://www.concernedcounseling.com
Mental Health Net .......................http://www.mentalhelp.net This site has a discussion area, but more importantly, if you click on any of the disorders listed you will find links to other support across the net.
2. Chat: In the chat rooms you can chat to one or a group of people with the same disorder at the same time. Search for chat programs in the same way that you have searched for forums. Many are available.
3. Email Groups: Join an email group to receive lists of posted messages in your regular mailbox to read and respond to. Email groups have many benefits. You may read and respond at your leisure, one message at a time, or twenty if you desire. Be warned though that email lists generally generate a lot of mail!
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