Do Support Groups and Resources Really Help, or Do They Just Make People Worse?
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Hi Seoul. I find your post interesting and have been disappointed by chat groups that I have looked into.
I don’t chat often but find that I want to share my heart with people who might understand my struggles.
My prayer is that this group will be different. How long have you been involved here? Have you made friends? Have you been encouraged?
Dee77
I don’t chat often but find that I want to share my heart with people who might understand my struggles.
My prayer is that this group will be different. How long have you been involved here? Have you made friends? Have you been encouraged?
Dee77
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Hi Dee,
Welcome to CC! I hope you are able to connect and make friends here!
I know a lot of people come here looking for friends and fellowship, but I would encourage people to be realistic about online chat groups and to be willing to put in the work it takes to actually connect with others through this medium. People sometimes come here and see me saying hi to or think that I know a lot of people on the site, but what they don't see is everything that's gone on behind the scenes.
To answer your questions, yes, I have made friends and found a lot of encouragement here. But as with everything, it comes with a price.
I've been on this site since 2009 (about 12 years,) and have literally spent countless thousands of hours here. The first year or so I was very active in the live chat, but soon switched to the forums (mostly Singles,) as writing has always been my primary form of communication -- even before the internet, I spent a lot of my free time writing pen and paper letters, so I adapted to this kind of format very quickly.
I think that a platform like this can be a hard transition for those who are not used to writing out their communication, as it takes at least triple the amount of time and ten times the amount of patience. You'll get a lot of "false starts" -- exchanges you might think will turn into a friendship, but for whatever reason, it fades, sometimes even after years. As the Bible says, there is a time and a season for everything.
I do have a small circle of friends I have known here since at least around 2015, but they're very easy going people who understand that I might disappear for weeks or months at a time due to the busy-ness of life. They know that I can't always respond individually, and that I can be in different moods to write different things, so sometimes I'm not in a frame of mind to write personal messages, but I WILL start threads here about things I'm thinking about, and they know that's the best way to see what I'm up to. I'm very blessed in that they understand and accept that. I also usually travel at least once a year to visit family, so over the years, I've been able to meet a few of these wonderful people in person (with more on my wish list.)
So yes, I've had a very wonderful experience, but it's not been without A LOT of work (for instance, I've written probably at least 1000 threads on the forum over all this time, which definitely helps you get to know people,) but it also means that you will attract a lot of trolls and people who attack you for your beliefs as well. Sometimes they're may also be under the influence of other substances, and you just kind of have to roll with the punches, because nothing you say will appease them.
I can't tell you the number of times I've followed people who were mowing others down and eventually you find out that part of it is because they are drinking and/or on drugs while posting (or AREN'T taking the medications they're supposed to be taking,) and so you have to take any negative experiences with a huge block of salt.
But this is just my experience here -- CC became my substitute for movies, TV, and most other entertainment -- and any one else's experience might be quite different.
I wish you all the best and hope to see you around in the forums!
Feel free to ask any questions you wish, and the rest of us will do our best to answer.
Welcome to CC! I hope you are able to connect and make friends here!
I know a lot of people come here looking for friends and fellowship, but I would encourage people to be realistic about online chat groups and to be willing to put in the work it takes to actually connect with others through this medium. People sometimes come here and see me saying hi to or think that I know a lot of people on the site, but what they don't see is everything that's gone on behind the scenes.
To answer your questions, yes, I have made friends and found a lot of encouragement here. But as with everything, it comes with a price.
I've been on this site since 2009 (about 12 years,) and have literally spent countless thousands of hours here. The first year or so I was very active in the live chat, but soon switched to the forums (mostly Singles,) as writing has always been my primary form of communication -- even before the internet, I spent a lot of my free time writing pen and paper letters, so I adapted to this kind of format very quickly.
I think that a platform like this can be a hard transition for those who are not used to writing out their communication, as it takes at least triple the amount of time and ten times the amount of patience. You'll get a lot of "false starts" -- exchanges you might think will turn into a friendship, but for whatever reason, it fades, sometimes even after years. As the Bible says, there is a time and a season for everything.
I do have a small circle of friends I have known here since at least around 2015, but they're very easy going people who understand that I might disappear for weeks or months at a time due to the busy-ness of life. They know that I can't always respond individually, and that I can be in different moods to write different things, so sometimes I'm not in a frame of mind to write personal messages, but I WILL start threads here about things I'm thinking about, and they know that's the best way to see what I'm up to. I'm very blessed in that they understand and accept that. I also usually travel at least once a year to visit family, so over the years, I've been able to meet a few of these wonderful people in person (with more on my wish list.)
So yes, I've had a very wonderful experience, but it's not been without A LOT of work (for instance, I've written probably at least 1000 threads on the forum over all this time, which definitely helps you get to know people,) but it also means that you will attract a lot of trolls and people who attack you for your beliefs as well. Sometimes they're may also be under the influence of other substances, and you just kind of have to roll with the punches, because nothing you say will appease them.
I can't tell you the number of times I've followed people who were mowing others down and eventually you find out that part of it is because they are drinking and/or on drugs while posting (or AREN'T taking the medications they're supposed to be taking,) and so you have to take any negative experiences with a huge block of salt.
But this is just my experience here -- CC became my substitute for movies, TV, and most other entertainment -- and any one else's experience might be quite different.
I wish you all the best and hope to see you around in the forums!
Feel free to ask any questions you wish, and the rest of us will do our best to answer.
For whatever reason women tend to have many emotional issues concerning diet... from one extreme to the other is usually the case.
Looking at the results of lifestyle of those who have gone through gastric bypass surgery...sure they lose weight. But then there's the losing of their gall bladder, and constant issues with digestive system and emotional issues which usually resulted in divorce or estrangement and return to diabetes in five years. Basically their identity is wrapped up in how they look and they no longer look like themselves. (Extra skin also isn't exactly a plus either)
So even if the obesity is "cured" it never really helped the person and actually made their quality of life worse.
All of which proves something Jesus alluded to in John 5. Jesus once asked a man a seemingly odd question, "Do you want to be well?".
Why would Jesus ask a lame man that question?
What was the purpose of asking that?
Is the expected answer always the truth?
Is food (or the lack of it) more important than health?
Is beauty more important than health?
New medicines are out for diabetics which kill their hunger and increase feelings of satiation...and some of the people who use this drug are becoming emotionally unsettled... because of their emotional connection to food and eating. All of which again goes back to the question, "Do you want to be well?".
It's extremely surprising that the expected answer doesn't match the reality of so many people.
Looking at the results of lifestyle of those who have gone through gastric bypass surgery...sure they lose weight. But then there's the losing of their gall bladder, and constant issues with digestive system and emotional issues which usually resulted in divorce or estrangement and return to diabetes in five years. Basically their identity is wrapped up in how they look and they no longer look like themselves. (Extra skin also isn't exactly a plus either)
So even if the obesity is "cured" it never really helped the person and actually made their quality of life worse.
All of which proves something Jesus alluded to in John 5. Jesus once asked a man a seemingly odd question, "Do you want to be well?".
Why would Jesus ask a lame man that question?
What was the purpose of asking that?
Is the expected answer always the truth?
Is food (or the lack of it) more important than health?
Is beauty more important than health?
New medicines are out for diabetics which kill their hunger and increase feelings of satiation...and some of the people who use this drug are becoming emotionally unsettled... because of their emotional connection to food and eating. All of which again goes back to the question, "Do you want to be well?".
It's extremely surprising that the expected answer doesn't match the reality of so many people.
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