Struggling With Mental Health? This Mainer’s Online Support Group Could Help
It goes without saying that we've all gone through it in an intense way over the last 16-18 months from the pandemic when it comes to mental health struggles.
Mental Health Struggles
Whether you've been laid off and stuck on your couch for MONTHS trying to find a new job or even career, but have been striking out. Maybe you were lucky enough to keep your job, but unexpectedly picked up a second job when you were thrust into homeschooling your child(ren) or help a family member out with homeschooling their child(ren). Perhaps you were already battling mental health struggles, but being quarantined for a while early on in the pandemic and stuck at home with your thoughts just amplified the struggle.
Regardless of the situation, it was and continues to be, for some, an intense ride. A ride in which an off-ramp of help is needed -- and thanks to a selfless Mainer named Jason, who deals with mental health struggles of his own, that off-ramp now exists in the form of an online support group through Jason's new website.
A New Support System for Maine Mental Health Struggles
Anxietyin.me, according to Jason and his description on the homepage of the website, is "a support group for people in Maine with anxiety issues."
"I really want to help people and I also hope that making this site would be a nice little springboard into either helping people with mental health issues or be good for some sort of web development or web design job. I have no formal experience and did everything myself. I also have mental health issues, so what better way to help people than someone who already knows what they're going through right?"
The play-on-words that pops up in the web address isn't just a coincidence, either.
"I chose that for a few reasons. The .com I wanted was taken. Also, I figured it would be a neat little double-meaning and slight cleverness. .me as in myself (and the person viewing the site) and .me as in the state abbreviation."
The website is just over a week old, but is already populated with a pretty decent amount of information. Links to a half-dozen support groups, a psychotherapist and psychologist both in Maine, a blog including important hotline numbers for help, as well as a forum for everyone to share their own story and support each other also exists.
It's been said for months that everything going on in the world right now has caused us, whether the universe meant for it to happen or not, to step outside of our comfort zones and find a way to raise above. It just so happens that a lot of what seems to be happening to "raise above" involves helping our fellow neighbors out.
It's what makes us, Mainers/Granite Staters/Northern New Englanders, some of the best humans in the country.