Have you benefited from an online anxiety support group?

June 15, 2013 8:37 AM

Have you been a part of an online anxiety support group before? I'd like to hear about your experience.

I've recently started the process of seeking treatment for anxiety. I've never had a mental health issue or seen a therapist before, so I've been reading up on treatments. A lot of resources (Mayo Clinic and National Institute for Mental Health, for example) recommend joining a support group to make treatment more effective. Right now, my work involves frequent travel, so an online support group would be convenient.

Have you been a part of an online anxiety support group before? Which one? What was your experience? Did it complement your one-on-one therapy or was it a terrible idea?

posted by before and after to Health & Fitness (3 answers total)

I've been part of therapist-lead in-person groups, and they are fantastic. Hearing about others' experiences goes a long way toward making sense of your own.

I've never done a formal online group. However, that's basically what I and my friends use Facebook for. One big anxiety/work/parenting support group. And it's much the same as the in-person groups - relating experiences, worries, etc. Knowing that your problems aren't special, that everyone you know is dealing with the same stuff to varying degrees, etc.

Just knowing you can be open and honest with a group of people, be it friends or strangers, is fantastic.

Good luck.
posted by colin_l at 9:06 AM on June 15, 2013

It sounds like you have general anxiety? Mine is more social anxiety, so online support worked well for me because I didn't have to see anyone face to face (for group therapy - I will note here that my therapy included anxiety but was mainly for bipolar). It does help a lot to hear other people's stories and know that others go through something similar to what you do, and I have found that those people often have a perspective on it that my therapist does not. Of course you should work with a therapist as well, but to have the added experience from people going through what you are is beneficial.

The only thing that became difficult for me was that many of the people became online friends - which is fine, but the friendships were based mostly on our disorders, and we spent most of our conversation time talking about how we were feeling. I was getting too involved with my disorder because I spent a lot of time focusing on how I was feeling while conversing with these people. Eventually I felt that I had to get away in order to steer my thinking toward more everyday things. Just be cognizant of how much time you want to invest in the group and its members.
posted by veerat at 6:31 PM on June 15, 2013

Well, I've been on the INTJ forum, Student Doctor Network, and College Confidential, where I informally ranted about my anxiety issues that were addressed by other members of the forum about med school, the future, and my insecurities. I've also tried out therapy to deal with some of the trauma from my childhood (verbally abusive mother that I'm now on decent terms with given that I've improved my looks to her satisfaction). Nothing worked for me until I bought myself a diary and promised myself to write down everything that bothered me, everything I was insecure about, and everything I wanted for my future. I found that systematically analysing my problem areas freed me from the chains of much of the anxiety I felt, so now I'm pretty much anxiety-free save for a few social phobia situations around the popular kids who used to make fun of me in high school. (And to address the latter issue, I rarely go home and I try to avoid parties where they'll be there. I ended up doing better than them in college, but some people just don't grow out of the bullying mindset...)
posted by lotusmish at 10:24 AM on June 17, 2013