A Safe Place

So many people come to our site because they feel scared and alone. You may find yourself facing some pretty serious life issues and it often feels like there is literally no one to turn to unless you are willing to spend some serious money. The simple fact is that the cost of therapy in the United States runs from $65 and up, per hour! We pay it of course and that is usually after the cost of seeing a doctor, which runs at least $25 a visit and getting monthly medication adds at the very least $5 a month (with excellent insurance of which you pay thousands a month for). So, with insurance the average American will pay a couple of hundred dollars a month to receive vital mental health care. Without insurance it is even more, which financially, is often out of a lot of people’s reach.

Our site, www.supportgroups.com is not a replacement for therapy or medical care, but it is a safe landing spot to ask for and provide support. It is made up of amazing individuals that are brave enough to pour out what is going on in their lives, from a difficult diagnosis, the ending of a marriage, to a life situation that is causing incredible stress and anxiety. Life without support can feel dark and incredibly scary, but knowing that there is at least one other person out there that has been through what you are going through feels like finding water in a desert.

We are not here to curse the darkness, but to light the candle that can guide us thru that darkness to a safe and sane future.
-John F. Kennedy

It should be a right, not a privilege, to receive quality mental and physical healthy care and while things have gotten slightly better over time, we are nowhere close to where we should be. While there are laws like, The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, which prevents insurance companies from making mental health care more restrictive than receiving physical health care, it doesn’t prevent mental health services from not taking your insurance. So while the need for more free and affordable mental health services are vast, we are humbled that we can help fill the void in a meaningful way.

A true friend encourages us, comforts us, supports us like a big easy chair, offering us a safe refuge from the world. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

So what are some things you can do to help improve or uplift your mental health? We are so glad you asked! Here are some tips we have put together on just that:

•If you haven’t already done so, join our site, it is easy, quick and free
•Anxiety, depression and other mental health issues can be addressed with your primary care doctor (it is a good start and they might have access to other free or low cost resources in your area)
•SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357) is a confidential, free, 24/7 information service in both English and Spanish and provides referrals to local treatment facilities and support groups (you can also text your zip to 435748)
•For those struggling with Alcohol addiction you can look up meetings by state here, https://alcoholicsanonymous.com/
Contact your state’s Health and Human services (Google search example: california health and human services), once there go to the page’s search bar and enter: mental health services
•Look into online therapy sites, Healthline's top 10 picks for 2022 can be found here,
https://www.healthline.com/health/our-top-10-online-therapy-picks#A-quic...

When fear makes your choices for you, no security measures on earth will keep the things you dread from finding you. But if you can avoid avoidance - if you can choose to embrace experiences out of passion, enthusiasm, and a readiness to feel whatever arises - then nothing, nothing in all this dangerous world, can keep you from being safe. -Martha Beck

In a perfect world getting the help we need, no require, would be as easy as asking for it. But we do not live in a perfect world and most of us have learned we can’t just ask, we have to ask over and over, we have to demand it, fight for it, shout for it, make ourselves heard until we get what we need. It isn’t fair and it isn’t just, but little by little things can and will get better. Here are some things you can do to help:

1. Vote for people that believe that mental health care in this country should be a right, not a privilege.
2. Advocate for yourself, when you know to your very core that your diagnosis isn’t right, or your medication isn’t working or that how you are feeling isn’t normal or healthy, promise never to give up until you are helped.
3. Share what you have learned along the way on our site with those who are just starting to go down the path you have already macheted a pathway through, don’t hesitate to be real and authentic, even if the answer is scary, it is less scary than being in the dark about what is ahead.

Playing safe is probably the most unsafe thing in the world. You cannot stand still. You must go forward. -Robert Collier

As always, we are in awe of your strength, courage and resolve. We are humbled and grateful to be a part of your journey.

Wishing you all the best,
Team SG