Psyche logo

Mental Health Discord Helped Me Recover from Mental Illness

How Starting a Mental Health Discord for Mental Health Disorders Helped Me Overcome My Mental Illness and Live a More Empathetic Life

By Fiona MayhemPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
Top Story - June 2018
Like

I spent the majority of this year looking for support groups for those living with mental health disorders. When I couldn't find a support group that aligned with my needs, I decided to create a mental health discord server where I could meet others with similar issues. I call it The House of Misfits, and use it as a space where those with mental health disorders could vent and support each other during the dark times.

Helping others helped me learn empathy and forgiveness.

One of the biggest lessons I've learned from running a mental health discord chatroom was that I needed to be patient with others.

There are members who have aggressive mental health disorders, so they sometimes lash out.

There are members who are easily frightened or pushed away, so they need a space where they can reach out on their own terms.

There are members who need personal, one on one support, which our crisis support channels help out with.

For me, I got to listen to other peoples' stories of struggles and offer them an environment where they can thrive and grow. I created channels for them to showcase their photographs, artwork, and achievements. Personally, I think it's rather nice to have a community where I can freely talk about my woes but also share my wins, so my life doesn't become an echo chamber of, "Wow you suck."

I also learned to forgive myself for the times I was harsh to myself when it comes to my mental health. It felt different to be on the other side- helping people out with their mental health issues and wishing that you could take their pain away. There's also learning to lean on other people in the mental health Discord when things get too heavy for just me.

Overall, I learned to trust. I also learned that I'm not alone. There's no need to keep everything to myself and bottle it up until I explode.

The mental health Discord community has been that go-to for me when things get rough.

Events and Game Nights

Hosting events has been great for the mental health Discord. House of Misfits has a dedicated events team to host things like game night (Cards Against Humanity, Pictionary, etc.), movie nights, karaoke nights, and more. These events give us time to get to know each other on a more personal level, while providing an escape from whatever we're dealing with at the moment.

One on One and Group Crisis Support

While none of us are, or will admit, to being a mental health professional, we had channels just for those seeking crisis support.

I believe that having a listening ear is important. Our support channels serve as a ground where you can dump or vent whatever is happening in your mind, while our dedicated "Listeners" are there to help.

I call this, "Peer support."

How to Join the Mental Health Discord Chatroom

Joining the mental health Discord chatroom is fairly easy. Head over to our House of Misfits website and click any of the buttons inviting you to join.

From there, you will be asked to create an account with "Discord" if you haven't already made a Discord account.

Discord is the application where we host the chatroom and is completely free.

Once you're in the House of Misfits mental health Discord, you will be greeted by our members. Yep, we try to personally greet every single person that comes into the chat, so you're acknowledged from the beginning.

There are some quick rules to go over, but otherwise, you can jump right in and start chatting with us in seconds.

If you're looking for support or to join our support team, you can do that too.

So, if you're having a bad day, it's worth it to join our mental health discord chat. We're there to help and listen. Help others when you can and let us lift you up on those bad days.

Thanks for reading

– Mayhem

advice
Like

About the Creator

Fiona Mayhem

Runs the House of Misfits mental health discord server (https://www.houseofmisfits.org). Writes tongue in cheek posts on mental health, with a light dose of sarcasm.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.