Hi dear friends 🙋‍♀️ I have posted comments that try to encourage not only new members but even the most seasoned.  Experiences and the way they are lived are different for every single person.  What you see as yourself had been shaped by those experiences.  It is your life experiences that create your reality. 
When commenting on threads that others have expressed a dissonance in their life, consider putting yourself in their shoes and think "what in my life have I experienced that could help them?"  Sometimes you may not have an answer, and all you can do is hold their hand and listen, which may be all they need.

Jess

I agree, Jessica.  I don't have any words of wisdom to offer, and I have learned (ironically, in a men's support group) that unsolicited advice is seldom welcome, so I am reluctant to give any.  Which means that, in most cases, all I have to offer is my own experiences.  I offer them in hopes that either the person in question or someone else lurking may find something useful in them.

I like to read others' experiences.  Even if someone else's experience suggests the exact opposite of mine, that can only help people to understand their own situation better.

Quote from: KathyLauren on January 30, 2018, 08:01:01 AM
I agree, Jessica.  I don't have any words of wisdom to offer, and I have learned (ironically, in a men's support group) that unsolicited advice is seldom welcome, so I am reluctant to give any.  Which means that, in most cases, all I have to offer is my own experiences.  I offer them in hopes that either the person in question or someone else lurking may find something useful in them.

I like to read others' experiences.  Even if someone else's experience suggests the exact opposite of mine, that can only help people to understand their own situation better.

Words of encouragement can be manufactured in a greeting card business, but words that come from the heart have the best effect.  They don't sound hollow or condescending.  And truly, just being there, holding a virtual hand, can save someone from falling deeper into despair

If you are listening, respectful, and friendly, you are showing kindness.
Seems like the right thing to do.

Just wanted this cycled through again.  It's a good message for everyone to see.

Quote from: Jessica on January 30, 2018, 01:27:35 AM
 
consider putting yourself in their shoes and think "what in my life have I experienced that could help them?"  Sometimes you may not have an answer, and all you can do is hold their hand and listen, which may be all they need.

Jess

  That part of what you said is what I try to do. I do not feel that I have any words of wisdom. But I can try to make some new person welcome. I also read what others have to say in their post and look for something I can relate to and I'll post along that thought, sharing my own experience with with them to say I know how you feel or I've been there too and most importantly to show them they are not alone in how they feel. The more I can share common things with someone the more of a connection we can have.  How do you think I have roped in all of you? By finding and nurturing connections with you. But it does have it's drawbacks. It allows you to get close to me and thereby you get past my defenses. It makes me vulnerable. You see who I am.

Hugs,
   Laurie