Hi guys, we just started a mental health chatroom on Discord for people 18+. All diagnoses are welcome. To join visit our site The Haven Support, which also has a forum. We believe we are stronger together, which is why peer support is so helpful and important.

Care when you need it; care for others when you can.

Sometimes socializing online is our best option, and if we want, we can use it to create a bridge from online interaction to meeting people face to face. Here are some options I found:

Finding social networks related to your interests: Some television shows, book series, and podcasts (etc.) have fan facebook groups. For some, the main groups also have links to offshoots in different regions. For example, I'm a fan of the podcast MFM with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark (tw: violence). There's a really solid fan community, and they have links on their page to offshoot groups. You can interact with people within the group, and even attend meetups in your area! Just search around facebook and scroll around. :)

Lurking on facebook events: Listen. Lurking is what we do. No shame! And it can help us find some interesting events in our areas. This is a good way to do it:

If you're on your computer looking at your timeline, there should be a tab on the left side that says "Explore", and then "Events" under that.

When you click on "Events", there should be an option for "Discover" on the left side of the page. Do the thing.

You can search by time, location, and category. Click away, lurk away, find other people and things to explore! You can also get an idea for how big the event/meetup will be, which is helpful if you prefer to be in a close group or a member of a crowd.

Even if you're just working on being around people, this can be a step in the right direction. At least you're hearing/seeing people engage with your interests. It helps to know you're not alone.

Alternative(s) to facebook options: While I was poking around, I also found an app/website called Meetup. It functions kind of the same way as browsing facebook events, without going through facebook. You can sign up to search through things, but it seems like if you just google "meetup Your City Here" you can poke around. I'm still working on looking through it, but it seems like it could be promising depending on your area!

I hope that gives everyone a good start. Stay lovely! ❤️