Virtual Support Groups

Maybe you or a family member have been recently diagnosed with a disease like diabetes or high blood pressure. Or, perhaps, the condition concerns your mental health such as depression or anxiety. Either way your treatment might involve a lot of healthcare professionals and significant lifestyle changes, and you could benefit from connecting with other people that are going through or have gone through the same thing. Research has proven that connecting with other people can help improve the patient's experience, and that goes for family and friends, too! Below are a few reliable resources to get you started.

Recommended Sites

I started, first, at this trusted government website where there were many topics listed:
https://healthfinder.gov/FindServices/SearchContext.aspx?topic=833

For example, from there, I found one website called HealthUnlocked that focuses on support for anxiety and depression:
https://healthunlocked.com/anxiety-depression-support/about

It's run by an international nonprofit that wants to help prevent and treat people suffering from these mental health-related struggles. Using the website and virtual support group are free and focused on education and connection. You can interact in group settings, find a therapist local to you, take quizzes and even have a therapy session online in real time, and the site reports that unless you voluntarily provide personal information, your interactions are anonymous.

Here is another website containing online support groups about Alzheimer's:
http://www.alz.org/apps/we_can_help/support_groups.asp

Here you can look over message boards and participate in chat rooms with people from all over the United States, and these resources are available 24 hours a day. Everyone is affected differently from Alzheimer's. Alzheimer's or early onset Alzheimer's can catch people off guard and leave them feeling really lonely and lost when partner's and children suddenly cannot connect with the patient as they did before.  Reaching out to other people who have been placed in the same situation can help to ground you and help you feel less alone.

Security and Confidentiality

In order to protect your identity and finances, there are some ways that people participate safely in online blogs and chat-rooms. Your username or name that you use should not be a personal identifier. It shouldn't include your real name, birthday, etc. Do not give out any financial information including credit card number or bank account information. Since it is a virtual support group the benefits exist without any need to meet up in person. You need to remember that people may not be giving accurate information about themselves, and it is possible that meeting them in person could be dangerous. Anonymous interactions, however, can help you in feeling less isolated while keeping you safe.