Lift Yourself: Community of Support

 Lift Yourself is a website dedicated to being a ray of sunshine in the lives of the millions of depressed and anxious individuals by bringing them together. The premise of the site is to provide a forum complete with chat rooms, events, and professional help that can fundamentally alter the way people cope with the disorders. One of the best features of the site is the availability to schedule assessments with psychologists and psychiatrists to truly understand what's going on within a person's psyche and possibly reducing the amount of anxiety that surrounds knowing there is a problem, but not knowing what exactly it is.  Criticisms of Lift Yourself seem to look past the "merely possible" aspect of the project. A question that was posed to the group was, "what doctors would work on these patients for free?" I instantly thought of Doctors Without Borders, a non-profit organization that provides medical assistance to people of developing nations. To question if anyone would actually want to dedicate their time to those who need it most within their community seems like a no-brainer to me. My only concern with the trained professionals and volunteers is the availability of a user's primary chat room listener. If someone is having a depressive episode or crisis at a time not convenient for the professional, who would attend to that person in need? I'm sure had I asked this question during class, it would've received an excellent answer like the other questions I asked.

 Another target for criticism was the Events aspect of the site. This was a feature that really distinguished Lift Yourself from the many other services already being offered. Essentially, there would be various in real life facilities that people can visit to feel a part of a community while trying to overcome the symptoms that affect them every day. At these facilities, they can visit trained counselors or attend fun activities that can help them take a healthy step towards recovery. Many people commented that these options play off of a depression misconception that was addressed at the beginning of the presentation. I completely disagree with that implication. I believe that type of thinking is reductive in the way that it assumes an individual trying to reach a point in their life where their depression is at bay and easier to control would not jump at the chance to start feeling more like themselves again. To say that you can't imagine a person who is struggling within themself to make strides towards feeling and living in a way they actually want to isn't logically to me. Lift Yourself offers opportunities that many won't get a chance to experience because of things like poverty and proximity. If it were an actual service available to the general public, it would make an exponential difference in the lives of millions of depression and anxiety sufferers.