Need a supportive mental health chat room to talk and let things out? Look no further. Here’s a breakdown of the most supportive chat rooms, the safest online chat rooms, and what each has to offer.

Why get mental health support in a chat room?

Your options for mental health support depend on your resources. Those of us who need help with depression and anxiety don’t often have a lot of resources for feeling better. We want to feel better ASAP, and we don’t have a lot of time or money to make that happen.

Unfortunately, the most well-known mental health resource, therapy, isn’t even available to many who need it. It’s definitely a helpful tool for mental health struggles, but in-person therapy takes time, energy, transportation, logistics, calendar space, and uh — money.

In-person support groups can be a helpful alternative to talk therapy, but logistics may still pose a problem, and you can’t access them on-demand, in the moment when you’re actually struggling.

You need to find a resource that checks all your boxes: affordability, accessibility, quality, and efficacy. That’s where safe mental health chatrooms come in.

A safe, supportive online chat room can be your lifeline for mental health maintenance. The safety part is important. The only problem is, there are so many choices.

Common options for supportive chat rooms

To make your choice easier, we laid out the top supportive chat rooms, below.

Discord servers

Discord servers can be run by anyone and often allow anyone to join the chat. These chats can be topic-specific, but ‘free’ might mean a free-for-all. You have to rely on finding the right group for your specific struggle. And unfortunately, just because a group exists, doesn’t mean it will be active or helpful.

For instance, you might go to a ‘relationship issues’ chat to talk about your cheating boyfriend, only to find a bunch of boyfriends discussing their own infidelity.

Ideally, you’d just be automatically put with people who get your current struggle (like what happens in Supportiv chats). 

If you might feel easily triggered, prefer a more well-controlled space, or want to feel completely understood, keep looking.

Whisper

In one sentence: lots of potentially triggering, hypersexual content, and little actual support. You can get things off your chest, but you won’t really feel less alone… and you might pick up a few more pieces of baggage on the way. There’s no structure for who responds to you or how; it can feel isolating to share a deep, dark secret, only to get no reassurance, or worse, negative feedback.

While this option provides an outlet, it is not one of the safest online chat rooms.

7cups

7cups is a resource with much room for improvement. It has had reports of improper moderator behavior during chats – and the company’s use of personal data is also in question (both of which, the State of California is currently reviewing).

At Supportiv, there is always at least one real, live person to talk with you.

When you’re looking for a supportive chat room, a group moderator keeps the conversation on track. But you also need it to be a well-trained moderator — otherwise, they either won’t be able to bring the group together, or they might share too much, dominate the group, or get downright creepy.

A key to safety and support in a chat room: empathy-trained moderators

Nothing feels worse than seeking support, only to feel unheard. Because of that, some supportive chat room sites recruit more experienced moderators, and train them more – which means a smoother, safer, more helpful experience for you.

Take Supportiv as an example: Supportiv’s moderators are Psychology undergraduates who, in addition to their comprehensive training, are given tools to share cutting-edge information that may help you feel better.

Supportiv: no tradeoff between safety and support

Supportiv is one of the safest mental health chat rooms.

One of the big pluses for Supportiv is that there’s a well-trained person to talk to, 24/7. It’s not like Discord or other static chats where the chat room is always there, and you can leave messages for when other people look at it.

No–at Supportiv, there is always at least one real, live person to talk with you.

You will never feel left hanging in a Supportiv online chat room. That can be a game-changer for those of us with anxiety or really intense emotions to work through in the moment.

And Supportiv ticks the boxes other supportive chat rooms don’t:

  • Their technology takes the effort out of relating. You don’t have to search and comb through pages to find the right spot to vent — you’re automatically connected with people who already relate to the same struggle, so it never feels like you’re working to feel heard.
  • Moderators are extensively trained to give everyone the best experience–they’re just real folks who want to understand and help.
  • Chat rooms are moderated in realtime–keeping trolls and insensitive people out, while keeping the discussion on track. This avoids unexpected triggering or feelings of isolation.

Why Supportiv users consider this a supportive chat room

The advantages of this online chat room peer support model show: peer support at Supportiv helps people regroup and feel less hopeless.

“I got on the app feeling super sad and depressed. At first it felt nice to speak anonymously about how I felt, and have people respond to me. However, what really helped me was being able to respond to other people, and make them feel better as well!”

“I feel amazing. Just having someone to listen can make a huge difference. And it’s open 24 hours.”

“Great way to get to know people and share thoughts, desires, and feelings anonymously and develop conversations with people.”

“You get to tell ur problems to actual people, and they listen! It’s like having a really good friend that cares.”

“I seriously thank the person who made this application, very easy to use and simple.”

So there’s your roundup of supportive online chat room options in 2023. Play around with your options and take a step forward, for yourself!

If you’re really struggling, or need help sorting out next steps, there’s someone right here to hash it out with.

More positive feedback on Supportiv’s mental health chat rooms

Users consider Supportiv to be one of the safest online chat rooms, because it’s anonymous and always non-judgmental.

“I came for coming-out issues as bisexual and the moderators were great at helping me find some resources for my life situation, and very supportive.  I am older with a secure career and family and it was great to talk to people that did not instantly assume crisis or abuse.”

“My thoughts are straightened out, I’ve been facing a lot of anxiety. It’s been happening since 8th grade, I used to have breakdowns. Never really talked to anyone because I had problems picking up social cues as well. This is actually the first time in my life i’ve Ever talked about my feelings. Thank you so much.”

“I was kinda nervous to use this at first because I’ve tried suicide hotlines and they aren’t helpful at all, but it’s nice to talk to people having the same problems way more than talking to a psychiatrist who can’t relate to you personally.”

“You have saved my life for today, thank you for this chat. The conversation was the longest I have talked to anyone in almost three months. Again, you literally made my life longer. I would give you a hug if I could.”