Frequently Asked Questions about Brighton Anxiety Forum.

[Noisy]

Hi Everyone, and welcome if you're new to the forum.

It may be helpful to know the following things about Brighton Anxiety forum. This list of FAQ's will be regularly updated:

Is my email address visible to others? If you have selected "Hide email address from public?" Then your email address will only be visible to you and the moderating team.

Are you a professional organisation? No. I guess the technical term would be self-funded, peer led, peer support group. In other words we're anxious and we're helping each other and ourselves.

Can I advertise my services on the Forum? Generally, no. If in doubt, ask. I think it's better that we remain ad-free as much as possible. Some exceptions might be such things as charities and non-profit organisiations.

How did it all start? I hadn't been able to leave the house for days, maybe even weeks. I could barely function but wanted to be constructive. I started messing about with websites and BAF is the result.

Why did you start the forum? I felt very isolated myself. I wondered if I'd ever be able to meet real people again! I thought that there might be others who felt the same way.

Why a local forum? There are plenty of national/international forums and they are great for some things but I also feel that they don't always help in the long term. It's nice to get supportive messages from someone in Edinburgh but will that really encourage you to get out and meet others .. or would it simply be make it easier to be at home?

Are you a charity? Nope. It's just us anxious people getting together. That's it!

Who pays for the forum? US. The running costs are kept very low so as to be sustainable without outside funding or advertisements. This year we have started taking small donations from members to help pay for website costs.

Who runs the forum? Me, Martin, a long term anxiety sufferer. We will shortly be expanding the admin team.

What are the aims of Brighton Anxiety Forum?

• Reduce the feelings of isolation that often accompany anxiety conditions.
• Connect people online in our forum.
• Connect people in person at our weekly meets.
• Provide an informal environment where we can openly discuss anxiety conditions without prejudice.

What happens at the meets? A list of frequently asked questions about the weekly meets can be found in the 'Meet-ups' section of the forum.

What can I do to help? Get involved by posting on the forum or coming along to one of our meets. It can be quite difficult to keep a small, local forum like this moving along so every post is valuable.

Can I donate to the cause? Yes. Donate your time by posting on the forum and telling others who may find the forum useful.

Do I need to join? That's up to you. It's free to join and only members may post, send private messages and view profiles.