Welcome back, everyone. This is Maximum Health Radio, quality living with yours truly, doctor Ken Gray. Thank you for joining us. And, we have with us today, not in the studio, but, all the way from California, Tamara Blue, founder of Mental Happy. Thank you for joining us, and and thank you for joining us on Pacific time, which is three hours earlier. I appreciate that. Thank you so much for
having me on, doctor Kim. Yes. So you're a founder, the founder of Mental Happy, and it's a game changing solution for, really for mental health, but it also is a game changing solution for support groups, within the area of mental health. So I'd I'd like to talk to you about a little bit about your background and then, of course, how you came to create this wonderful service. Yes. Absolutely.
Mental happy is a platform that, universally makes it easier for people to find emotional support groups in their time of need, whether they are a caregiver, you know, navigating a life's transition or chronic illness or really just looking for affinity in community for what whatever they're experiencing. And on the opposite side of that, mental happy makes it easier for providers and group facilitators, which tend to be either licensed therapists or practitioners.
It makes it easier for them to organize and manage and run those groups and even charge for their services. And and when you look at you said the different people that run these support groups, what do they encompass again? You said licensed practitioners. So would it be clinical psychologists? Would it be hypnotherapists? What would it be? Or all of the above? Yeah. We've seen a yeah. We've seen a a pretty healthy range of, really great people that lead
groups. Anyone from a licensed therapist, we've seen mental health professionals, we've seen advocates and even survivors, people who have been through something similar and have just a lot of deep knowledge base on what they went through and want to help other individuals. And we've even seen, like, life coaches and people who, do that type of work as well. Mhmm. And what's your background?
I graduated from Florida State University, and my background has just really always been in the study of groups and organizations. So I went to school for sociology. I also dual majored in economics. My very support group, if you could call it, was early in high school when we had a, peer network that allowed us to pair underclassmen with upperclassmen who may be feeling, like, isolated or bullied, alone, didn't have anyone to sit with at lunch perhaps.
Yeah. So I've been in this space, a very long time, pretty passionate about community based care, mainly because of how it really does transform health outcomes and the likelihood of someone really surviving the thing that they're going through or even transitioning through navigating the thing that they're going through with a lot more ease in finding that really high level of efficacy of information based on what they're going through, finding community
based on what they're going through, and just really feeling less alone. I mean, as we know, loneliness is literally killing people these days, worse than smoking 15 cigarettes a day according to, the attorney general. So, it this has just really been a passion and a life's work for me.
Yeah. I think, you know, what you're saying was really brought to the forefront for the time in decades or or longer with COVID and how the statistics and all the science and everything converge to create an awareness in the optics of how we need each other. We need social interaction for health and well-being, at least positive social interaction for health and well-being, I would add.
You know, based on your experience, it brought me back mentally to my high school and involvement in leadership. And, leadership was sort of run by the head of physics honors and which I was also a part of. And, what I liked about leadership was that communal sort of forum based discussion. And, what still, was very, it really touched me from being a part of it was how many of my fellow high school, girls had gone through family based, sexual abuse.
And in that setting, for the time, they felt comfortable speaking about it, especially when they were next to three other individuals, for instance, that also were speaking about it. So, I'm not sure that it it it had or would have happened at that time in their lives when things could have been done about it earlier versus later had they not had that forum, area and safety and common, you know, ground with other people to share that, with that trauma.
Yeah. Absolutely. And that's it's quite a common scenario you shared. Sometimes even what's really great about support groups is the high level of privacy and the community that you get. Right? So everyone in that particular group is going through the same thing that you're
going through. And I'm often asked, like, well, if people have, you know, best friends and, you know, parents and and just a really good network of people that may be in their lives, why would they trust a stranger to, you know, share their feelings and say what they're going through? Well, oftentimes, people really don't have a strong community of support.
And as a scenario that you just mentioned, you know, with SA and any type of domestic relation related issue is that sometimes people are violated even in their own homes. So support groups are a way for people to not feel like strangers with one another, to feel very safe on the mental happy platform. When you select a support group that you wanna join, it's completely private.
You can see exactly what the group is about, what you're going to gain from it, what the expectations are, if there are any trigger warnings, and you're able to participate with just a username and whatever profile that you want as long as it doesn't violate the community rules. You can ask anonymous questions. And as you mentioned in your example about the young girl is that people are more likely to say and raise their hand,
yes. This also happened to me when they know that they're on equal footing with other people who have experienced the same. Mhmm. And in doing so, find strength in themselves. Absolutely. Yeah. There's something about knowing that you're not alone that also adds to your strength. Walk us through the process because I think if I were, you know, wanting to be involved with this, obviously, the key things that would, what I would question is that an anonymity or privacy.
How is that accomplished? How is that achieved? How is that ensured? Absolutely. So when we set out to start mental happy, we initially began with a a really large subset of support groups on a social media site. So from that experience on being on another platform that really isn't built for, you know, health, wellness, or anything like that,
privacy became the number one thing. Because on the social media sites, we were battling fake people, bots as they're called, and we were battling advertisements. We were battling, like, negative comments within the group. So when we designed the mental happy, we designed it with the level of, yes, there should be a high level of anonymity on the platform and privacy, but we don't want it to be so creepy that we have no idea who are the people joining the platform.
So, we do like to remain HIPAA compliant in that you do sign up with your real name and your real last name and your real email so that we can verify that you're a human and you're not really here to do any harm to anyone. And then once you sign up for the group once you sign up for the platform, you can select topics that resonate with you. Our system can match you with particular groups that might be of interest to you based
on what you filled out. Kind of think of it as, like, a small intake as if, like, when you go to the doctor's office. Right? They give you a form to ask you what your past experiences are. That remains completely confidential as well. We don't sell or share any of that information that you share with us. And then once you go through that wellness process, you can see a variety and search all of the groups on the platform and join. Now I did mention that there is a
level of anonymity on the platform. So within the support group itself, even though you are masked with a username and a profile picture that doesn't have to it doesn't have to look like you at all. It could be a watermelon. You can also ask an anonymous question so that even your members in the group won't know, you know, what username asked the question. Only your group facilitator will know and can post the question on your behalf, and people
can interact and and comment and share. But at least that gives you some extra level of privacy. You know, maybe you're just feeling shy and you don't wanna ask your people to know that you're the one asking the question. But surprisingly, even though we have that feature, it's used very little. The the main thing that we focus on is really transparency and people being able to share freely and safely. So those are some of the things that people can expect when they when they join the platform.
Our technology does the work of ensuring that there aren't any fake people on the sites. There aren't any people causing harm or havoc. And then if if that is sensed on the site, it's flagged and removed quite immediately, but we haven't really encountered any issues yet. Is there any risk of being directly contacted?
No. That's a great question. So the other thing that we wanted to avoid just even in our experience testing out other platforms when when this was becoming performed is that we didn't want the legal liability between group facilitators and group participants to have any conflict. So and then we also didn't want any, any side distractions between group participants. So we actually opted to not have direct messaging
on the platform. So no one can direct message you, and you can't direct message, the group facilitator mainly because of cross state licensing issues. Many of the group facilitators, even if they are a licensed professional on the platform, they're not your licensed doctor or professional. They're just the group facilitator that has clinical knowledge, if that makes sense.
So we just wanted to really keep all the interaction within the group clinical set within the group setting just as it would be similar to, like, group therapy. Right? You wouldn't or even people are familiar with, like, AA groups. You kinda go in the group. You have a conversation you share. You participate in the meetings and kind of people go their separate ways, after that. So we wanna just really keep that that interaction and focus within the healing of the group. Beautiful.
So there's a myriad of reasons why one would, you know, obviously, search out, this service and this, wonderful opportunity to share. We spoke about one of them, which is domestic, you know, abuse and and, and those sort of things, especially. Is there's two questions immediately before we get into some of those other, maybe, reasons. Is, is there an age limit? Right. That's a good question. So currently, we accept people 18 or older on the platform.
We are looking into, really because of the demand that we've been receiving, we are looking into exploring how this could be effective for, teenagers. Got it. So as of now, if you sign on, you have to present with a birth date, I'm guessing? Or Yes. Okay. And then the part was what happens when the word appears suicide or that's you know, which is obviously one of the extreme reasons someone might search out a forum or or a group like this.
Yeah. Absolutely. So, initially, in the intake, we call it, like, just the wellness check process when someone is
signing up. We do ask questions if the individual has been experiencing any thoughts of self harm or has attempted self harm, then we have other partners, other organizations that we work with that we can really get that person more immediate help because, any type of, fixations on harm or attempts is considered a crisis level and not not something that we would be able to, immediately, interact with or or help in the support group setting. That person definitely needs just urgent
help. So we consider it as, like, you know, there's you go to the doctor or you go to the hospital, and this would be a you go to the hospital type situation. So you direct them in some way, shape, or form to a different resource. And do you also report or, you know, assist? Anything like that or just, you know, is it more of a We we guide them to, the services. Obviously, we can't forcibly make someone do Right. Something that they don't want to do, but,
we'll guide them to the services. And then, within, you know, a certain period, they after a certain period, they're they're welcome to to come back after they've received, services and help. Okay.
So then on to more, I would say, common, a little bit lighter things, you know, grief, depression, overall fatigue, you know, just a general sense of, you know, lack of enthusiasm and due to the world, you know, all these things that probably, at any given time, all of us share and would love to do more than just sit and stew about it, but would like to vent and feel better through positive interaction.
Let's look at that aspect of what you're offering through Mental Happy, which is in the title of the name of your company. So let's get to that happy end, happy part of it. Yeah. It's it's a it's a balance that people are always trying to work towards that middle. Right? Mhmm. And, yes, we I named it mental happy because, I want I wanted to destigmatize the word mental. And, you know, it you know, your mentality can be in a state of well-being. It can be in this state of happiness. It
doesn't mean it's there all the time. And you are correct in that with the platform, our number one goal was to really fill in the gap between something being, you know, critical and psychosis level, and you'd go see a therapist and zero option after that. Right? Like, what happens if you live in a rural area and you necessarily can't get to the closest therapist, like, a 150 miles away? Or what happens if you, you know, your insurance doesn't cover
any type of talk therapy. Or let's say, perhaps you, maybe you're just a little nervous about one on one therapy. Maybe it's too expensive out of pocket. You know? A lot of people don't have a 175 to $250 for fifty minutes. And you need a lot of those minutes to work through, you know, issues. Right? So and then the other thing that we see a lot with the platform is that with the gap that we're filling with mental happy is that a lot of people do need therapy.
But as you mentioned, a lot of people just really need all the other stuff, which is the education, not feeling lonely, having having a little bit of language for what they're experiencing, and encouragement. And with that, you can do pretty effectively in a support group setting according to just really the twenty plus years of research on support groups. And support groups are perfect for maybe you're going through a divorce and you're
navigating that life transition. Maybe you're becoming a parent. Maybe you are feeling isolated and you're really looking for a small LGBTQ, you know, IA community. And, just like really all of the life things. Maybe you were adopted as a kid and, you know, you love your parents. They're wonderful, but you're still having some feelings of feeling isolated and you don't really know anybody else who's adopted, right, with the same experience as
you. I've seen that type of support group on the platform as well. So for as much as the we probably see a lot less of things that are just plain depression and anxiety and just a lot more wide range of the different life events that people experience and even things that they wanna learn. Like, one of the most interesting, supporters I saw on the platform was, helping people heal emotionally through meditation.
I didn't think that could be done through a support group, but I'm always amazed at how these practitioners and group facilitators are leveraging other tactical skills, other tangible skills to help people work through their emotional health. So, you are very correct in that.
I wouldn't say that they're necessarily the lighter life things, but I think what you're trying to say is they're they're just they're not psychosis clinical level things that you would, you know, go see a mental health professional or a licensed therapist for. Certainly, that that is our sweet spot.
Yes. Thank you for clarifying. And, yep, and I I love that it all went to the area of meditation, group meditation, mindfulness, you know, because then you have not just a discussion forum of unloading and sharing and, you know, sort of that that look of people just trying to make it through. But now you have a solution based, area that you can transition to maybe, based upon the forum which deals with all of these positive, you know, super conscious methods of growth and
enhancing life. So, you know, I was told many years ago that our natural state, if you look at nature, is supposed to be joy. Yeah. I have been thinking about that quite a lot lately. Yes. So true. That's supposed to be our natural state. So people who believe in the fact that, oh, life is suffering and everything is supposed to be you know, look around in
nature, look at harmony, look at things. Yes, there's there's the ebbs and flows, but generally, there's there's a beautiful sense of, you know, like, that classical song, Ode to Joy, just a beautiful sense of being when you Absolutely. Are present and you can rise to that level of vibration where all of the universe is,
you know, in harmony. So, you know, at some point we go through these traumatic experiences, we do have our moments where we feel like we're suffering, but we learn the tools, and we surround ourselves with positive social interaction and positive methods and books and prayer and whatever else we need in nature and nature bathing. So so how do you find and navigate that with
Mental Happy? Do you search in there for, say, you know, certain keywords to find that type of form, and and are they more prevalent and growing within the mental happy universe? Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. The I've been deeply focusing and thinking about this myself because sometimes you can feel when things are a little turbulent in life, when things are a little you know, you're in the ebb and not the flow, it can feel like you'll be in the
ebb forever. But I, you know, I try to tell people this all the time. It's just that rain is very temporary. Storms are temporary. Like, if you look at nature and even the traumatic things that happen in nature, like, fires that just seem to combust out of nowhere, hurricanes. All these things are temporary and you can kind of equate that to the the rise and fall in your own natural life.
But if you think about there's always fruit on trees, the sun is the perfect distance away from the earth so that life can sustain here, and just things that we just don't didn't have to, like, work for, like water. Right? Water is here. The natural state of the universe, and all of those things is really joy and well-being and providing. So that's a really great analogy for life, and I really do love the fact that I am seeing, a varying type of groups on the platform whether it is meditation.
I've even seen, like, like yoga teachings and beliefs. I I'm not sure. I'm I'm not participating in the group, so I'm not sure if they actually do any type of physical yoga, on the video sessions, but I do know they talk a lot about the practices and the principles. I've seen I've seen even teachings on, like, Chinese medicine. So kind of bringing the body back to, its natural state, you know. I mean, small
things like Yeah. Balance. You know, drink beverages that are warm, at room temperature, not cold. And so and I've see and I've seen that taught in a support group setting. So it it's interesting because people tend to join the support groups because they are experience let's say something universally that people go through. They they're experiencing some type of heartbreak. Right? Whether it's in a marriage form or in some type of relationship in their lives, and maybe
they join a group. One of the popular ones is on, like, confidence on the platform, and people learn so much more about themselves outside of that one thing, that they experience. Sure. You learn that, you know, heartbreak doesn't last forever. You grow your confidence a little bit. You make some new friends. You get daily encouragement. So I think, even if people don't necessarily see, like, oh, how can meditation help me? How can, you know, these Eastern medicine or anything like that, like,
help me? I think people should just, like, be a little bit open minded to different things and practices. I mean, think of it this way. You've tried a lot of things on your own, in your own life that probably haven't worked out. Right? So, it is really great to see not just the group facilitators opening up different things on the platform, but group participants really trying something something new that they've never heard of before. So that really is,
growing quite a bit. I think we're growing past just thinking of mental wellness as just depression and anxiety. Right. And I love it, and I love how, you know, what we've touched on is mental happy can also be body happy, and body happy can also be mental happy. Right? So Absolutely. That mind body connection has become more prevalent and is becoming more prevalent in day to day for people and and how we view wellness and health and quality living.
So thank you for joining us. How do people, listening, reach Mental Happy, benefit from Mental Happy join the Mental Happy forums? Yeah. Absolutely. So you can visit us at mentalhappy.com. All one word altogether. You can Google it and you'll find us. If you are looking to find a group, it's a perfect opportunity to just kinda search and see what's there. And then if you are interested in starting a support group, we'd love to have you and your expertise on the platform.
One of the things that we do focus on as an organization is really giving people the tools even if it's at a zero cost, for them. So there is a really great mental health resources section at the bottom of our website. Really great three to five minute tools even if you're not in a support group. Just things that you can do in your daily life with your friends, with yourself, with your children, to just really improve your emotional thinking and
your state of being. So, that's really what we're passionate about is just really giving people some type of resource even if it's not the support groups for you right now. But we'd love to see you on the platform at mentalhappy.com. Yes. And, thank you all for listening. Thank you for, Tamara Blue for creating this wonderful service and for enhancing, you know, life for those out there that need it in this way. Maximum Health Radio has been brought to you in part by
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