1. I have also learned that I am not alone, and that others face some of the same challenges that I do.

2. When I relate to someone else's challenges, the best way to show support for them is to listen and accept them, not usually to tell them my own similar experience, at least not in detail.

3. When I need support for my own problems, it works best to start my own thread and ask for support. It took me a while to learn this one because I didn't know how to ask for support for myself. I tended to post my experiences in response to somebody else, and hope for someone to take notice of what I said and know that I needed support too. It doesn't work that way.

4. That I am able to communicate effectively online even when I can't do that as well in real life, and that online friendships are every bit as real as any other friendships.

5. That people like me can overcome their problems and be quite successful.

And a wealth of communication skills, coping strategies, understanding of myself and other people, and on and on...

Rap