Online support groups have shown a strong potential to foster resourceful environments for people living with depression without restrictions of time, space, and stigma. Research has found that users of those groups exchange various types of support. However, due to the scarcity of research, many other aspects of depression online support groups remain inconclusive. In particular, how the support exchange contributes to the everyday lives of users living with depression remains unclear. To contribute to filing some of the knowledge gaps, the present study explored what kinds of support were requested and provided in a depression online support group. By doing so, this study aimed to examine the roles of the depression online support group in the management of depression. Mixed methods were employed with a concurrent triangulation strategy. A sample of 980 posts were selected systematically from the support group. Demographic and clinical information of the users who made those posts were recorded. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted to examine the types of support being exchanged through those posts. Inter-coder reliability was calculated to ensure the consistency of the coding process. The results indicate that users sought informational support, various types of emotional support and coaching support, and social companionship. Users not only sought listening ears, but also practical advice to cope with the situations they were going through. The group appeared to serve its users as a place to meet others with similar experience; to manage loneliness; to discuss what they could not discuss elsewhere; to "just vent"; to gain advice from multiple perspectives on an issue that had been magnifying the impact of depression; to share the experience with formal care provision systems; to express immediate support needs; to share useful discoveries, accomplishments, and creative ways to manage depression; and to experience the value of helping others. This study supports the idea that depression online support groups have the strong potential to contribute to the everyday lives of people living with depression in a way that is not available elsewhere and in a way that complement to the overall framework of existing care provision systems.

Online support groups have shown a strong potential to foster resourceful environments for people living with depression without restrictions of time, space, and stigma. Research has found that users of those groups exchange various types of support. However, due to the scarcity of research, many other aspects of depression online support groups remain inconclusive. In particular, how the support exchange contributes to the everyday lives of users living with depression remains unclear. To contribute to filing some of the knowledge gaps, the present study explored what kinds of support were requested and provided in a depression online support group. By doing so, this study aimed to examine the roles of the depression online support group in the management of depression. Mixed methods were employed with a concurrent triangulation strategy. A sample of 980 posts were selected systematically from the support group. Demographic and clinical information of the users who made those posts were recorded. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were conducted to examine the types of support being exchanged through those posts. Inter-coder reliability was calculated to ensure the consistency of the coding process. The results indicate that users sought informational support, various types of emotional support and coaching support, and social companionship. Users not only sought listening ears, but also practical advice to cope with the situations they were going through. The group appeared to serve its users as a place to meet others with similar experience; to manage loneliness; to discuss what they could not discuss elsewhere; to "just vent"; to gain advice from multiple perspectives on an issue that had been magnifying the impact of depression; to share the experience with formal care provision systems; to express immediate support needs; to share useful discoveries, accomplishments, and creative ways to manage depression; and to experience the value of helping others. This study supports the idea that depression online support groups have the strong potential to contribute to the everyday lives of people living with depression in a way that is not available elsewhere and in a way that complement to the overall framework of existing care provision systems.

I denna studie har ett internetbaserat stödforum för utmattningssyndrom analyserats i syfte att bidra med ny kunskap om identitetsskapande i interaktion, mellan individer med egen erfarenhet av utmatningssyndrom. Studien har utgått från en diskurspsykologisk inramning och sökt svar på frågeställningarna; I) vilka föreställningar om sjukdomsidentiteter förhandlas fram på ett internetbaserat stödforum för utmattningssyndrom? och II) hur konstrueras normalitet inom ramen för de sjukdomsidentiteter som produceras? Analys av medlemskategoriseringar har använts som huvudsakligt analytiskt verktyg vilket syftat till att synliggöra vilka kategorier som gjorts relevanta av forumdeltagarna. Analysen visar fem identitetspositioner vilka uttryckts som att vara: sjuk, utmattad, kunnig, inte ensam och snart bättre. På forumet görs försäkringskassan till en utanför- grupp vilket stärker gemenskapen av sjukdom bland forumdeltagarna. Denna gemenskap legitimerar att dela med sig av egna erfarenheter av utmattningssyndrom och att positionera sig som kunniga gentemot vårdapparaten. Samtidigt synliggör analysen hur forumdeltagarna konstruerar samsyn kring normalitet i utmattningen och vad som anses som normal sjukskrivningsperiod med anledning av utmattningssyndrom. I sin tur möjliggörs också identitetspositionen av att vara på bättringsvägen.