Membership FAQs
These are frequently asked questions about our paid membership. A number of the questions focus on our monthly talks.
Q: So is this, like, group therapy or something?
A: No. It’s not therapy. Our monthly Zoom sessions are more like online talks or live podcasts. You’ll hear from that month’s main speakers about some aspect of the ‘life + feelings’ equation, and you’ll have a chance to share your own thoughts (only if you want to!) in a very curated, contained way.
So it’s less therapy and more philosophy (feel-o-sophy? AHEM.). As one of our club members puts it, our meet ups are ‘light but deep... it’s nice to have conversations about these topics and nobody’s upset.’
Ever wonder how other people make the ‘life + feelings’ equation work? Or how they find meaning in the hard stuff? Mingle with other people who most definitely don’t have the once-and-for-all answer, but are asking the same big questions.
Q: I can’t afford a membership, can I still be a member?
A: Yes! We never want money to be a barrier, so if you can’t afford a subscription right now, we have a number of full scholarships available.
These spots are paid for by contributing members who choose to pay a little extra, to help ‘pay it forward’.
To enquire about a free spot message us here. We offer free spots for a year. If after a year your situation hasn’t changed, you can message us again for another free year of membership.
Q: I can afford to pay more than the monthly fee. Can I help support other big feelers to receive a membership?
A: You sure can. First off, all contributing members help us keep this boat afloat, so we can keep offering free stuff like the Big Feels newsletter. But if you want to, you can also help fund full memberships for big feelers who could really use the full community experience but can’t afford it right now.
Some people choose to sign up as a member, as well as fund a scholarship. This is great if you want the member benefits for yourself - like our monthly talks - and also want to support other big feelers.
Others choose to simply fund a scholarship, without signing up as a member themselves. This is for if you prefer to support the club from afar.
Q: Do you have ground rules for your Zoom meet ups?
A: We do indeed. You can read those here. The guts of it is: we strive to offer spaces for big feelers to hear from others like them, in ways that feel comfortable and contained. A space that’s real but not overwhelming.
If you’ve read our articles or newsletters, you’ll have a sense of the tone already. We don’t offer advice. We try not to dive deep into heavy, potentially triggering details. The idea is to create a non-judgemental, lighter space to explore both the practical and philosophical aspects of life with big feelings.
Q: I’m in crisis! Can I still join your community?
A: Of course. Most of our community members have experienced personal crisis, often more than once. So you are definitely welcome here, however deep in Doom Town you may be right now.
We’re clear about one thing though. We’re not a crisis service. So we can’t help you navigate those ‘what do I do with myself right this minute’ moments. That’s just not what we’re good at (or set up for).
If you’re looking for urgent support, we’ve put together this list of support options, which includes a number of supports run by people who’ve been through this stuff themselves.
Note: Many of our members have crisis supports in place, and at the same time they also get great value out of being part of our community. They tell us that each thing is fulfilling a different need.
Q: Are my feelings ‘big’ enough for this club?
A: There are no special criteria. You don’t have to be in crisis or not in crisis.
Most people join for themselves. Some join to better understand a loved one (then often end up learning something about themselves too).
One of the most common experiences of being a sensitive cat is to wonder if we’re really welcome. So if you’re wondering if you really belong here yet, that might actually be a sign that you do!
But feel it out. Some people dive in right away. Others dip a toe first. You can always email us if you’re not sure if this is right for you yet.
Q: Why are your monthly talks at 11AM Melbourne time?
We have club members from around the world, so we’re juggling a few timezones here! 11AM Melbourne time is the best compromise we’ve found so far.
Our member talks are the last Sunday of the month. That’s Saturday afternoon / evening for our Canada & US big feelers. And hopefully not too early for our Western Australian big feelers. But if the time doesn’t suit, you may wish to join in later via the audio and video recordings we make of all talks (for members only).
Q: Is my payment secure?
A: Yes, we take your security very seriously. We use Stripe, one of the standard payment gateways, so your payment is handled entirely by them.
Q: What if I made a mistake or suddenly realise this isn’t what I was looking for?
A: You can ask for your money back up to 60 days after the transaction, and we’ll send it over, no questions asked. (Please note that you do need to request the refund, it won’t process automatically.)
Q: Is this a recurring subscription?
A: Yes, you will be billed each month (if you choose the monthly subscription) or each year (if you choose the yearly subscription). You can cancel at any time, and if you cancel you retain full access to all content for the entire paid-for period.
Q: When/how can I cancel my subscription?
A: You can cancel any time. There is a link in your member profile. Or you can email us and we’ll get it done.
After you cancel, you have access to everything until the end of your paid-for period.
Q: Who even are you people?
A: The Big Feels Club is run by Graham Panther and Honor Eastly, two mental health advocates based in Melbourne, Australia.
Between us we’ve won the 2021 Australian Mental Health Prize, and helped set up award-winning mental health services. But most importantly, we’ve spent years dealing with our own big mental health stuff. Our podcasts and writing about mental health have been praised by the New York Times, The Atlantic, and even, of all places, the Financial Times.
We are not mental health experts. We’re not therapists. We’re simply two people who’ve been through mental health challenges ourselves, trying to create more opportunities for sensitive cats to hear from one another.
Q: What will the money be used for?
A: While the site may appear to be a humble personal blog on the surface, it has become its own beast. Two of us work on this club full-time, making content, running events, responding to members. On top of that, our hosting bill (including things like email servers, design, cyber security, storage and so on) is significant and growing by the month as we reach more big feelers round the globe.
So, if we want to continue to push the content and opportunities for connection into deeper, more insightful places (and we do!), then we’re going to need some help.
Sign up now:
