Within the last year the U.S. has seen storms, wild fires, floods, and a host of other major disasters. At the same time the depression rates are growing and stress is at an all time high. Just managing the daily tasks of living -- keeping the family fed, the house clean, and the bills paid -- has brought many a woman to tears. Do you ever feel like it's all just too much?

We all do sometimes. That's why building networks of emotional support is no longer a luxury, but a critical part of taking care of oneself. Just as you purchase health insurance in case you are ever ill, you should invest in a building and maintaining a support community even when you don't face an actual disaster -- like unemployment, material loss, death in the family, divorce, etc. -- so that it will be there for you whenever you need it.

At the same time, more and more women are also feeling that they don't have time to invest in building and maintaining such relationships. Do you have girlfriends you haven't spoken to in so long that you would be embarrassed to call to ask for a conversation all about you? Do you feel that even with friends you speak to more frequently that you owe it to them to spend at least half of each conversation going back and forth between talking about them and talking about you, when really you can only half listen to them because they are talking about minor problems and you are on the verge of collapse? Do you ever feel like you want to talk to someone about issues you are still not comfortable sharing with people you have to deal with in everyday life, even close friends, such as abuse you've endured or things you may have done to hurt others?

There is a reason that social networking has become an online phenomena. Just as teens are becoming engrossed in MySpace and Friendster for the ability these services offer to build community with people outside one's daily sphere, new sites are coming online every day to meet the unique needs of adults. There are communities that are oriented around business networking, like Ryze (www.Ryze.com), and many oriented around shared hobbies. Phone Buddies (www.Phone-Buddies.com) is a social networking community oriented around providing members with confidential emotional support by phone by allowing members to trade free, half hour sessions with each other.

If you don't have time to continually invest in maintaining relationships so that you could call anytime to just have someone listen to you talk about yourself, or if you don't have time to drive back and forth to in-person counseling sessions, online communities may be the answer for you.

In addition to the profile based social networking sites discussed above, you might also consider more traditional social networking communities provided by message boards, newsgroups, and chat rooms. These are great options if you tend to realize you need support at the last minute, especially if that tends to be around midnight, and if you do well receiving support in a written format. Having a live person at the other end of the phone is a requirement for a feeling of real support for some people, but not all. Many people are receiving meaningful support by participating in "message-based" communities.

Whatever type of support you decide to arrange in your life, make sure you take steps to address this important need. Get accustomed now to using some of these resources so that when the proverbial levy breaks, there will be something there to hold you together.