Not to sound stupid or anything, but why do you guys have a first aid forum? Like, I went through all the rules about it, and I really don't think the rules are fair. Like, it's against the rules to give a location, but isn't that like, one of the most important things?
[[I am in no way saying there shouldn't be one, but the limitations seem a little extrme. Does anyone care to explain them? Not that any of you owe me anything, me being new and stuff, but still, explanations? Please?]]
The limits are there to protect members from triggering content. As this is a site where the main aim is to provide a safe/non triggering environment naming things like location of self harm etc can be damaging to people.You can give a more vague location or you can PM one of the FA advisors.
The first aid forum is there because there are a lot of people who do not know when it is important to seek medical attention. In a highly emotional state people can react without a calm head and so the board provides calm and factual advice for members not sure whether or not they need to seek medical treatment.
It also means members can ask about non SH related topics,to find other people with similar issues who may be able to offer advice/insight.
RYL has very strict rules, we are not a website where we allow anything that may be deemed encouraging or triggering. We realise that this can be seen as quite harsh, however there are many websites all over the internet where the rules are less strict so we feel that this one can have stricter rules.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
The rule is also in place to avoid tip-sharing.
If someone were to say "I cut in thatandthat place" and people were to reply "that is super dangerous and serious" it might encourage other people to cut in that place if they strive to make their self-harm more serious.
Like Liv said, you can say "It's on my arm/leg etc" when relevant.
Do they actually exist any more? It's been ages since they have posted let alone been online, and I was wondering if they actually respond to PMs.
Someone could die if they waited for a response from them, when if they were to post other members could tell them that A&E would be more appropriate (and potentially life saving).
Wannabe CPN : -)
"He who is tired of Weird Al is tired of life." - Homer Simpson "I hear those voices that will not be drowned" Sanity is a nasty disease. The world would be a happier place without it. - Rilic
RIP Kat 4th July 1987- 11th June 2013
This FA forum is kinda pointless I think. We have the wound care guides and th ED information guides. Stick another up about what to do in MH crisis and you'eve pretty much covered everything.
All it ends up being is people asking things they could read in the guides, or asking things that we have to say 'see a doctor' to.
So I think it should go and be replaced by more in depth self care guides, and a list of helplines and guidance on when to go to A&E for MH reasons. We have no reason to answer basic medical questions - ask you GP or NHS direct.
Do they actually exist any more? It's been ages since they have posted let alone been online, and I was wondering if they actually respond to PMs.
Someone could die if they waited for a response from them, when if they were to post other members could tell them that A&E would be more appropriate (and potentially life saving).
i believe they are. i dont send FA related PMs though so im not entirely. i wasnt advising people not post about serious or life threatening matters,simply that if you want to ask abouut specific areas that you have self harmed that its not allowed to be posted on the boards.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
This FA forum is kinda pointless I think. We have the wound care guides and th ED information guides. Stick another up about what to do in MH crisis and you'eve pretty much covered everything.
All it ends up being is people asking things they could read in the guides, or asking things that we have to say 'see a doctor' to.
So I think it should go and be replaced by more in depth self care guides, and a list of helplines and guidance on when to go to A&E for MH reasons. We have no reason to answer basic medical questions - ask you GP or NHS direct.
I agree. Because of the (very legitimate and sensible!) rules to prevent triggering/tip-sharing, even the wisest of practitioners can't give anything but general advice; most of which can be found in the first aid guide anyway.
However, a lot of replies in serious can be responded to with the generic "can you distract yourself/call the crisis team?", yet we still do those replies, because people benefit much more from someone taking time out of their day to say those thing directly to them. Same with first aid; people know that gaping cuts need stitching and that general malaise needs to be investigated by a doctor, not strangers on the internet, but there's some comfort in being told that personally, rather than just reading it in a guide.
tl;dr, I don't think the FA board is always particularly medically productive, but it makes people feel listened to and give them the poke they need to seek medical help, and where's the harm in that?
^I agree, I think that its an important board, if only to give members a push to seek medical advice, sometimes people need other people to say it.
There are times to stay put, and what you want will come to you.
But there are times to go out into the world and find such a thing for yourself.
I aint no abacus but you can count on me.
^^ I agree with griddlebone and Narcissa. Even if 9 times out of 10 the advice is get checked out by a doctor, sometimes people need a little push to do it.
Also there are quite a lot of younger members here who don't necessarily know when to see a GP. Maybe it's just me, but I was in my early 20's before I got my head round it!
I also agree with the above. I think there is value in a few people reinforcing the need for medical attention for an OP. They might be really young, scared, unsure, or just seeking that reinforcement from another member before acting.
Also don't forget that we are not all in the UK and thus don't all have NHS phone numbers to ring etc for advice.
I don't think many people read the guides, or if they do, they still want that personal reinforcement from making a thread and getting a reply. It's also nice I think for someone to have a thread, they then go to A&E/GP etc, and have somewhere to come back to where people have asked "how did it go at A&E" etc, it makes you feel like someone cares, and is that not one of the points of this site?
Even as the stone of the fruit must break
that its heart may stand in the sun,
so must you know pain.
There are only two ways in which one can live their life. One is as though nothing is a miracle, the other is as though everything is.
I am still vaguely around. I keep meaning to take my name off but haven't. I can be PMd by anyone and I still will respond promptly, I've just been having problems of my own and also wondered how I felt about it mixing with my professional life. Other than that that's sadly it for several reasons. I'll have a think about posting on the FAF again soon.
In terms of position you can narrow it down to forearm/thigh/similar to help but more than that cannot be said due to it being triggering and also tip sharing as well as 95+% of the time we don't need to know more than that. Saying something like 'it's a 3cm long, 5mm wide cut on the inside of my wrist on the side where my pinky is and 5 cm up my arm' is not needed, wrist CAN be said but not really more than that unless if you PM an FAA such as myself.
More direct info can be given by PM rather than see a doctor too in some cases but this can't always be the case due to not being able to examine someone in person, often not knowing other things (as we've not got your medical history in front of us & minor details from yrs ago can give clues), we are not doctors and, if anything were to happen to someone due to the advise being wrong then we would be in trouble as well as the fact we don't want anyone to become unwell because of our advice.
I strongly recommend reading our guides and if you can think of more then I can look into it.
Also, I will gave a think about coming on here more, I'm sorry about me not really being around for a loooonnnng time.
I personally have found use in the first aid forum! I assume it's probably meant for primarily self harm / ED related issues but I have used for general questions when I was unsure if I should see a doctor or wait it out.
I think it's quite helpful because some people, like myself, might be reluctant to see a doctor if they think it's 'not that serious' or something that might pass on it's own. Sometimes they may just need some reassurance or confirmation about whether or not to seek help, like when I had stomach troubles and didn't know if what I was going through was worth waiting out a few days.
I've also seen it be helpful for little at-home tips and tricks to reduce symptoms whilst waiting for doctors appointments, as we all know most aren't instant. Of course user advice is no substitute for professional medical advice, but sometimes it's very helpful to get people's personal experiences and what little natural things helped them. (hot drinks for stuffy noses, foods to eat on dodgy stomachs, etc etc)
The FA-forum has helped me in the past when I accidentially took too much of an medication and I asked if I had to seek medical attention. I didn't have to do that and things were fine, but I was a bit panicky at first.
You survived the abuse.
You're gonna survive the recovery.
