ok, bear with me, im not sure that im sure what i want to ask. :D
There are a lot of threads for specific mental illnesses/issues. eg: depression thread, BPD thread, Suicide thread, DID thread.
Do you think/find these to be helpful/theraputic to you?
Do you think they serve a purpose when the forum as a whole focuses on different issues?
Do you think they can be in anyway detrimental to individuals/the community? if so why?
Do you think there should be a line drawn as to how many little boxes to put RYLers in are created? ie: if someone were to create a 'self harmers' thread, would that be too much.
I for one being a member who frequents the bpd thread would sorely miss it if it were to be abolished. There is a community of support as well as general chat in there and I enjoy my interactions there as it isn't just a rant thread about bpd.
"Everything is possible through Christ, who gives me strength". Phillipians 4:13
I think it's a result of RYL being so big now. It makes people feel more comfortable to have their own little group. I think it's detrimental when people base their identity around their illness, but I don't know if that's what they are doing in this case. I haven't read through these threads.
Having seen the ability the people in the BPD thread have shown to help each other both in general terms and in issues specific to the disorder, I think it's a great thing which seems to work really well. I don't know what more to say than that.
Edit: Thought of more, hehe. Speaking specifically about BPD/the BPD thread, it's not an uncommon diagnosis for people on RYL, and I think it can be helpful to have resources/some of the people who experience things similarly easily found. I often see threads in MHD by people who are newly diagnosed and struggling to come to terms with it, and it's nice to be able to point them to somewhere where there's a large number of people who have dealt with similar issues. That's not to say it's a replacement for individual threads on BPD-related issues, which people are still free to post. It's also nice, as Carrie said, that it's not totally illness oriented - it's a chance for people to check in with each other about all sorts of things, and a place where people motivate each other.
Last edited by whirlpools : 15-01-2012 at 11:04 PM.
Having one large thread does save on loads of individual threads being made that would end up cluttering up the board, and pushing the other threads off the first page. So in that sense they can be quite good.
But then again, is there really a need for a Mood Disorder thread and a Depression thread? As for a Suicide thread, I've not seen it, but that concerns me slightly. I don't think that would work on the same level as, say, the BPD thread which seems to be about chatting, some support and asking more general questions that may not warrant a separate thread, at least from a brief skim. Suicide is rather different.
I have found the BPD thread helpful as I pop in there with questions now and then as I was being/have recently been diagnosed and needed some info but dind't want to make a thread.
Also, I have just bumped the mood disorder thread because I think ti would be helpful to get advice and tips from a group of people who are dealing with the same thing.
It's kinda a 'go to' place when you don't wanna make a thread.
I can't comment on the rest though. But I think everyone knows my views on DID and this forum ><
I think, that on a whole specific support threads do work. But maybe, things like the suicidal one, could potentially be a bit problematic. I have gone in there before slightly triggered and then come out and had a complete freakout (hence the odd behaviour last week) however, it was my own fault for going in that thread in the first place
I think they're fine, and seem to be beneficial. As long as the specific threads that aren't to do with illnesses can stay too. Like the New to Vets, Uni thread and a couple of random chat ones that usually are in GC etc. Because then members who don't have an illness have somewhere to post (with others instead of starting a new thread) too.
Stop thinking about what I want, what he wants, what your parents want. What do you want?
We are trying to gauge whether or not people feel ryl is becoming too much um.. 'you fit into this little box so you post in this thread and only identify with others with the same illness'
Thus far it seems to be us over analysing the forums rather than an issue. :P
Its getting a bit to much to be honest. I dont fit here anyway so its besides the point but i think a line should be drawn on the amount that are created.
Sometimes its nice though to speak with people that have the same illness and understand it better than someone who had no idea how it feels to have that illness, however i dont think any of the threads are extremely exclusive, people post in the bpd thread that dont have it, and no one is like is well bugger off then, but from what i remember it was created in the first place because the mental health board was cluttered with the same kind of threads about one illness, so it made sense to have it in one place, rather than the same things asked over and over.
"Its not how long a star shines, what is remembered is the brightness of the light"
Its getting a bit to much to be honest. I dont fit here anyway so its besides the point but i think a line should be drawn on the amount that are created.
Can i ask where you think that line is and how it should be determined?
*Speaks up* as the creator of the uni thread I didn't want to say anything. But I have decided too...
I think as a thread it works for its specific group, we do get occasional hiccups where things go slightly wrong, but it is a thread that people who don't go to uni are able and feel comfortable to post in.
I suppose the issue is, where do you draw the lines on specific groups? because i can see some threads becoming detrimental to people's recovery in the long run, unless they are policed and we cannot expect people to have to police a thread to make sure this doesn't happen.
Thus far it seems to be us over analysing the forums rather than an issue. :P
I think that you are working too hard!
The separate threads can be good. I have never used them but I know that some people find them really helpful. I suppose the issue could be that some people may have similar issues but because they have no diagnosis they feel they cannot frequent these threads, but now I am over analysing! I think its catching!!!
I don't post on such threads but the worry is that a lot of membrs on hre haven't been diagnosed with anything or are looking to self-diagnose, may do this and then go to their doctor knowing all the symptoms and say "I think I've got x because I have... and miss out other symptoms they have as they have become so certain that this is what it is and therefore it could lead to the wrong diagnosis being made (I have heard of incidences where people hae been so convinced of a diagnosis they have been convinced that symptoms are there when they haven't been too which can have a damaging effect).
As well as this, it could also lead to people kind of thinking well I've not got x, y or z so I don't fit in anywhere or I don't have a problem which of course if they SH then they do have a problem, even if they've not got a MH illness; SH in itself is a sign that something isn't right and should be taken seriously and the worry is that if people don't fit into these boxes maybe they are less likely to get the help they need.
However, I also see the other side where people may feel better that they are not alone and there are people going through similar to themselves (not exactly the same though as everyone is different in the way a disorder affects them and to what degree which is often forgotten) and so they can relate to and therefore it can give a lot of relief and maybe have a degree of therapeutic value so I see that some of these threads at least would have a place though people should not use them as a way to self diagnose or ask people if they think they've got something because of... but that would be hard/ impossible to stop.
I do however think that if a suicide thread does exist then there is not any need for this as suicide is not a mental illness and the fat there's a suicide thread does sort of normalise it and also will likely be very triggering and therefore is likely to do a lot of damage and I can't really see any good coming out of it. If people are suicidal then they should make their own threads talking about how they feel and why and try and get help, not just read/ post in a suicide thrad which is likely to just tigger them further.
I have found both the Uni thread and Christian SI thread extremely helpful. The uni one helps me to keep focused on my work and meet people on similar situations to me. The Christian one has always brought me great comfort as I don't know many Christians with MH issues so to be able to go in and ask for prayer and offer it has helped me a lot.
I agree with a lot of what has been said, I thnk some can be detrimental but that all depends on who posts and why they are posting.
I think illnesses that come with specific problems (BPD, Trich, DID [because we are not here for that discussion today, JodiE :P]) are really useful, but threads for stuff like Suicidal thoughts/behaviors and Depression aren't needed as much because, to be honest, it's such an incredibly large number of people on RYL who struggle with one or both.
As long as it doesn't turn into an environment where we start to see 'The Cutter's thread' and 'the Burner's thread' and 'The thread for the imaginative self harmers (no tip sharing, though!) Thread' then I don't really see too much of an issue. Perhaps that's because I don't use any of then that much, I occasionally flounce into the BPD thread and have found it really helpful, but I don't spend a lot of my time posting in a specific illness thread.
Now I'll play your ghost as my ace, whenever I'm led astray.
But I am actually good, can't help it if we're tilted.
I'm in my right place, don't be a downer.
