Quote:
Originally Posted by Thousand Umbrellas
I'm new and I've been reading through the forums for a bit now. Something that came up in my thoughts was how forums such as these can affect a person and whatever their issue may be. As I browse through, I'm constantly wondering things such as:
Does this person really have this problem at all, or is it simply a made-up self-aware cry for attention?
If not fake, how much exaggeration, if any, is in this post?
Should younger users (I just read something by a 14 year old, who got a reply from a 13 year old) be bringing their problems to the internet?
How many of these users see this community as a "release" or possibly see this community as their only social life? And is that healthy?
Is a lot of time spent on these forums a sign of social or personal issues, or are we still "normal" in society?
Pretty much, does the PsychCentral community promote or aid some people in falling deeper into their problems rather than actually fixing them? What do you think about this (and the prior questions)?
Also, for those of you who are therapists, how often do questions such as these come up when working with a patient? I'm only 20 and am studying psychology right now. I'm not quite sure what I want my concentration to be, but clinical work is definitely an option. I'm worried that if I can't trust what the patient has to say, then I might not be able to help the patient to my fullest capacity.
***I'd also like to note, for the moderators and anyone else whom it may concern, I have no intention in this post to "trash talk" or belittle PsychCentral. These are just thoughts that came up in my mind as I was reading through the posts and I was curious what others thought.
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I don't think children belong on forums. I recognize that PC allows this. I can't know if people who claim to have bipolar disorder or schizophrenia or depression or post traumatic stress disorder or whatever it is they say they have really have it or not. Some people, I think, are probably diagnosing themselves from self-help tests on the internet, which is a poor substitute for professional care. I think "
a made-up self-aware cry for attention" is pejorative. Your post was for attention; my reply is for attention; people need and want attention and that's the way the world is. There isn't anything shameful in wanting attention. Someone who lies to gain attention still needs attention; although other people
pretending to accept his or her lies as wonderful truth isn't what the person really needs (in my opinion). Do I think some of the people on this forum are lying? Yes, of course. But even lies tell us something. If you think you are going to go into practice and have patients who do nothing but tell you the truth all the time, you're in for an enormous shock; aside from the deliberate lies people will tell, there is denial, poor recall and the inability to reason that behavior A resulted in consequence B that can happen to even the most well-meaning person. Even the most successful, well-balanced, 'normal' people have "social and personal" issues. You're welcome to discuss your social and personal issues. I think you'll find a lot of nice people here.