hey. i think it is great that you guys have thought about the consequences and have made an informed decision :-)

i'm glad that you managed to sort the situation out septembermorn. sometimes... people can be more understanding than we expect and that is terrific.

one issue is... registration as a psychologist. opinions vary, but it seems that that can be an issue. same with respect to admission to med school and registration as a medical doctor. same again with psychiatry training and speciality etc. i personally... choose to keep my history as quiet as possible. why? because i want to be accepted as a professional rather than being accepted as a consumer advocate. if i make it as a professional then i'll out myself as a consumer one day in order to inspire others but i don't want my making it to depend on other peoples sympathies OR hostilities to my history as a consumer.

i also post a great deal about such things as transference feelings for my therapist and stuff like that. i'd be fairly mortified if employers / colleagues / supervisors / acquaintances etc were to read that kind of stuff. some would be understanding, i'm sure. but others would not be, i'm fairly sure of that.

the thing that i find most useful about online mental health communities is that i find the courage to write about things that i think i could never tell anybody about in one million years. all those things about myself that i'd be too ashamed about saying irl. that is the major benefit i find to participating. to be able to say those things... and then to see how people don't judge or condemn me, rather they share similar things and sympathise for where i'm coming from. of course i hope to find the courage to talk about those things with my therapist... but not my colleagues etc... not in fifty million years lol.

so i guess thats why my online privacy is important to me...