downsolong,

venting can be a healthy thing, and it is something that does happen a lot here as well as in real life. I used to go with friends to the airport and just scream as the planes flew over and that was a great release. If I were to go to a hospital however, and walk in and just start screaming and complaining about my family or my job or whatever, that might still be a good release for me but it wouldn't be good for the people around, it might upset them greatly. Likewise I wouldn't start complaining loudly while I was at work, might make me feel better but also might get me fired.

It would be even worse to go into a hospital and begin complaining loudly about how poorly doctors treat people based on the experience you had. That may be true for you, and a good thing for you to vent, but it is not a universal truth and the people getting help might begin to feel shaky about trusting their doctors and that might effect their treatment to their detriment.

There's a time and a place for things. It is OK to vent here, but the members here usually appreciate some signs of understanding and trying to make things better rather than just 100% venting. And of course venting about some subject matter is verboten. There are reasons for this, it is to keep the community safe for everyone, and sometimes that does come at the expense of being able to say something that may be of help for the poster.

Religion and politics are not allowed to be discussed not only because it hurts people, but moreso because it causes arguments and that hurts people, even people who are not directly involved in the conversation. People here have VERY strong and very personal feelings about religion. Both positive and negative. Some people may feel deeply hurt by religion, others feel that their spirituality has been the foremost factor in their recovery. A discussion of such is going to alienate one group or the other. It is not a simple matter of "if it upsets you, don't read it" because for such deeply held beliefs, by the time you realize you shouldn't be reading it, the damage has already been done.

And I want to say again that this does not mean that there can be no talk of religion at all. People here wish each other well using spiritual quotes all of the time, and post inspirational messages, and I believe these are quite welcome. When religion becomes a discussion related to mental health recovery that is where people are in danger of being hurt.

This does seem to be an important issue for you. If it truly is a central issue in your health you should be able to discuss it, but this is not the place. You can talk to your doctor or find a support group that welcomes talking about these issues (not all do) or find other forums on the web, there are other mental health forums that talk a lot about religious issues.

Continuing to beat around the bush here, and to claim that the rules might be bad for the community here, isn't going to help you. If you really aren't sure, just post! If it becomes a problem we'll try to take care of it as best we can. I don't think anyone would want to be in a position of monitoring your messages before you post them, that's really not what this place is about either.

Even if you do have to find another place to vent some of your specific issues I hope you can still find comfort with other things that you may want to discuss here. This is a very trusting, comforting place. The rules are just an attempt to keep it that way for everyone, or at least as many people as possible.