Hi Hope and sophiesmum, I can see where you are both coming from but as others here have said sometimes you need to choose what you read and perhaps comment on or ignore. I also believe that written posts can easily be misinterpreted as sometimes when a person is distressed or has strong feelings or has had a bad experience it may be difficult for them to express themselves clearly and we as readers do not have the benefit of being in their presence - they say 90% of communication is non verbal so you can see what I am saying. Also perhaps something as simple as a question about a type of treatment or symptom is a trigger for some?

I have only been on this site for a short time but I have found many of the threads informative, interesting, supportive. For the most part I see commenters genuinely trying to be helpful, giving support or advice which can sometimes mean talking about their own negative experiences as well as the positive. For example if someone is asking about a specific drug and some have had good experience where others have not - sometimes the responses can give a really well rounded response when read as a whole, for a person seeking information or advice.

Personally I try hard not to over express or get caught up in the emotion of things when I comment and I can tell that others also do this. However, this is also a place where we come to seek support, as you say, and that can mean just knowing that there are others out there who understand us and who give us a 'virtual' hug and say "Hey its ok I hear you". Sometimes we just want to rant and rave and scream it out in a post and this is the place to do that too.

I am hearing what you are saying and I could make further comment of my own about some posts I have read but I wont because those individuals posting are just wanting to be heard the same as me and if I don't like what they are expressing or the way they are expressing it, I can just move on.

As a last comment, you could also turn a negative into a positive and look at it this way as I have learned to do in my 'real' life: sometimes people teach you what you don't want to be. That is as valuable a life lesson or a reminder as any other.

Cheers to everyone out there