well, for one... it's a "on the spot" situation where you get the weird look. i don't feel comfortable and so i asked. Not everyone feels comfortable making up a reason why they might be here. i blush for one thing. Because i actually do have an illness i am self-conscious at times and in certain situations. Of course i can try to pretend im doing something i am not... but that isn't something i normally do. i don't feel good about it and i don't think i sound very convincing.

i'm sure other people could care less about what i might be doing here... but i care. It matters to me, which is why i asked. i'm obviously not alone in feeling that way. Comfort levels are not universal.

no.. the whole world does not know all about psychcentral.. but i disagree about the visibility of the logo.. it looks pretty obvious to me... then again my vision is really good.

you cannot minimize the browser window in the browser i use and have the chat window stay functional. It logs you out. You can't switch tabs either and both of those are a function of how the java is written. i have three browsers on each of my pc's and my imac and i've yet to see one act differently than that.

the reframe is only relevant when it is complete strangers wondering by. The people who i am referring to know me, usually in a tangential sort of way, meaning well enough to know i am not a mental health professional or a psych student or whatever, but not well enough for me to share something as intimate as my medical conditions. They stop, coffee in hand, right next to me to have a brief chit chat. The others.. the complete strangers, are the people who sit maybe three feet behind me because of the seating in the local cafe... it's a small place. They have a straight-on view of my screen... not enough to read what i am typing, but close enough to see graphics.

am i a little paranoid in a non-psychotic way? yes, probably... just like pretty much every person i ever meet who has a mental illness. i haven't met many who feel tickity-boo about whether people know or not. Some people can't even tell the people closest to them. A lot of it is fear... not just me... a *lot* of consumers (i hate that term but there it sits) have the big fear of who knows... and it is that way for a reason. i am speaking from the point of view of those same people.

now.. i do what i do... i do sometimes take the risks and log on anyway... i gauge that risk. i asked about the logo because i know i am not alone. Rational, irrational, stigma or figment.... the real world is afraid of people like me because i have a neurochemical that doesn't do what it should. Whether i voice my concerns or not.. the real world is still hostile against mental illness.

i've faced it... i've had to make a complaint to the human rights commission against a local official who treated me very unfairly simply based on the fact that i told the truth on a medical form. i also almost lost my driver's license when i moved into a different province because the question is on the change form.

i was just an inquiry but the doc feels differently than i.. so it is what it is now.