advertisement
Reply
Thread Tools Display Modes
amandalouise
Wise Elder
 
amandalouise's Avatar
amandalouise has no updates.
 
Member Since: Mar 2009
Location: 8CS / NYS / USA
Posts: 9,133
15 yr Member
884 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Jul 18, 2022 at 10:59 AM
  #1
this post is very long. I have tried to leave spaces to make it easier reading.

there once was a time where dreaming of living life on computers was just that ... a dream.

people of all walks of life read and watched as sci fi played out in books and movies and tv shows. A sci fi life where characters just turned to their computers for everything. the jetsons did their jobs, schooling and grocery shopping on their futuristic computers. most of the Arnold Swartznegger movies utilized computers, you name it the world has been dreaming of the life with computers. what a great thing it would be to sit all day long and live life like sandra bullock in the net working and socializing on the computer.

Then it happened. A microscopic virus called Covid 19 struck the world. people everywhere were forced to stay home, get their homes computer reliant, for the world had no choice but to shut down the physical world and go virtual for their every needs and wants.

need food — turn to the computer — delivery or curbside pick up, if absolutely necessary keep trips to once a week, very brief, social distance of 6 feet away from another human being and by gosh mask up and use hand sanitizer.

Work — sorry folks we must turn to Zoom meetings. our offices are shutting down per CDC and health department orders everyone must work from home unless you are deemed "essential worker"

some locations where the death toll was out of control even designated Essential workers must carry their "essential worker card" to even travel from home to work and back home.

School — for a while children enjoyed the fact that they didnt have to get up, get dressed for school, they could turn on the computers and laptops and sit there all day in their pj's doing their school work as their parents supervised to make sure they were paying attention to their teachers on the computer screens from their homes via Zoom and skype.

even our time with friends and family was shut down to being a few minutes on Zoom, or other chat avenues. no face to face contact with anyone outside your immediate homes.

At first all over the net including facebook and twitter posts were flying "I can live like this, no big deal a couple weeks and everything will get back to normal"

2, 3 weeks then months then a year with no end in sight.

For 2 years the world was shut down to its fullest possible, with no face to face contact, masking, social distancing and living the sci fi life of computers we all used to dream about.

some websites flourished and bloomed, gathered members by the thousands and millions as people were stuck in their homes, forced into the sci fi computer life we used to dream about.

The longer the world was forced into a life on computers more and more real-world businesses crashed and went out of business, some internet businesses felt the financial drain and had to sell off or close down their websites in order to have the money for necessities for even the simple necessity of toilet paper was scarce, limited and becoming more expensive as demand went up.

All over the internet were cries of open up our schools, open up our businesses, open up, open up open up. but it dragged on for two years.
Living a life on computers was no longer a dream and no longer the fun that TV and movies made it out to be. Our dream of computer life was forced upon us by a microscopic virus no one could see without a microscope.

human beings since the dawn of time are a physical species that needs human contact. But that was forcibly taken from us. It was taking its toll on people having to isolate from their friends, children/ families/ loved ones.

Many due to covid lost their loved ones and could not even go through the church services and grieving process because even churches, grave side services were shut down.

Some internet mental health forums flourished as PTSD, grieving disorders, anxiety problems and more mounted and took its toll.

Finally, Finally came the day when the CDC and health departments around the world began to relax for the case counts were decreasing.

Things can slowly start opening back up. Shouts of joy went up all over the USA.

People started leaving their homes, reacquainting their self with the real world once again, marveling about things they missed, shocked at how their towns, cities and neighborhoods had changed in the two years of isolation.

People started leaving behind their computer worlds, their websites, their online mental health forums for the real world.

People were now able to have face to face appointments with their treatment providers instead of phone calls and Zoom.

They slowly stopped visiting their favorite online forums and websites for the new normal real world.

People enjoying people, real people in parks, in their neighborhoods. Finally being able to do the dining in their favorite restaurants, getting caught up on friends and family and other loved ones that they have not been able to spent time with for 2 years.

in the odd moment when there isnt something to do in the real-world people visit back to the online forums they had spent their forced 2 years of isolation on.

Cries of - Wait! where is every one? this forum is dead, that one is slow, why isnt anyone posting here anymore. it must be because of this person or that one, or this might have happened or that might have happened.

speculations abound and blame game happening all over the net. Not just one forum but many as people get the shock of their internet lives when they visit their once active forums and discover that those they got so used to seeing online, but not really knowing personally have moved on to either the real world or other websites.

Change is hard.

As people reacquaint their self with the real world, they receive a shock....

Their doctor's, doctor's offices are not the same. Many have new rules and regulations and scheduling, some are no longer for various reasons and so now they must search for the new agency and physicians.

The mental health world has also changed. The DSM 5 TR ways are in. wait! what theres new standards, new definitions, new diagnostics. When did this all happen? answer — March 2022.

As people get their new diagnosis label they drop out of this or that board to go to the better fitting of their new diagnosis labeling.

Some dont want to be recognized for their old postings so they delete their existing profiles and reregister for new profiles. some leave the old forums completely.

I remember well back in 2013 when the new way was DSM 5. people hated it. they struck out at those who revealed the new guidelines, when they didnt like the new ways. They struck out at those they could now see through as pretending to have this or that disorder. Forums went silent as people waited to see what the then new DSM 5 guidelines were and how it would affect them and their existing diagnosis's.

Now here we are in 2022 with yet another new way of life for the mental health system and the mentally ill called the DSM 5 TR.

People are scared, people are anxious, people are cheering, people are fighting, people are hating.

Mental health forums all over the internet have gone silent or placing blame for their choices not to post, as they wait and watch for those who will eventually reveal the new ways of the DSM 5 TR.

As the new ways are revealed, many leave one site for another, for their world has been rocked. their disorder is no longer what they thought it was. their disorder label is no more, their disorder label has changed... All kinds of reasons.

lets be honest here.....

a majority of people in online forums make up a population known as self-diagnosed.

Another portion of those in online forums are those who have been diagnosed by their friends and peer pressure of online forums and groups who tell them sounds like you have....

Another portion of those in online mental health forums are those who enjoy playing the game of mental illness, yes fakers, no matter what forums you go to on the internet theres going to be those that are there for fun and games and attention rather than healing from an actual mental disorder.

And then there's the portion of those in online forums that have been officially diagnosed.

the basic elements of any online forum or group that does not require proof of diagnosis whether that group is a self-made social media group or an official online free or pay forum.

Each time the DSM is rewrote, revised it affects all portions of the online population in different ways.

Some drop out of familiar forums, trying to find where they fit in now, others continue as they always have, and others create their own short lived social media groups.

lets be honest here facebook and other social media groups are only good until they are not. its only a matter of time before something happens because there is no real moderation or enforcement of rules and they are usually clicque ish, they accept everyone until they dont. and they go "out of business as the creator of the social media page gets new cell phones, or new accounts. the changeover rate of social media formed groups are high statistically in my location. In my location they are usually just a temporary breeding ground so to speak until a better place comes along.

more and more treatment providers in my location are forming their own online website and forums for their own clients to prevent the passing of misinformation, and cyber bullying that their diagnosed clients end up experiencing in social media-based groups.

my point is change is hard on everyone. the world has been changing in major ways since 2020, the covid years lasted longer than anyone thought and for some is still going on and now the world has to deal with wrapping their heads, agencies and so forth around the new DSM 5 TR ways.

To me it's no surprise that forums are silent or slow. We can all sit here on this dissociative forum speculating that it's because of this person who we assume is faking or that person because they are revealing the DSM 5 TR or that person said this or that, or this place is dead or that place is ....

Yes, as human beings with a thinking brain that since the dawn of time has been wired to foresee the negatives, we can speculate on who, whats, wheres fault it is that the forums have slowed down, are silent...

but if we use the reality testing that stays intact with dissociative disorders, we know that in reality it is each person in online forums have always made their own decisions of what they post, when they post and why they post. It's no one's fault. they are making their own choices for their self, basedon what they want and need.

What's happening is actually quite normal for ......any...... online forums everywhere on the internet.

Now that things are opening up again the world is leaving behind a 24/7 life of computers for the real world again.

on top of that....

If those of us regulars remember back to 2013 we remember when the DSM 5 was published the boards slowed down to a crawl and /or went silent as people got their new diagnosis's and moved on to other forums that were a better fit for their new diagnosis labeling.

and those that claim it's because of this person or that one well they are hurting right now.

Change is hard for some.

It may be because their diagnosis has changed, or because they really didnt have that diagnosis and with the DSM 5 TR its harder to play the game. or it may just be because its easier to place blame and strike out at others, than it is to take ownership of one's own choices and triggers or look inside their self.

Whatever is ........their........ reason. it's about them not others.

Dont take it personally.

They are hurting.

Give them time.

One thing that is a constant on mental health forums everywhere is that eventually those that have left do find their way back, either as the same username or a different one. Eventually if they come back as a different one they reveal their self in one way or another, either by posting style, posting content or by self-disclosing that they are back.

Give it time. thats what my moto at the moment is to myself....understanding that eventually as people get comfortable with balancing the new ways of post covid real world with the internet world, as people get comfortable with the new DSM 5 TR world the forums will flourish once again.
amandalouise is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Thanks for this!
*Beth*, Yaowen

advertisement
Yaowen
Grand Magnate
 
Yaowen's Avatar
Yaowen has no updates.
 
Member Since: Jan 2020
Location: USA
Posts: 3,618 (SuperPoster!)
3 yr Member
6,475 hugs
given
PC PoohBah!
Default Jul 19, 2022 at 12:19 PM
  #2
Thanks for sharing those insights. I find them very helpful!
Yaowen is offline   Reply With QuoteReply With Quote
 
Hugs from:
amandalouise
 
Thanks for this!
amandalouise
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:57 AM.
Powered by vBulletin® — Copyright © 2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.



 

My Support Forums

My Support Forums is the online community that was originally begun as the Psych Central Forums in 2001. It now runs as an independent self-help support group community for mental health, personality, and psychological issues and is overseen by a group of dedicated, caring volunteers from around the world.

 

Helplines and Lifelines

The material on this site is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified health care provider.

Always consult your doctor or mental health professional before trying anything you read here.