How to post in an anonymous way

Hi,
I want to post threads and get advice and help, however how do I do this without revealing too many details about myself. The problem is that to really paint a picture of my problem I have to describe aspects of my career, past, current life etc. maybe it involves coworkers or family members as well and their interaction with me BUT like everything else on the internet, once posted, it is hard to erase and it is there for the whole world to see. So I feel like if someone from my workplace or a family member encountered the thread they might say, 'hey that sounds like so and so is describing what happened the other day at the water cooler'

So how to approach this?

Hi..just an opinion but not everyone can "see" what you post here, and no one knows who you are unless you reveal that, and no one knows what state you are in, etc..a lot of posts on PC remind me of other peoples situations but that doesn't mean I know it's them. I hope this helps so that the rest of us may be able to help you with your problems. We try to support one another here..

I agree with Squaw. You can share anything you wish here. No one has a way of knowing who you are unless you reveal it.
I could be writing this post from a base of a random hotel in a random country and you would not know.
Most people are pretty supportive here in PC and you always have the option of adding anyone to the ‘ignore’ list in your profile.
We are here for you

up just wanted to let you know that everyone in the whole world can read all the posts here. If I remember right this is one of the Frequently asked questions on whether psych central is searchable by search engines.
(you can test this by not logging in and reading all the posts even though you are not logged in)

people around the world can not access the profiles of each member but they can read all the posts and in some situaitons have found members when they placed too much personal information in their posts.

if you feel you have put too much in a post the moderators can help you to edit or remove posts...think there may be a limit on how many removals. any members can also ask for user name changes if they think someone has recognized them but again I think there may be a limit on this too.

how I keep personal identifying information out of my posts is I write my posts on my computers writing programs first, doing my edits and so on, (windows 10 has at least two writing programs microsoft word and microsoft notepad. there are other free writing programs in the "store" app and also there are many blogs and journal / writing programs online that are also free.

I just edit out names and make up names for them example my alter Rains name is the same as a friend of mine so instead I used the name Rain because it was raining outside when I was making my post.

I also do not use the same username and email anywhere else other than psych central this way my username and email here can not be traced or linked to any other website or person.

forgot to add the link to FAQ on this issue ...

https://forums.psychcentral.com/faq....ain#faq_google

Do search engines index the forums?
Yes, we allow search engines to index our community, to help others find emotional and mental health support online. We explicitly suggest members choose a username upon registration that is not used elsewhere online, to help with your online privacy.

Everyone can see what you post here, all they have to do is Google it. I seen my 6yo. posts here in Google Search.

and i have seen more than 2 people who were stalked here, from off-site,,,, so remember, never post anything you wouldn't want to see in the paper~!!

Exactly.

Another forum I came from, under certain circumstances, the staff would be willing to post a question or comment for you to maintain anonymity - but not as a matter of habit.

But what Gus said. It's just a rule of thumb that wouldn't hurt to follow when posting in forums.

That is quite harrowing. Can you explain what you mean by stalking from off site?

If people are nosy in your life it isn't too hard to find this forum... unfortunately it is easy for me to believe this is happening right now.

I know I am not the person you are directing this too but thought I would answer...

i have been here 8 plus years... in those 8 years there have been posts that state they need to have name changes or delete their posts because someone outside of psych central has found them, stalking them.

sometimes this happening on the internet is due to mental or physical problems where their problems make them think they are being stalked (ie when I am having psychosis symptoms with my many mental and physical health problems it does make me paranoid on who is who and who to trust and who is out to get me)

other times it is for real I have many friends in many different situations where for example their domestically abusive relative/ spouse will follow them on facebook, twitter, myspace and other networking sites and then when personal information is posted they google that and follow the person from site to site. (in other words cyber stalking them) one such friend of mine no longer uses a computer, or goes on websites, in short went underground completely leaving behind anything that could lead her abuser to her. she doesnt even have a credit card, and pays her bills in cash only, so that there is nothing linking her in any way that her ex can find her.

cyber stalking does happen no matter what website a person is on. but there are ways to protect your self from it. like I never use the same email for more than one account, I never use the same password for anything and I never put in my posts any identifying information. I do post NYC here for my location but NYC is a very very large city and Amandalouise is not may actual name. someone trying to find me in NYC using any variation of this name and my posts here would not lead them to me or my wife.