[blueberrycheesecake]

I have a pet banana called George, and he is getting a lickle bit podgy! How do I help him shift the extra pounds and what do I feed him?!

[Lostime]

Mmmmmm!

[lynn P.]

Maybe you and this poster should be buddies and trade ideas or have a race.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=186375

[Lostime]

Mmmmmm!

OK before we start do you have a photo of your pet?

[Indie'sOK]

Originally Posted by lynn P.

Maybe you and this poster should be buddies and trade ideas or have a race.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=186375

lol trade ideas

[**Angel**]

Originally Posted by lynn P.

Maybe you and this poster should be buddies and trade ideas or have a race.

http://forums.psychcentral.com/showthread.php?t=186375

Haha, LOL, good one Lynn!! x

[lynn P.]

Yeah ...us four could be referees and makes bets. I'll be rooting for the banana, unless George is feeling too ripe today.

[Indie'sOK]

.....Unless the spider starts to eat George

[**Angel**]

My Kitties called Banana Haha Indie!!
We called him banana as he couldn't stand properly Slip slide, will get pics!!

[Erti]

o.o I would eat him. I can never have pet chickens and pigs!

[Indie'sOK]

I can't figure out if these threads are serious or jokes

[Lostime]

Originally Posted by Indie'sOK

I can't figure out if these threads are serious or jokes

The smilies at the bottom of the first post tells me this one is a joke.

[**Angel**]

These threads should be reported or something?? x

[lynn P.]

Originally Posted by Indie'sOK

I can't figure out if these threads are serious or jokes

I'm like you Indie, unless I see obvious smilies I take the poster seriously. At least on this one, it's safe to assume it's a joke with all the smiley icons as Lostime said.
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I will say though and this isn't in reference to this thread. On a mental health site you're likely to see and read some unusual things. For example a person might be having delusions that their M&M's are singing to them - in their mind, they see it and believe it. If they post about it, then we should empathize and not laugh. If there's smiley's, then we can laugh and joke. Confusion happens when they write something that's not possible without obvious smilies, which makes me think they're having a hard time mentally. If I realize I've been strung along and left wondering what's really going on, this can be stressful for the ones who are empathetic.

The other day on the news they were talking about odd habits some people have and this one lady has PICA - she eats the stuffing out of her padded bras. Imagine if someone were to post this without first prefacing it with "I have a problems with ....." and instead just said "I eat bras for dinner". Would people assume it's a joke or wait and wonder if the poster actually needs sympathy and support. Bottomline is, why do we have to wrack our brains trying to figure out the motives behind a post - just be straight forward and honest.....grrrrrrr.

[Indie'sOK]

Originally Posted by lynn P.

I'm like you Indie, unless I see obvious smilies I take the poster seriously. At least on this one, it's safe to assume it's a joke with all the smiley icons as Lostime said.
------------------------------------------------------

I will say though and this isn't in reference to this thread. On a mental health site you're likely to see and read some unusual things. For example a person might be having delusions that their M&M's are singing to them - in their mind, they see it and believe it. If they post about it, then we should empathize and not laugh. If there's smiley's, then we can laugh and joke. Confusion happens when they write something that's not possible without obvious smilies, which makes me think they're having a hard time mentally. If I realize I've been strung along and left wondering what's really going on, this can be stressful for the ones who are empathetic.

The other day on the news they were talking about odd habits some people have and this one lady has PICA - she eats the stuffing out of her padded bras. Imagine if someone were to post this without first prefacing it with "I have a problems with ....." and instead just said "I eat bras for dinner". Would people assume it's a joke or wait and wonder if the poster actually needs sympathy and support. Bottomline is, why do we have to wrack our brains trying to figure out the motives behind a post - just be straight forward and honest.....grrrrrrr.

Exactly. I'm not one to kill a joke, but in the context of a site like this, joking should either be made obvious (like with the smilies) or the OP should come right out and say it's a joke. Not that everything here should be serious 100% of the time - we all need breaks from our issues and joking around is a great way to do so. Mix-ups happen way too often when people don't know whether to laugh or sympathize. I'm not even sure whether or not this OP is a troll It's hard to tell when some of their posts are supportive, and others are..well, like this one.

[nothemama8]

Maybe it should be in games cuz it does seem abit funny....

Pet bananas are among the hardest pets to walk because they have no legs or the ability to move of their own volition.