[AlteredState01]

A) Notice patterns (within your personality) emerging as you spend time on this forum as respects personal blogs, opinions and responses?

B) Keep a printed/computer log of all your blogs, etc? If so, why? If not, why?

C) Find blogging as difficult or less difficult, as being face-to-face with a person - meaning, are you as easily triggered by what you read or by the responses of others as you would be in real life conversations and/or situations? (Note: I am not suggesting our conversations on-line are not real, just not sure how else to word this question).

D) Have you been made aware of symptoms while blogging with those who suffer the same ilness(es) as you, that you otherwise did not think/feel you suffered from?

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The reasons I ask these questions is because I am becoming acutely aware of how helpful this site already has been for me thus far (it's the only site I blog on), and the potential one has to really discover just how deeply manifest certain symtoms are over others, and whether or not one actually experiences certain symptoms at all.

For instance, I just realized, partly through on-line blogging, that depression is not as major an illness for me as I once thought. Depression has always been the primary diagnosis in my case - BPD w/ HN tendencies came later. Drugs have never had much affect on me for the treatment of depression (depressing in itself, I might add...). What I have noticed recently, is that depression comes only when I am struggling with BPD-type issues, or from the aftermath of a classic BPD meltdown.

This is important stuff!! I know now I ought to adjust my type of therapy, etc. and begin to focus more on the BPD issues rather than trying to control my depression. I had been doing the reverse all this time. Just imagine how much time, effort and pain this revelation will save me!
If you, too, could recognize some of this stuff, imagine just how much it could affect your recovery as well!

Thanking you in advance for your replies!


Altered State

[Fuzzybear]

I just want to say this has given me (and I am sure others) lots of food for thought.....

I might get back to you with some thoughts.....

Sorry so "vague"..... I guess my "cave" is still one of my major defences

[AlteredState01]

Thanks Fuzz, I appreciate it!

AS

[Fuzzybear]

No problem... I expect/hope some of the others will be around to reply (soon?)

[alibaby]

I haven't learned about blogging yet, so I can't answer questions B,C, and D, but I have realised that as I make and receive responses on the forum, I feel some of the same difficulty I have in social situations as if I'm in the "real" world. When I got my first response to my first post, I wanted to just sign out and never return (lol). I also feel discomfort as I write online, which is the same way I feel when I talk to someone. What's different is that when I "speak" online, I think I sound better than I do in "real" life. Sometimes I am afraid to respond to posts for fear of "I don't fit in" or "what I have to say isn't relevant" or "everyone's smarter than me", etc. This forum is making me look at my behaviours and why I feel the way I do.

[alibaby]

Correction--I just re-read and I now understand that you are talking about all aspects of using these forums. I think my previous response covers questions A and C.

Question B is something I might do later, but I do think re-reading posts helps me to look at things from "outside of the moment", then I can re-think the situation and hopefully I will learn to change some of my negative thoughts/behaviours by doing that.

And for question D, I haven't seen any of that yet.

[AlteredState01]

Waaay off topic here, but your empathy & sympathy for others runs very, very deep within you, doesn't it Fuzzy? (No answer required...)

(Do you mind the nick-names I've been using? In real life, I never let anyone 'nick' my name. On-line, well, it is already a nickname, so I automatically think I can take the liberty - know what I mean? Like "Fuzzy-B" (rap queen?) or "The Fuzzster" (cool chick) and there's just plain "Fuzzy" ( all ).

Ooh, I got a ton flying through my mind...

As for my monicker, how many more ways can one mess with it? Yours, on the other hand, creates many, many opportunities for adaption to different genres, moods, personalities, etc., especialy to a "strangely creative" mind like my own.

Later Fuzz (getting to friendly?!),

AS

[AlteredState01]

Gonna get in trouble for changing the subject line, but....

I AM NOT A SHRINK OR A SHRINK-IN-TRAINING! UNLESS I CAN INCLUDE ANALYZING MYSELF-THEN I'M AN EXPERT!!!

JUST REALLY, REALLY CURIOUS?

Waaaay to messed up to put other people into my hands...

Altered State

[Fuzzybear]

(me)

[domino]

altered state when I read your posts they give me hope

[Perna]

Are you referring to these forums as "blogging" or do you have an actual "blog?" Blogging is generally thought of as an individual affair whereas participation in an "online community" like PC where you get feedback is different.

Online communities like PC, where you can read about and respond to other people are great! I use blogging too, to talk to "myself" and get all the junk "outside" my head also. I find it's a bit like a paper and pencil journal but I find I don't reread it as often as I do a journal. I get good ideas but then don't follow through. I prefer online communities where I can address a "problem" and see how I've addressed it, how I've responded to another and how their problem is similar (or different) from mine. But when I need an "idea" of a different way to approach my problems, I like what I write in a blog/journal. I'm very creative and enjoy seeing how I approach my own problems and ideas I come up with to solve them.

http://myself.psychcentral.net/2006/...lies-part-one/

[AlteredState01]

This is far out stuff. (I know I am dating myself with the "far out" eupemism, but what can I say? - nothing else seems to capture in words what I feel.)

I really gotta process some of this stuff, but can't think that way at the moment...


AS

[AlteredState01]

Um, (????!!!!)

[AlteredState01]

Meant to say posts. Not blogging (like on a separate site) - I always mix these two words up.

To clarify a point you made: You keep a separate journal plus a blog site, right? And it is the blog site that you find you don't review as often as your personal journal? Huh. Strange. Do you know why? Dumb question, but I am assuming your personal journal is just more personal and detailed?

Thanks for your input, Perna. I am trying to figure out how best to use the forums, blog sites, etc. right now and what you have described for me here is very similar to how I thought they should (for lack of a better word) be used.