Posted by Dinah on March 6, 2005, at 23:10:27
In reply to Re: Then I'm missing something » Dinah, posted by alexandra_k on March 6, 2005, at 22:31:02
I didn't mean to poke you, Alexandra.
Part of what I was saying is literal. I will feel less able to post here, the only place outside my therapist that I'm likely to say anything at all, if I think that people will be annoyed with me for doing it. And if, God forbid, the reason I'm suicidal is that something, God forbid, happens to my therapist, then this is the only place I'm likely to say anything at all. So if I don't think I can say anything here, my thought processes would be that it would be better to just... Oh well, you get my point.
I was also trying to say that people don't have to post suicidal messages for others to be concerned about them. It's possibly not true about posters who are newly arrived on the boards, so that people don't know it's uncharacteristic for them not to post, but it almost definitely is true about people who post consistently then suddenly stop. Gracie springs to mind.
The distress level here can cause pain sometimes. There's no doubt about that. And people need to be able to judge what they can and can't handle for themselves, and skip over what they can't handle. I can't visit the grief board. Maybe you need to skip suicidal messages. Probably there are times when everyone needs to skip them. That's why it's good to have a big board.
With suicidal messages, perhaps the best way to disengage is to truly accept our own powerlessness on an ultimate level. We can try to help others, and we may or may not succeed. It isn't up to us.
(Unless Dr. Bob makes it possible for posters to contact ISP's)
I haven't heard from Smokey Madison, Alexandra. Maybe you can post on Social or Psychology and she or someone she's been in contact with can tell you more.
poster:Dinah
thread:466899
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20050219/msgs/467617.html