Posted by wishingstar on December 28, 2006, at 11:09:12
In reply to Re: Good Bye Posts, posted by cassie17 on December 28, 2006, at 10:50:01
I havent posted to this thread yet because I dont think I have anything to add that hasnt already been said, but I felt like I needed to respond to this.
Cassie, I feel a little put down by your statements, although I couldnt quite put a finger on why. I do often feel suicidal myself, and I've posted about it more than once on these boards. However, I dont consider myself to be seriously mentally ill. But more importantly than that... I do believe that boards like these can be excellent supports, IN ADDITION to real life supports, for people in these hard situations. I would worry if most of us were here with no outside doctors, therapists, or support of any kind, but the majority of us do not rely soley on babble for help. I believe that babble offers a type of support that you cant really receive from a doctor or a therapist, or sometimes even a friend, for many reasons. For one, just the fact that there are so many of us here in similar yet different situations makes it much more likely that someone will really understand how youre feeling, on a deeper level because theyve felt it themselves. The "I've been there" support can be priceless, at least for me. There is also a sense of caring and support, at least for me, that you dont experience from professionals. It'd be a potential ethical problem. But that doesnt make the need for it any less real. In an ideal world every one of us would have a family member or friend who understood, cared, and was able and willing to be supportive. Unfortunately, we dont all have that in the way we need it, even though we may try.
I dont say that to suggest that there arent any limitations of reaching out for support in a net forum. There certainly are. I think many of the discussions we have on the admin board would not exist if we were sitting face to face where we could better assess crisis, read tone in people's words, etc. So again, it's not a substitute for anything in the real world. But as a supplement, it has been very valuable to me.
poster:wishingstar
thread:716057
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20061228/msgs/716917.html