Is there a Mental Health forum?

manual_man

maybe i missed it but i couldn't see it listed?

i think in this day and age it's imperative it should have it's own dedicated forum

mods, please advise if i'm mistaken?

Regards,

mm

GLaDOS

I think there's some discussion in Long Term Illnesses

Elmidena

Just in LTI, there's currently a request for something along those lines here though

Wibbs

As ScienceNerd and Elmedina said there's a dedicated thread in Long Term Illness, there's some good info stickied in Personal Issues and for a broader clinical discussion there's the Psychology forum. That's outside regular enough threads in After Hours like DeVore's very informative recent one and emotional needs/health type threads in places like The Ladies Lounge and The Gentleman's Club.

Another question might be, what would a dedicated Mental Health forum look like? Questions regarding treatment would fall fowl of the "no medical advice" rule(rightfully). Ditto for online diagnosis again rightfully. Suicide type threads would be locked on the spot for very good reasons. How would one vet users? How would you decide that User A had clinical depression and User B had "a case of the blues" with very different needs? The existing threads especially the LTI one have navigated this pretty well because of the users and good modding, a dedicated forum I'd imagine would be a nightmare.

Don't get me wrong manual_man, it sounds like a good idea in theory, it's how it would work in practice that would concern me personally.

manual_man

I just thought it would be good for people to have an obvious place to go if nothing else have Sticky threads with info regarding mental health services available in their area. I understand that each persons situation is unique to themself but i was just a bit upset that there was no obvious place for people to go when we all know what a debilitating and lonely thing depression can be. Sometimes its hard to see past your own nose when you're suffering

Wibbs

manual_man wrote: »

I just thought it would be good for people to have an obvious place to go if nothing else have Sticky threads with info regarding mental health services available in their area.

One small idea? What about stickying Devore's recent and excellent thread(including resources etc in the first post) in After Hours? IIRC there was a "depression" thread started by boneyarsebogman stickied there before which was very popular. Given AH has the most traffic on the site and is often a gateway to the rest of the site, maybe this would be a good idea.

Ditto for maybe a separate sticky in Personal Issues with the resources available. If the office could find a qualified mental health professional to write a brief foreword of reassurance that might help some people too? Given the overwhelming response, interest and personal stories that are found in these threads it shows some sort of need alright. That way people get the info they may need and can share their experiences (where applicable) without the difficulties a dedicated forum might bring?

Just a thought.

manual_man

Hi Wibbs that totally makes sense what you're saying, i've noticed the After Hours section being very popular, and thanks for giving your time and thought to the matter, these things don't go un-noticed

Regards,

manual man

later12

Recently there was a thread in feedback in response to DeVores (I agree, excellent) post about his depression. The thread was about doing something for people with mental illness and the thread ended up with a tone of "yes but what can we really do?". I think this is what boards can do.

I wouldn't perhaps use it myself, because I have a big wall, sliotar and a hurley to help me with my mental health. But that doesn't work for everyone, and I think it could be a could source of peer support, as well as being an arena in which to raise awareness of mental health issues. I don't think it would ought have anything to do with diagnostics or dispensing medical advice like anti depressants in a consulting room.

Yes, yes, that spiel belongs in new forum requests. But I would suggest this might be one forum that boards especially needs, from a philanthropic perspective as much as anything else.

Elmidena

Wibbs wrote: »

As ScienceNerd and Elmedina said there's a dedicated thread in Long Term Illness, there's some good info stickied in Personal Issues and for a broader clinical discussion there's the Psychology forum. That's outside regular enough threads in After Hours like DeVore's very informative recent one and emotional needs/health type threads in places like The Ladies Lounge and The Gentleman's Club.

Another question might be, what would a dedicated Mental Health forum look like? Questions regarding treatment would fall fowl of the "no medical advice" rule(rightfully). Ditto for online diagnosis again rightfully. Suicide type threads would be locked on the spot for very good reasons. How would one vet users? How would you decide that User A had clinical depression and User B had "a case of the blues" with very different needs? The existing threads especially the LTI one have navigated this pretty well because of the users and good modding, a dedicated forum I'd imagine would be a nightmare.

Don't get me wrong manual_man, it sounds like a good idea in theory, it's how it would work in practice that would concern me personally.

Oi, you changed my name Wobbs! :P

Personally, I think a dedicated forum would look something along the lines of:
--Somewhere for people to post how they're coping, a sort of "moral support" thread a bit like the "what made you..." thread in tLL. But if all the posters have something in common, it has a friendlier atmosphere, or "safer" to talk.

--A strict policy on no suicide threats/hints etc or it will result in banning from the forum. And not just hidden in a charter many ignore (I always read charters at least once before posting, but I know many don't), have it as a thread title stickied in bold.

--A place where people can write out their experience and say the pros and cons of things they've tried. Everything on a personal level and not to be considered advocating an agenda/treatment for others. Something like "I found walking helps me" as opposed to "walking is the only solution you should all do it". Medication and dosages are different for everyone, so zero tolerance policy on recommending strengths, but a suggestion to talk to a GP to try a different pill wouldn't be amiss.

--You could also have somethine like "let's all be anxious..." there, but without fear of people peeping in for a giggle which is a fear for some I'm sure. I joined the forums specifically to post in that thread when life was on top of me in June, and writing it down and getting a couple of replies did wonders, and lookie I'm still here nearly a thousand posts later But there are times I wonder how many people can track me with google etc, and although it was fine laying my bones to a crowd of people I didn't know, it'd be safer if it was a crowd of people I didn't know but only on boards able to read it!

--There's no such thing as someone being more depressed than anyone else; people can suffer in varying degrees but it can still feel crippling to the sufferer. If someone feels overwhelmed enough they could look for company/somewhere to whinge about how horrible life seems that day etc etc in a hope it will provide them some comfort or help. A bit of a Cheers scenario where you've a vague idea of who's there, but still relatively anonymous unless you know posters IRL of course. Having said that, have a zero policy on trolling. When it's a sensitive topic such as mental health, and especially if the forum was private, then users should have enough copon to know better. Spare the rod and spoil the child and all that.

--Have links to the major groups of course, and maybe a thread to act as a calendar for different charity events coming up, like a balloon release against depression, or lighting a paper lantern for those affected by suicide (two events I know of last year, there's more but I'm not soapboxing an agency or support group, just using them as examples)

--I know wiki or something would already cover this, but perhaps a thread of medical terms in layman's speech. Not giving advice, just taking the jargon out of it (for example: hypertension=high blood pressure). A list of some common depressions (manic, chronic, schizophrenia, OCD, BPD etc) and a bit of info on each, highlighting that it's not for diagnosis, just information and not all symptoms apply to all people. If a poster sees something they think is relative to them, well they can take it up with their doctor. But it might be a starting point for them getting help, if they saw something similar to how they felt. (Side note, Boards' strict medical policy was bent a little on my first post, someone replied with a musing on what I'd written, nothing to do with treatment or medicine etc, and I'd never heard of it. Mod told them off. I looked it up, asked my doc about it and lo and behold, I felt a million times better for discussing it with my doctor. I'm in a better place now than I've been in a long time, and that was all initiated by the user's musing )

--It might be nice to have a couple of other sensitive issues covered in the forum, such as miscarriages/SADS/anticipatory grief. Again no advice or medical offerings, but a warm support environment to get through tough times.

I've rattled on a fair bit here, so sorry about that, but this is what I imagined anyway when I thought about it

tbh

Elmidena wrote: »

Personally, I think a dedicated forum would look something along the lines of:
--Somewhere for people to post how they're coping, a sort of "moral support" thread a bit like the "what made you..." thread in tLL. But if all the posters have something in common, it has a friendlier atmosphere, or "safer" to talk.

--A strict policy on no suicide threats/hints etc or it will result in banning from the forum. And not just hidden in a charter many ignore (I always read charters at least once before posting, but I know many don't), have it as a thread title stickied in bold.

--A place where people can write out their experience and say the pros and cons of things they've tried. Everything on a personal level and not to be considered advocating an agenda/treatment for others. Something like "I found walking helps me" as opposed to "walking is the only solution you should all do it". Medication and dosages are different for everyone, so zero tolerance policy on recommending strengths, but a suggestion to talk to a GP to try a different pill wouldn't be amiss.

The problem with that is that it's a single thread, not a forum - as you say, the facility to post like that exists already, to be perfectly honest I don't think it warrants an entire forum

--You could also have somethine like "let's all be anxious..." there, but without fear of people peeping in for a giggle which is a fear for some I'm sure. I joined the forums specifically to post in that thread when life was on top of me in June, and writing it down and getting a couple of replies did wonders, and lookie I'm still here nearly a thousand posts later But there are times I wonder how many people can track me with google etc, and although it was fine laying my bones to a crowd of people I didn't know, it'd be safer if it was a crowd of people I didn't know but only on boards able to read it!

Just a note on this - I can see how it's a valid concern. You can post in LTI anonymously, or you can, if you wish, create a new account just to post in LTI.
Even if you make the forum a private forum, you can't be sure that it's totally private - If it were private, I think it would be difficult to turn down a request to join.
Also, as far as I'm aware, LTI posts are not returned in a search, either on boards or through google.

--There's no such thing as someone being more depressed than anyone else; people can suffer in varying degrees but it can still feel crippling to the sufferer. If someone feels overwhelmed enough they could look for company/somewhere to whinge about how horrible life seems that day etc etc in a hope it will provide them some comfort or help. A bit of a Cheers scenario where you've a vague idea of who's there, but still relatively anonymous unless you know posters IRL of course. Having said that, have a zero policy on trolling. When it's a sensitive topic such as mental health, and especially if the forum was private, then users should have enough copon to know better. Spare the rod and spoil the child and all that.

I'm sure you'll agree there is no trolling in the "Lets all be anxious..." thread - warnings are not used, any messing gets the user banned.


Anyway - not trying to block the forum, but maybe I've helped allay some fears you had which prompted you to ask for it.

Overheal

Wibbs wrote: »

How would one vet users? How would you decide that User A had clinical depression and User B had "a case of the blues" with very different needs?

Shouldn't need to be much vetting. Like any private forum, normal rules don't apply, that's the only important thing. Meaning you can impose lovely hard-line rules like 'no debating the existence of depression' or other such clap.

The biggest advantage I think though would be that as a private forum it can't be seen my a non-registered user or google searches and the posts can only be searched for and read by vetted users (anyone interested in the topic, not just someone trying to stalk you who will stumble across revealing posts). Which is the biggest source of paranoia for most people.

nesf

LTI basically. Not that it makes sense since the Government doesn't seem to think of it as one.

/rant