vomiting

[venusbluejeans]

To be honest I have given up as admin trying to tell people not to respond to to posts if they don't like the thread or don't like the constant reassurance posts.......no one listens to us anyway and keeps doing it... whats the point??

Then majority of the time the admins get the blame anyway for letting it continue.... given up... I am done on this subject.

[nomorepanic]

Steph - Fair enough but if something makes you worse then stay away from it to be honest.

It is not worth falling out with your husband over.

Nobody on here can promise someone they are fine to be fair and each person is responsible for their own health and well-being.

Anyway I have said my bit and am now out of this discussion as well.

[helenhoo]

You really do get wound up with posts don'y you? I'm not a beadcase neither am i a troll, i'm just like most on here and clearly it isnt working for me. Reassurance is addictive but each time i have a worry i come here, its my thought pattern i need to change. 99% of posts are similar; people wanting to know their symptom isnt what their worry is. Yes nobody knows for sure but this site is grear for those who find comfort in it. I dont, not anymore. Hounded in every single time i post. I could list five others i see in the forum weekly. I cant help but think any newbies woild be put off seeing the sheer abuse i receive. Posts are ridculois yes but they're mine. Im not a troll or a nutjob. I have to take it upon myself to leave this world behind (forums) but it is a great place.

---------- Post added at 19:04 ---------- Previous post was at 18:59 ----------

(Can't be bothered to edit the spelling errors sorry, new phone!)

[Catalyst]

You are probably talking about a minority of the HA sufferers though so what about the thousands of panic attack sufferers like me that it does help?

It has been running 15 years next month so if it doesn't help anyone how come it is still going?

Just wanted to say how much the site has helped me over at least 8 years (I think!) and it continues to do so. We're all different and what may not work for one, works for another. So, on behalf of those that have benefitted greatly from this site - thank you!

[dale12345]

Just wanted to say how much the site has helped me over at least 8 years (I think!) and it continues to do so. We're all different and what may not work for one, works for another. So, on behalf of those that have benefitted greatly from this site - thank you!

I agree this site has helped me so much, I have talked to awesome caring people. Thank You for making this site!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[MyNameIsTerry]

Sigh. Okay, Nicola I'm Not gonna continue Going back and forth. Like I previously said(guess you didn't read that part) in sorry if I offended anyone which I did, very obviously. The site will probably continue to help and reassure people hopefully that's enough and people get better but honestly, this site made me worse. Not anyone's fault. It even made me and my husband fight he always said let me guess you're on your panic site AGAIN. Like it opened my eyes that this isn't the answer for me and a lot of other people from numerous posts I've read. With all due respect of course, sometimes online forums fuel the fire. I've met quite a few great people on here and am very thankful for the support I got but my anxiety continued to snowball when I read other posts and people ending up getting actually diagnosed with real diseases after everyone promised they were fine.

You do have valid points, Stephanie. Some become obsessive in forums and use them at the cost of time in the real world. I've had that problem. Others use them for reassurance.

BUT not everyone is a HAer. I have no reassurance-seeking elements to my anxiety, never have. I never doubted what my anxiety was, I just hated the symptoms.

Therapists often will say online forums should be avoided and the reason for this is because they don't know what they look like so won't want a patient potentially damaging themselves. They may see them as uncontrolled, because they are as Admin can't sit in threads all day moderating them. Forums allow people to get trapped in cycles of talking too much about obsessing on their perceived illness.

I've been to self help groups and they are far different to this forum. They have more rules about what you cannot talk about. They don't allow what we see on the HA & Meds boards. They will stop people talking and so they have more control to shape the meetings. That's impossible on here.

There is plenty of good in forums but not for everyone. Some people need more guiding until they reach the point where they can take more control over themselves.

Seeing other people's dire disease concerns in such detail can be triggering. However, at some point in your recovery you want to be able to read them all and say "meh". Avoiding forums or any other trigger long term isn't the goal of therapy but they do often like you to disengage from very triggering things so that they can work up through a hierarchy to get back to this point and beyond it.

So, I agree with some of what you say but I would also say that you cannot generalise because why this site is mostly HA people, some of us aren't and our disorders manifest in different ways.

There is certainly no HA thread that would bother me since I have no HA elements to my anxiety. But I have my own triggers. Neither of us would want the others anxiety problems as we know there is no grass greener on the other side, it's just a different sort of grass.

I think your husband is right too. Anything online can become obsessive when you are searching for something to help you. There needs to be balance and we do need time in the real world. It can be easy to fall into a trap with forums where you live more online but it's the time in the real world where you are working on much of your anxiety, and having a life, and excessive use of a forum is really a crutch, a safety behaviour. It's something to be wary of. Anything healthy can become unhealthy. I had that problem with walking as it became something I felt I had to do and it was really about me avoiding being alone with my thoughts & symptoms in the house and breaking a routine that was trapping me further in my anxiety without me realising.

---------- Post added at 06:12 ---------- Previous post was at 06:08 ----------

I have to take it upon myself to leave this world behind (forums) but it is a great place.

Good luck for the future, Reb.

Get your CBT books out and start working on it all. Get the help you need when you can.

[marcc64]

I don't post much at all, but this site has helped me in a big way with my many problems. Saying this site doesn't help anyone is totally wrong.

[dally]

Terry is right. It's all about balance.

But, depending on the diagnosis or stage of mental health, that balance may be not be available at the time

[Josh1234]

She. is. a. troll.

[MyNameIsTerry]

She. is. a. troll.

Here you are again, Josh. You seem to follow her around on both sites. So, what are you?

How many times will it take Admin to remind you?

EDIT: Hilarious, Josh, you logged onto the forum just to post that comment and disappeared again.