How helpful is this website, really?

[jschuley]

Sometimes I visit this site and I leave feeling more depressed than before. It is good to know we are not alone, and there are some positive posts, but mostly it's just us feeling sorry for ourselves.

I like the community, and I'm going to stay on, but it is kind of a mixed blessing, right?

 

[sde]

I think it depresses me more too.

I was looking just now for a way to delete my account and previous messages.

 

[playthepsychedelic]

It's just good to know there are others like you in the world...
Before I -accidently- found this site I barely even knew about the existence of SA... I thought I was the only one in the world feeling like this...

 

[GloomySunday]

I find it quite an interesting place to visit. I do post on a few other discussion boards relating to things like music so I guess it's good to find a place that caters towards the more "serious" side of life. This place does cut to the chase a lot of the time, and that's what I like about it. I feel that you can be honest and direct here and that, pretty much, anything goes.

Before becoming a member, I found some excellent advice here which really made a difference to my life and to the problems I was experiencing at the time. As things began to slowly "turn around" for me I felt that it would be good to "give something back" (without wishing to sound too worthy) and to join the forum and contribute to the discussions here in a constructive manner, with a view to helping others, just as I have been helped.

I guess this place is what you make it. There are people from various cultures, countries, backgrounds (and of various ages) here which will always make for an erratic, though varied, discussion board.

It is, without a doubt, the most interesting forum I have ever belonged to.

 

[sleepysparrow]

I think this website is helpful, it makes me feel less alone. There are a lot of negative topics but there are also positive ones too, which brings hope. It's nice to know people feel the same, and to offer support, to get advice, or just to listen. Alot of this is venting and frustration, but we all need to let it out and this site being the perfect place to vent. I wouldn't expect it to be 100% positive.

 

[NightTimeForever]

Well, this forum helps me get things off my chest. I always feel slightly relieved after doing so. I'm not sure if it really helps beyond that.

 

[Riiya]

[Riiya goes paranoid.]

 

[Hoth]

I find it refreshing to come here and see people cut through all life's false pretenses and discuss their weaknesses openly. It's a chance to share in being human, and the best social interaction I can get.

Fortunately I don't believe in magic life-changing advice, so I wasn't expecting to find any.

 

[Reholla]

AHAH.... NOT

there are those few people who actually care.

and while i dont dont others may indeed have SA, they sure as hell dont act like it-- or maybe they do and use this a source to feed more animosity towards others- cyber bullying. it happens.

my advice, post if you agree with some one, or feel like you can really help them.

create a thread if you have thought about it, and dont know the answer/need another's opinion and cant go to some one else for it.

al i have to say is, every word you post can and will be used against you- which is beyond reatrded when people are supposedly so sensitive if they have SA.

 

[Nack]

It's true that reading too much of these post can get depressing, but the more i read them the more i realize how connected we are and that makes me feel more relieved, i guess. I dont know, it's pretty late my choice of words might not be the best, but basically what im trying to say is being here actually helping me.

 

[jordo2]

the only thing i like about this site is knowing that i'm not alone having to deal with this crap. to be honest i really hate this site but either i want to vent or post something positive that happened to me to make myself feel better. if i could get myself to leave i would. god knows ive tried to a million times. if i had friends that i could tell instead of posting here i would rather do that. but right now i cant buy a friend. i cant say i havent had my chances lately but there is always at least one thing about each person that keeps from making one (altho i'd probably lose them even if i got them if i kept venting lol). so i'm stuck here. pouring out my soul to strangers...

 

[littl3misstrange]

If I had never came here, I would never of "met" my best friend & the most important person in my life.

This forum truly helps me, just by "venting" my emotions & reaching out to & meeting other people who are going through some of the same issues as me.

 

[Hoth]

al i have to say is, every word you post can and will be used against you

I can count the number of times I've noticed posters being intentionally mean on one hand. Sometimes what's meant positively or neutrally can be taken negatively.

 

[hippiechild]

The repetitive nature of many topics where someone posts a problem then everyone jumps in with 'I'm the same' aren't very helpful, but there can be some good threads where everyone shares advice.

I think the lack of a decent 'off-topic' section makes the forum suffer. Whenever I come here, I know I'll be reading/posting about social anxiety which is always negative, and I have to go elsewhere to talk about normal stuff.

This I do believe

I think that this place needs WAY more emphasis on the 'off topic' and random forum. It shouldn't be the bowels of this site. We need to share more about ourselves than just our worries.

I think that it would actually be therapeutic to have people posting their hobbies, interests, jokes and randomness out in the open. Nobody does anything in the 'off topic' as it is now.

I'd be more than happy to see everyone's artwork, photography, movies, writings or funny things that they found.

 

[dottie]

i don't expect help from this website. i just expect a place to vent. this is the only place where i can say things without having to worry about being shunned. it is nice to know other people experience the same hurdles because in the real world it is unspeakable.

i find i visit this site when i am especially struggling. sometimes i go weeks where things in my life are ok and i have little interest in this site. then life throws me a curveball and i just need somewhere to vent. lots of my posts are whiny complaints but that's because i have to supress it all in real life and this is my only outlet.

 

[phase3]

I think that having a forum for people to connect who are experiencing similar life difficulties is good, though you must use it with the right frame-of-mind. That is, to come all the time simply as a means to express sorrow and share pity is wrong and only leads further to remunerate on the negatives. Instead, the site is great if one uses it to help others work towards a common goal, sharing advice and being there with a genuine ear. If this happens before long the title of the site will become simply 'Social World'!

 

[Reholla]

Instead, the site is great if one uses it to help others work towards a common goal, sharing advice and being there with a genuine ear. If this happens before long the title of the site will become simply 'Social World'!

where have you been when i post threads and i count 2/20 people actually do this..

 

[w*n*c*a*m]

Well, I can say that this site helped me to manage my anxiety. Before, when I feel anxious, I just keep it to myself. I've felt that I don't belong to any group, that I am weird, and an alien. I can't imagine how relieved I was when I've found this site. I was able to realize that "I'm not alone" (Just like the motto of this site" LOL). Going here is my daily therapy. When I feel bad, I just vent and vent here... and it quite helped me to unload my negative feelings.
So basically, it only depends on the person's perception, if this site will be helpful or not.

 

[Chod77]

No, I totally don't get anything from this website. I just come on here when I'm bored. It's just one of many websites I have to check every day.

 

[lilcharlie]

I think this forum is helpful because:

A) It exists
B) I couldn't tell anyone else the things I say on here
C) It allows me to vent
D) If I don't feel like coming onto this site, I don't have to and no one cares, it's my free will to come on to this site if I feel like it, if I feel like reading, posting, or if I feel like not coming onto this site for however long I want

So therefore, the majority answer, is yes, it's helpful.

Do I still have my "SA" problems, sure, but I think I deal with it better since being able to talk about it, and getting people's replies on it, and there has been very thoughtful helpful replies, considering some of the topics I discuss. I have forms of SA but I don't think it's as bad as some people can be. Everyone's different.