What do you think makes a healthy mental health forum?

What factors do you think make a mental health forum healthy, as opposed to unhealthy?

I'm not sure how easy this is to enforce, though PC seems to have done a good job creating the general atmosphere, but I feel mutual respect to be essential. In part it helps us to stop and consider the point of view from which another member may be coming with some comments. Given that we all are dealing with mental illness this can be brought into play many times in one day. Rather than blow up at something which appears aggressive or antagonistic, it's helpful to pause and consider other possible reasons behind the comment in question.

This is a good question Fuzzy

I think many things factor into this.

I feel PC is one of the best mental health forums I have found. Its a good balance of being able to talk about the struggles of daily life and long term goals and a place to learn new skills and find friendships.

I also think this is a safe site, not everyone is going to agree about things so agreeing to disagree is a wonderful thing that each member can do, There is also an ignore feature, in the past I have needed to use this for my own self care. There are also certain forums that I simple do not go to because they are triggering to me. There are thread topics that I dont bother looking at.. I know my triggers.

Everyone must take responsibilty for themselves here. If someone feels a thread goes way out of line with content against PC guidelines just report the thread and let the Mods handle it. All the Moderators are volunteer so sometimes it will take time, so we all need to have patience.

My Motto here........ Is take what you need and give what you can

I think PC in general is a great place.

I think a healthy forum is one where someone can say, "hey, I am struggling," and then other people jump in to offer guidance, support, etc.. It is also nice that we have PM's where people can get more "one-on-one" attention if they need someone to talk to (as I know it can be difficult to talk one on one in a thread sometimes).

There will be trolls and stuff of course -- because how can you avoid them? -- but most people are genuine and sincere, and they want to help. The fact people are willing to spend time with you to help you feel better is what makes a forum great.

The perspectives and thoughts shared above are extremely important in keeping a forum healthy and members happy, but I'll mention some issues from more of a marketing point of view. [Yea, I know that sounds dull!]

Some things I have seen on other forums (not PC) that contributed to their downfalls:

* Allowing too much focus on a small number of members

* When interesting new threads stop or slow being posted and only one or two threads are active

* When new members are not welcomed sufficiently and given attention

* When the topic of the forum is strayed away from too much/too often in ways not at all relevant to the forum purpose. This is important!

* In the case of a bipolar forum, when too many people who are "friends", "family", "spouses", or "girl/boy friends" post too often, unless the forum is specifically for them. Or when too many people without an official diagnosis become very active in the forum. The whole "Will you confirm my self diagnosis?" thing.

* When there are too few supporters in comparison to people who are desperate for support

* When the forum leans predominantly in one direction in a significant way (e.g. if 85% of members have bipolar type 2 vs. some other form of bipolar OR, almost all members are female with few/no males).

* When aggression is unchecked by moderators.

* When members refuse to forgive others in cases where forgiveness is reasonable. Some people with bipolar disorder do indeed sometimes have symptoms that are unpleasant to others. One can't expect the same standard of conduct from others, when symptomatic, as one expects from themselves.

* When a forum's Terms & Conditions are excessively strict or excessively lax.

* If the ease of navigation (and finding things) of a website decreases.

For me, the biggest thing is a level of decency and mutual respect.

THIS. I couldn't put it any better, which is why I'm simply going to say "ditto"!

Also wanted to give a shout out to BirdDancer's answer. Many good points. I've definitely seen those things come into play on other sites I've been on too. And more specific to here, I agree those "my boyfriend is a jerk, so he's bipolar, right?" threads are annoying (and often downright insulting to people with BP.)

I would add the unhelpfulness of "persecution" responses to situations. People can disagree. Doesn't mean they're persecuting anyone. I personally find that a very childish response. But as Daonnached points out, we can be dealing with mental illness situations, so we're going to get less-than-healthy reactions sometimes. We need to account for that. At the same time, I think each of us has a responsibility to pause and consider employing the most healthy response we can muster at the time. Breathe. Sniping or acting out accomplish nothing positive. Sometimes we're going to hear things we don't like. That challenge us. We need to try our best to hear that, and not just react against it. This is how we can grow. People here truly do care -- I've never experienced this level of caring anywhere else on the internet (so go us!!!!!)

*********
Mr. Robot

Makes me sick to the heart, Oh I feel so tired. And the way the rain comes down hard, that's how I feel inside.

--The Cure

Mutual respect. I could definitely add more. But that is the most important thing imo.

Yes, mutual respect is very important!

But I do think everyone here does provide mutual respect and understanding of one another. It's like one big family where everyone cares about one another and tries their best to support others.

I also think it's healthy for forums to give people the opportunity to discuss whatever they want (as long as it's nothing illegal or whatever). If people disagree, then we should respect that and be open minded.

I feel this has turned into an unhealthy forum....I feel the posts have been passive aggressive and directed towards me since I shared my personal experience on how I'm mentally feeling impacted by COVID-19. I have been a member since 2014 and as of yesterday I feel like all this "drama" is impacting my mental health so I am deleting my account. Now I'm tears. Thanks a bunch. Peace out.

I agree with this, rather than blowing up at something that seems antagonistic... pausing is helpful.

Hugs to all

Thanks ~Christina, good post

Thanks blue, good post

Thanks for posting BirdDancer

Hi Jennyanydots,

I am sorry you feel you must leave.

You were inadvertently affected by the drama going on yesterday. This was VERY unfortunate and I am very sorry this had happened to you. I had reached out to you then to let you know you had done absolutely nothing wrong in asking for support. I had apologized to you on behalf of the community.

I am wondering if I can help somehow?
I am more than happy to listen and to help in any way I can do so.

Please do PM me. I am very interested in your experiences for which you were seeking support and also am interested in why you feel you must leave.

I want you to know you are very welcome to stay.

This is an open invite to PM me.

Should you choose to just leave, I am deeply sorry for the difficulties yesterday and I wish you health and healing.
Be well.

@Jennyanydots I hope you won't leave.

Please stay Jenny

I hope you stay.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jennyanydots I feel this has turned into an unhealthy forum....I feel the posts have been passive aggressive and directed towards me since I shared my personal experience on how I'm mentally feeling impacted by COVID-19. I have been a member since 2014 and as of yesterday I feel like all this "drama" is impacting my mental health so I am deleting my account. Now I'm tears. Thanks a bunch. Peace out.

Would you consider taking a break instead of deleting? You might not even know who I am, but I've found your posts, your thoughts, quite helpful - many times. I would be very sorry to lose you as a member here.