02-09-2018, 01:56 AM
My quality of life has improved significantly not just as a result of the magazines Ive been able to read, but honestly as a result of being a part of this forum.
I'm going to be completely flat out honest here. And maybe I will be judged for it but with my friends in my day to day life whom I'm lucky enough to see when my anxiety is manageable, I always aim to be as honest with them as I possibly can. Not hurtful, but honest - there is a huge difference between the two and in the polarising world we live in where some folk feel they need to have an opinion on anything and everything - it is possible to get your point across without being crass. I always remind myself and the people in my life that the two key ingredients to a successful relationships are clear communication between one another, and honesty. I want to have a fantastic long term relationship with this forum - so here goes!
Okay...deep breath now Glousck...when I first started lurking on this forum (before I became a member), I only really read the vendor rules and thought hey, this is easy, I'll just work out how many days I'll need before I can get to 50 posts and then run away with the benefits and never post again. God it feels awful saying that now.
But as I began to post I started to notice something, this is a safe place. This is a place where people who are so used to being told constantly that we are 'vulnerable' and have our mental and physical illnesses make us feel like we should feel weak willed...well, as I watch the supposedly 'vulnerable' and 'weak' people post here every day, I realise that there is so much resilience, hope and strength in so many posts here. I have never known a forum to display such consistent yet genuine empathy for one another. We feel each other's pain but I see a community here who, when we stick together, show the world that we are anything but weak.
It seems as though everyone here has a story to tell, a tale of how they've fought adversity, a war cry demanding that the health systems need to change, a newbie posting about where they've come from and why they're here...and yet in all these posts I find fascinating to read, there is one incredible quality that I see in practically everyone here.
You are all either dealing with chronic physical and/or mental health, and yet none of you ever come across as victims and I never see you as victims. I perhaps haven't used the best phrasing there - of course we are victims to the challenges and seemingly impossible obstacles that life hands us, but none of you have a victim complex. You realise you are not your illnesses. You realise the strength of your character, the impact of your voice and the unstoppable impact of the fierce encouragement between one another.
Whilst when I first began to poet, I may have just been wanting to get to 50 posts for selfish reasons, but now that I know I can soeak without a filter between my heart and my mouth without judgement from anyone I am now so excited to get to 50 posts for an entirely different reason - I GET TO FINALLY MESSAGE YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE!
It's crazy how quickly my perception of this fork, has change over such a short period of time. At first I thought...hmm, this can't be right, this is supposed to be a forum, where are the arguments, how is it that everyone is kind to each other and is able to communicate in s courteous manner? And then I realised that the problem wasn't with IOP - the problem is that on other forums where people feel tough enough to bully, scam and cause drama all because they are able to hide behind a fake name and too scared to put a picture of themselves up (probably because they are so unbelievably handsome that us ladies wouldn't be able to handle it...haha yeah right!).
if I go onto YouTube, I see disgustingly vile, racist and sexist comments on videos all the time. If I go onto Facebook it's filled with people using any opportunity possible to start drama and unnecessary arguments. If I go onto Twitter I see incredibly cringe-inducing posts by grown adults unable to hold a civilised discussion when encountering someone with a different opinion to theirs and resort to pathetic name calling and childish remarks, much like the type of language you hear betweenness a group of four year olds bickering amongst each other. But IOP...
IOP is where wisdom, compassion and stimulating discussion (where people can disagree with each other and realise it doesn't mean they have to hate each other!) come to life and give people hope and friendships along the way. The sense of belonging I now feel within this community, of sticking around, joining in discussions and seeing the compassion and love betwen you all has been a millions times more rewarding than anything else I could wish for in a forum.
Never change, folks. You're all wonderful human beings just the way you are.
I'm going to be completely flat out honest here. And maybe I will be judged for it but with my friends in my day to day life whom I'm lucky enough to see when my anxiety is manageable, I always aim to be as honest with them as I possibly can. Not hurtful, but honest - there is a huge difference between the two and in the polarising world we live in where some folk feel they need to have an opinion on anything and everything - it is possible to get your point across without being crass. I always remind myself and the people in my life that the two key ingredients to a successful relationships are clear communication between one another, and honesty. I want to have a fantastic long term relationship with this forum - so here goes!
Okay...deep breath now Glousck...when I first started lurking on this forum (before I became a member), I only really read the vendor rules and thought hey, this is easy, I'll just work out how many days I'll need before I can get to 50 posts and then run away with the benefits and never post again. God it feels awful saying that now.
But as I began to post I started to notice something, this is a safe place. This is a place where people who are so used to being told constantly that we are 'vulnerable' and have our mental and physical illnesses make us feel like we should feel weak willed...well, as I watch the supposedly 'vulnerable' and 'weak' people post here every day, I realise that there is so much resilience, hope and strength in so many posts here. I have never known a forum to display such consistent yet genuine empathy for one another. We feel each other's pain but I see a community here who, when we stick together, show the world that we are anything but weak.
It seems as though everyone here has a story to tell, a tale of how they've fought adversity, a war cry demanding that the health systems need to change, a newbie posting about where they've come from and why they're here...and yet in all these posts I find fascinating to read, there is one incredible quality that I see in practically everyone here.
You are all either dealing with chronic physical and/or mental health, and yet none of you ever come across as victims and I never see you as victims. I perhaps haven't used the best phrasing there - of course we are victims to the challenges and seemingly impossible obstacles that life hands us, but none of you have a victim complex. You realise you are not your illnesses. You realise the strength of your character, the impact of your voice and the unstoppable impact of the fierce encouragement between one another.
Whilst when I first began to poet, I may have just been wanting to get to 50 posts for selfish reasons, but now that I know I can soeak without a filter between my heart and my mouth without judgement from anyone I am now so excited to get to 50 posts for an entirely different reason - I GET TO FINALLY MESSAGE YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE!
It's crazy how quickly my perception of this fork, has change over such a short period of time. At first I thought...hmm, this can't be right, this is supposed to be a forum, where are the arguments, how is it that everyone is kind to each other and is able to communicate in s courteous manner? And then I realised that the problem wasn't with IOP - the problem is that on other forums where people feel tough enough to bully, scam and cause drama all because they are able to hide behind a fake name and too scared to put a picture of themselves up (probably because they are so unbelievably handsome that us ladies wouldn't be able to handle it...haha yeah right!).
if I go onto YouTube, I see disgustingly vile, racist and sexist comments on videos all the time. If I go onto Facebook it's filled with people using any opportunity possible to start drama and unnecessary arguments. If I go onto Twitter I see incredibly cringe-inducing posts by grown adults unable to hold a civilised discussion when encountering someone with a different opinion to theirs and resort to pathetic name calling and childish remarks, much like the type of language you hear betweenness a group of four year olds bickering amongst each other. But IOP...
IOP is where wisdom, compassion and stimulating discussion (where people can disagree with each other and realise it doesn't mean they have to hate each other!) come to life and give people hope and friendships along the way. The sense of belonging I now feel within this community, of sticking around, joining in discussions and seeing the compassion and love betwen you all has been a millions times more rewarding than anything else I could wish for in a forum.
Never change, folks. You're all wonderful human beings just the way you are.