Why come on here when depressed for advice?

Question

And ask complete strangers you will probably never even know and who have no idea of the situations leading to your mental state what you can do about it???

Why not ask friends/family/counsellors.

Answer 1

i understand your comments and to a point id agree,but i do think when people ask for help on here it is very brave of them and they are probably desperate.i have a degree in psychogy and i can assure you ssometimes friends family will not say to you what they feel they should.
i am however concernd to a point that although i am sure every one on here will always give thier best advice ity is open for abuse by anyone looking for and with ulterior motives.
so yes i agree with you but would to say people telling thier problems on here is very brave and to be admired and for some this is real desperation
mike

Answer 2

Well, I guess the depressed people on here may need someone who will look at their problem completely objectively, a kind of fair judge. It's virtually anonymous, and untracable, so it's easy for people to get stuff off their chests as well- admitting the problem to other people online can be a big help. It's even more helpful that there are quite a lot of sympathetic people on here who can share their experiences of depression with other people. This helps too.

I think YA should not be the only place depressed people go to seek help, but as a stop on the road to recovery, it's not a bad place to go. In addition to all the other benefits of getting opinions from people who don't know you, YA is also very easy to access- just a click away, and you're in contact with people who have an opinion about your problem. Isn't that the point? All the other people with questions could just do a Wikipedia search, but the human input is invaluable.

Hope this helped you in some small way. I want you to know that are not alone in asking questions, and they will be resolved. It's going to be okay...

Answer 3

It is often much easier to tell your deepest emotions and troubles to someone you know is a real person, yet you know you will never meet.

I agree that people often give hardly any background to their questions and the answers they receive are usually very mixed, the best being quite perceptive and the worst very hurtful. Yes, most of them would get more in depth and practical help from a counsellor of some kind, professional or otherwise. Some may not be able to afford it (in the States, at least, you have to pay) and for others it may be more than they are capable of doing to find someone who they can trust to listen to their problems and not risk having them dismissed.

I just hope that some of the people asking here are encouraged to take some of the good advice and seek closer to home for their answers. If just one person in a thousand gets some comfort and sees a way forward through the answers they get here, then I think it is worth it.

Answer 4

I'm a nurse who worked in mental health up until a few months ago, I'm always sitting here thinking "oh G-d, no don't tell them to do that." The advice is horrific sometimes, I think people who suffer mental health problems give pretty good answers bit in the end you have to remember every case is different, even though the symptoms sound the same.

Of course some people are still embarrassed and might feel this is the only place they can come.

Answer 5

in no particular order

sometimes the question is about the friend or family member

friends and family have their own lives and concerns

sometimes friends and family are too close and it helps to get an outside perspective on the question

family and friends perhaps already know and find depression difficult to deal with.

most counsellors have a very long waiting list

sometimes people feel they are already over-burdening their family or friends, and so they seek advice somewhere else

they are afraid to tell anyone else, so they first try it here

it helps to get the perspective of 20 or 30 people all at once, not many people have that amount of friends or family

hope this helps

Answer 6

maybe they don't feel comfortable enough to express how they feel to family or friends and might not want to talk face to face with a counsellor. the whole reason of this site is to ask questions about things you are unsure of and that is what people are doing. it doesn't necessarily mean they will take up the advice offered, but maybe it gives them hope that there are people who understand and who listen, maybe more so than friends/family. you never know the reasons for peoples actions on here, we don't always get a background story.

Answer 7

The answer is simple, some people are more comfortable talking to strangers than family and friends. A lot of people try to hide their depression. It's only obvious to family and friends when things happen like not washing, getting out of bed. I have known cases of people who seemed perfectly fine killing them selves, then it's if only she or he would have talked to us, some times a stranger can help best..

Answer 8

Because I can't talk to my family about it, I don't want to worry them. And I can't talk to my friends about it because they don't know about it. I don't like telling friends about my depression and self harm problems because I don't think it's fair on them - they then feel like they have to be constantly checking that I'm alright and that I'm not going to do anything stupid. And I only see my psychiatrist about once a month, which leaves 30 days when I can't speak to her.

If you've ever suffered from any kind of mental illness you will know how debilitating it can be and how isolated it can make you feel. It's difficult to talk to the people around you about how you feel, well it is for me anyway, and yet you feel the need to talk to someone about it, so you turn to the faceless people on the internet, hoping that one of them will understand what you're going through and give you some small bit of advice or encouragement to help you get through another day.

Answer 9

People that are not close to the situation can give unbiased advise. If I know the person I may give advise thinking what I think they should do. Not what is the best for them. On that note it is easier to tell a stranger how to fix their lives if it doesn't effect you in anyway.

Answer 10

maybe they don't want their freinds/family/counsellors to know yet

i come to answer questions and i have some mental illness myself and hope that maybe from my past i can help, i never say that i know the answer to their problems though

everyone and every situation is different, they must keep that in mind

and it is always recommended that people see a counsellor for depression/anxiety/suicidal, etc. etc. etc.