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jakebe
Hey there, all...
Wow, I've reached my LiveJournal posting limit. Hurrah for me!
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about the number of depressed furs there are on-line (a lot), and there really doesn't seem to be an organized resource of any kind to deal with the issue. Most depressive/depressed furs are treated with careful distance, and I'm not saying it's not for good reason; a lot of us are unpredictable, whiny, guilt-trippy, socially inept and masters at bringing the general mood of any place down. :) But still, it doesn't happen because depressed furs are bad people; there's really something wrong that can't be helped a lot of the time.
I think more than anything, people who are depressed need someone who will stick with them, no matter how frustrating, enraging or hopeless they get. It really helps to know that there's going to be this one guy/gal with infinite patience who'll listen to you bitch about the same thing over and over and over again... ;) Or at least give you the shoulder to cry on without being too judgmental.
Anyway, I've been thinking about getting some kind of resource together for furs with depression and other mental problems, to help them work through it and form a community for support. It's not going to be a substitute for *professional* help, but I think it might help people.
Originally I had the idea to create a public place on FurryMUCK where people could go to for counseling, but then it dawned on me there wouldn't be a lot of 'qualified' (folks who have successfully dealt with depression, or people sympathetic/empathetic enough to deal with such) people willing to volunteer for it, and I also realized that I probably shouldn't make that kind of time to be available; there's too much on my plate as it is. Still, something interactive would be nice. So maybe a webpage with a list of resources for various mental problems, along with message boards or journals or something where people could actively discuss? Once there was a 'staff' of folks willing to invest the time, we could branch out into e-mail lists or MUCK rooms or what-have-you.
It probably wouldn't help *everyone* who used it, but I'm sure it's got to help someone. <:)
Wow, I've reached my LiveJournal posting limit. Hurrah for me!
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about the number of depressed furs there are on-line (a lot), and there really doesn't seem to be an organized resource of any kind to deal with the issue. Most depressive/depressed furs are treated with careful distance, and I'm not saying it's not for good reason; a lot of us are unpredictable, whiny, guilt-trippy, socially inept and masters at bringing the general mood of any place down. :) But still, it doesn't happen because depressed furs are bad people; there's really something wrong that can't be helped a lot of the time.
I think more than anything, people who are depressed need someone who will stick with them, no matter how frustrating, enraging or hopeless they get. It really helps to know that there's going to be this one guy/gal with infinite patience who'll listen to you bitch about the same thing over and over and over again... ;) Or at least give you the shoulder to cry on without being too judgmental.
Anyway, I've been thinking about getting some kind of resource together for furs with depression and other mental problems, to help them work through it and form a community for support. It's not going to be a substitute for *professional* help, but I think it might help people.
Originally I had the idea to create a public place on FurryMUCK where people could go to for counseling, but then it dawned on me there wouldn't be a lot of 'qualified' (folks who have successfully dealt with depression, or people sympathetic/empathetic enough to deal with such) people willing to volunteer for it, and I also realized that I probably shouldn't make that kind of time to be available; there's too much on my plate as it is. Still, something interactive would be nice. So maybe a webpage with a list of resources for various mental problems, along with message boards or journals or something where people could actively discuss? Once there was a 'staff' of folks willing to invest the time, we could branch out into e-mail lists or MUCK rooms or what-have-you.
It probably wouldn't help *everyone* who used it, but I'm sure it's got to help someone. <:)
