Friday, June 20, 2014

Tired. Just Tired.



For years, I've absolutely loved having  Shrink Rap.  I've loved having a place to write, to vent, to share something cool I've learned, and I've learned so very much from readers who have really changed my life.  What a great experience from a thought at the kitchen table that started, "I want a blog.  What's a blog?"  Shrink Rap has inspired me to keep current with psychiatry and to learn about things to write about that I might otherwise just skip.  I love having a place to ask questions, especially when they're about things that make my brain start doing somersaults (--well, not really, I think it's anchored in there okay).   Someplace to talk about things that are really bothering me or to share a funny cartoon or to just be a bit ducky.  

Sometimes, over the years, I've gotten really annoyed.  As much as I like hearing about others peoples' experiences, I don't like when people generalize their interior world to everyone else. And when it's an incessant, it gets wearing.

Lately,  I'm totally consumed with writing our next book.  I'm meeting the most interesting of people, and it's fine with me that some of them are very much in favor of involuntary psychiatric care, for what seem to be caring and reasonable agendas, and some of them are very much against involuntary psychiatric care, for what seem to be caring and reasonable agendas.  But my brain is consumed with this.

And as much as I've loved Shrink Rap, the drum beat of negative comments and the inter-reader bickering, well, it's tiring.  For a short while, I moderated comments.  That's work, one more thing to do when I should probably be making pesto instead. Roy got tired long ago, and Clink chimes in when something really inspires her, so I've been most of the noise for a long time now.

I'm tired.  Just tired.   We'll see. I think I'm taking a little rest for now.

18 comments:

Sarebear said...

Hi Dinah. I've been kinda tired myself, not around much. Life just kinda gets to you. Lots of doc appointments, I'm a bit tired of doctors. Currently recuperating from having my gall bladder taken out on the day you posted this, though I think I may have messed up the recovery of the belly button incision, maybe I haven't but I gotta call and check I guess. He's already yelled at me once. I'm really stressed about this and feel stupid if my stupidity has messed up my surgical recovery, because what kind of idiot would mess things up like I might have?

Anyway, there I go again with TMI, that's why I pulled my msg from the last time I posted. I end up getting disgusted with myself for going on about myself. I figure a little bit this time won't hurt too much. But then I went on.

Hopefully things'll turn out ok though.

i keep writing more then deleting it, i can't keep things from getting too . . . well just spilling too much. so i should just stop it here. I can understand if you feel shrink rap has kind of run its course, or feel that it'll have a lesser place in your life, or some such thing like that . . .

I've meant to come around more, just well I've had like 6 doc appointments a month or more, and numerous procedures, and my daughter had doctor appointments and physical therapy (damaged meniscus), and I feel like life has become about what's the next medical thing, kind of, and geez see I just can't shut up.

I'll still tentatively post this and i'll promise I'll try real hard not to delete it.

Unknown said...

I hope you come back.. would be a shame to just give in! I think those who continue to run amok on here get satisfaction from "hushing" you up. Besides that.. I understand you must be really busy working on your books ect. Good luck!

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Dinah said...

Sarebear, I hope you feel better very soon.

I never meant to imply that Shrink Rap was shutting down (I got some emails implying...). Tired implies a state that can be alleviated by rest. How much? Who knows...hours, days, weeks, until I have something to say. Enough time to let the haters drift off?

jesse said...

One problem are the commenters who go from one or even several adverse experiences of their own to an entire group. "I had one bad experience with a ...... So they all are terrible..." Or, "I went to a hospital and they gave me medicine which was torture, so the entire field lack any validity - just look in the Diagnostic Manual which they all use and you will see..... "

These commenters drive away many people who otherwise would enjoy this wonderful Blog.

Borderline said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Sarebear said...

I didn't mess up my stitches, yay.

You aren't going anywhere, yay.

Six doc apts a month was an exaggeration but that's what it feels like.

I am so glad you are not going anywhere. I think that my not being around is in part because i h a ve a hard time commenting in a way that feels like I am staying coherent and not a bunch of other things. I miss being around here though I'm just not doing that great but I guess you guys understand that I try to reign it in, when i comment, but that i am a person with so many things that i just cant always be the most concise or focused commenter. It pains me to see how rambly and personal i get sometimes. I guess I've chosen to just stay away rather than embarrass mysel f.

That, and I've been dealing with oth e r stuff.

Anonymous said...

Jesse and Dinah,

As I previously mentioned to Dr. Hassman, psychiatrists aren't the only group of people who are vilified. I think it is human nature when you have had a bad experience repeatedly, you are going to generalize the situation.

On the apnea board I hang out at, it is the Durable Medical Equipment Companies (DMEs) who are the villains and rightfully so in my opinion.

For example, they will try to rip off unsuspecting newcomers to the apnea world by providing the cheapest machine possible even if the insurance company reimburses various machines at the same rate. Many of these folks end up with machines that don't provide any data which pretty much makes therapy useless if you can't tell how you are doing.

And there are many other shenanigans that are too long to get into. Yeah, there are good DMEs that people have posted about but on a board not known for complaining, the negative experiences have happens so much I think it would be unfair to tell people they have to moderate their views, particularly if they are the ones who have been royally burned and are having trouble getting good service not matter what.

Regarding psychiatry, as I previously pointed out to Dr. Hassman, I think it is unreasonable to ask someone who for example was the victim of insulin coma therapy to take a moderate view of psychiatry, especially when that person was tortured in my opinion.
I know this sounds harsh but that would be like asking a rape victim to moderate her views.

Jesse, regarding med side effects, the problem is not what the person experienced but the fact that doctors in general continue to blow them off even when there is strong evidence the patient is right. So again, under the context, it is understandable that someone would generalize their experience to all situations.

Borderline, great points about Dr. Hassman. I have to remember not to respond to him which is easier said than done. But I really have to try.



Steven Reidbord MD said...

There comes a point when many online "discussions" devolve to mere name-calling. People talk past each other. Sometimes it even goes so far as Godwin's Law, as it did in the last post.

Thanks to the dynamics of online discussion — the free soapbox, the role of anonymity, the unseen audience, etc — the only way to maintain civility seems to be a moderator. I have more thoughts on this topic here. If Dinah is/was too tired to moderate, she may have no recourse other than to switch comments off, temporarily or otherwise, or watch her carefully cultivated forum slide into useless bickering.

Civility is hard-won and valuable — more valuable than slamming one's adversary in an online discussion. Both moderators and the virtues of restraint are under-appreciated in this medium.

the end said...

It shows

Anonymous said...

Mmmmmmmm

clairesmum said...

tried to post earlier, but technical difficulties interfered.
it's perfectly ok to let the folks in your living room know that you are tired and going off to rest..we can show ourselves out for now...and will stop by now and then so that when you are ready to resume these conversations we will return again. i've found the time i've spent here to be thought provoking, informative, comforting, and educational. i am grateful.
perhaps in the interim some of the rather unruly guests will move off to other regions of the interweb. take good care.

Anonymous said...

I'm impressed you hung on for so long. I tired of the tenor of the comments on this blog many, many months ago. I just happened to be sitting around reading the paper today and thought, "I wonder if Shrink Rap is still going." Can't say I'm surprised by this post in the least.

Unknown said...

I've been around here for many years on and off. And perhaps I have a bad habit of saying "what everyone else is actually thinking, but to scared to say" for whatever reason. I just don't get along with people who are fake, suck-ups, know-it-all's or those who think just because we live in a free society.... they can come onto this blog and attack others , because they happen to disagree or just maybe someone stole their cookie that day. Either way it's damn annoying.

I vote for a individual "gag" button! ��

Anonymous said...

WHO! THE BLOODY HELL ISN'T! YOU! WANNA HEAR! ABOUT BREAKING! POINT! I SHALL RISE FROM THE ASHES WITH THE BLOOD OF SATAN THEN I SHALL CALL YOUR NAME INTO THE SKY FROM THERE! YOU WILL CALL OUT LORD SAVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FOR I HAVE WEPT FOR SO LONG WITH NO SENSE OF PLACE MIND OR REFUGE. DO YOU! WANT TO HEAR MORE!!!!!!!!!!!! RUN! RUN! AND THEY SHALL TRACK YOU DOWN AND FIND YOU! ROBBER! ROBBER! BRING ME BACK MY LITTLE GIRL! LOL!

AND UP YOURS! YOU BIG FAT PIECE OF POTATO MY! LITTLE DARREN PALMER!

:0p

Unknown said...

And so I thought I had problems... Whew, now I'm smiling!





Unknown said...

It needs to be said. All you trolls need to go back under the bridge you came out from. All other haters... need to shut the fuck up! Stop preaching you're hate on this blog which DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU! Take you're sniffling whining pouting "they are fakes.. they are drug pushers" ranting elsewhere. It's really getting old.

I'm sorry you're mommy didn't give you enough attention as a child... but THIS BLOG ISN'T you're babysitter. Grow the fuck up people!

Next...

jesse said...

It might help if when Dinah has a guest blogger that person take on the responsibility for moderating comments. There are so many thoughtful people who post here and so many various ideas put forward, that it would be a shame to let the trolls maintain the upper hand. And I do think they are trolls, as it seems to be a few people who keep repeating the same things.

Certainly there are people who have had bad experiences with anything, but when we hear entire fields, tens of thousands of people, years of experience, and more, all lumped together with no differentiation, it is troll-dom at the extreme. These trolls don't even want to hear from people who have had good experiences with the modalities they vilify.

It is extremely rude, at the very least. So, let's hope Dinah keeps going, let people of good heart write guest blogs, let them act as moderators, and let's go forward.

Unknown said...

I agree with everything said above!