I have been on forums before where people always have an “identifier” under each of the their postings. Is this something that is helpful?
@Maggotbrane - would you be willing to share the thoughts behind yours?
Yes. I recently adopted it for several reasons:
First, out of voiced concern within this forum about diagnosed people posting advice in the family forum. My opinion is people should be able to make their own assessment of who and what to believe, but others—both DXed and not—disagreed, so in deference I opted for full transparency.
Second, because I have a diagnosis, and post both about caregiving and the inner working of the disease from a ‘lived’ perspective, I often get follow up questions about my status from newcomers. And frankly explaining myself has gotten a bit repetitive and tedious for me. Due to stigma and possible social and employment repercussions from being “outed” or “dox-ed”, I’m private about my life so I leave my profile info blank. A tag disclaimer or “signature” seemed the best place for this.
Third, I like the consistency of disclaimers. I don’t have to think about qualifying everything I post, or defending or elaborating on opinions— especially when it comes to medication. Since I started off with talk therapy which is a controversial treatment for SZ, some people may assume I’m anti-drug or pro-alternative treatment and I’m not, so if I spell it out I feel I can better focus on the subject at hand.
Per the history of signatures or tag lines or quotes, I’ve been around computer forums for a very long time— before the World Wide Web and texting and cellphones and social media. They’ve been around for a very long time, and serve as a sort of calling card. Some people feel they needed them, some don’t, just like some people print up business cards or have Linked-In or Facebook pages and some don’t. It’s just a way of projecting persona and making a memorable impact.
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Thanks for taking the time to the clarify your reasons. The world of scz is such a tricky place, I know I worry that my son might recognize himself should he land on this forum. Years ago an excellent contributor stopped writing not long after mentioning her fear that her child had discovered the forum. Any signature tag of mine would really require some thought as most of my identity here come from a description of my son.
I had seen the “alert” that was posted to let people know we have people with an scz diagnosis posting. Our members with a diagnosis enrich our understanding of schizophrenia. Many of us are here hoping for information that will help us and will hopefully help our family members. A “crossover” forum member years ago brought me needed enlightenment when he talked about how it hurt him as he could see that his parents were still hoping for the “before” him. The son I have today is the son I have and I don’t want him to look into my eyes and see grief or disappointment - I want him to see the same love and joy as always. The added bonus was showing him love and joy felt much better for me:) Looking at him with my heart, helped me see him.
I hope no one felt discouraged about posting as none of us know when something we post might help someone else. Having family members with brain disorders is a process and something insignificant to some is a life changer for someone else.
My signature and disclaimer may take some time to write, I do like the idea. Thanks!
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Thanks. I have similar fears my brother or other family members may discover this forum, but they are muted because my brother has bipolar disorder instead, and his focus is unlikely to stray to schizophrenia forums. He likely doesn’t view me or my sister as caregivers at all, nor would he think of himself as my caregiver, so I’m doubly safe. My psychiatrist knows I post to a forum, but I’m not particularly concerned he might read my posts.
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I want to speak up for myself too, hope, and say that I agree. “Our members with diagnosis enrich our understanding” is so true! I’ve found the contributors with diagnosis invaluable in their contributions. Sharing their perspectives has offered me rare and great enlightenment as they are willing to share their experiences and perspectives as well as having been willing to answer any direct questions I’ve had has been extremely helpful. They’ve offered great insight where my sz unmedicated loved one has been unable to communicate. And I appreciate them greatly for their willingness to share. So thanks guys!
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