FT

Nonsensical,

I get what you are saying, and I mostly agree.

However, that sounds a little too much like aiming for the lowest common denominator for a section of SR that I think is populated by some of the most articulate people on the forum.

I think that people who poke around in this section of SR find out pretty quickly if they feel at home or not. Everybody on SR at least knows how to work a computer and to navigate around the website, and that takes some mental ability. And I think it is too much of a leap to presume that most people who come here do not have at least some degree of self determination as their motivation, or they wouldn't be interested in AVRT and the like.

Lastly, I'm not sure whether we can assign a diagnosis of mentally and emotionally healthy to anyone other than ourselves (if then), especially those we cannot see, hear, or make any other determinations about other than their written words.

Hope this did not sound too much like a club.

Archelon

thank you, I read the article.

good stuff

Nonsensical

I appreciate you mostly agreeing with me.

FT

i've had it pointed out to me on more than one occasion that I am clueless and that my own opinions have no more value than anyone else's.

Personally I like the point-counterpoint "arguments" made by most of the posters here, and if I ever make a knee-jerk response to anyone else's comments, it is not to be "more right" than anyone else, but just to share my point of view.

So, I am not "more right" than you are, and I do think your views are quite valid.

Nonsensical

If I seemed dismissive previously it was unintentional. I don't think I can respond to every noted exception to my previous observations and still function normally at my job. Every response from me invites a new response and so on and so on. I am farther down the rabbit hole than I wanted to be already.

I am glad we share some common ground in our thinking and I am happy to leave it at that.

(Although I am secretly hoping soberlicious will comment on your point that me calling her mentally and emotionally healthy was questionable.)

FT

Yeah, I caught that too after it was too late to edit.

Kind of funny, really, considering how astute soberlicious is. It came off looking like an offhanded insult that I never actually intended.

soberlicious

Haha! My metal and emotional health is certainly debatable. Considering I have a years of therapy and an involuntary psyche hospital placement in my past, my paper trial is hard to deny. Progress, not perfection...let's just go with that!

Since I wouldn't describe myself as a hotbed of mental health, I don't realize advise on that too frequently. I am permanently abstinent so obviously I feel comfortable advising on that, and again, only when asked.

Coddling and throwing someone in the deep end...those are two ends of the spectrum. There are many points in between. When my autistic son is struggling to learn new behaviors, I must find the balance between complacency (no growth) and pushing too far (no growth). If I don't push him at all, he will happily perseverate on the same things for hours. If I push him too far, he will hit himself in the face or bite himself. It's that sweet spot, that place that's right at "almost impossible", that's where I've observed the most learning gains with him. It's also where I've observed the most growth in myself. Pushing through "hard" is the only way I know to get past it, and that probably shows in the things I say to others.

I don't think it needs to be one way OR the other. Straightforward and kind aren't mutually exclusive.

anattaboy

"Thought Pools" is what I tagged this years ago, and yes, I'm sure we actively choose some pools and not others based on our wants....provided we know what we want. Some years ago I read a book by an Edgar Cayce follower who claimed dis-carnate spirits of the insatiable drunk variety (could not move on because of their "need")hovered over the doors of all bars waiting for a naive body to inhabit. Not all were enter-able based on their resolve or intent. This depiction has stuck with me for years symbolically. The Buddhists of course have their Hungry Ghosts. Yes, I believe we have a strong group of "wanters" out there that I have been a member of in the past. My thoughts no longer align with theirs. Funny, but when I was with them I could not see them..for they were I. I was blind, but now I see. RR made a believer out of me. My light shines on. My light shines on. My light shines on! (luv that Primal Scream song)