On the Verge

Yeah, an online forum can be much better than a professional counselor or psychologist. Why? Because you don't pay for it. You don't have the impression that people are going out of their way to talk to you because it's their job or because they want your money, but rather because they understand what you're talking about, they've lived it, or they want to help.

Being a professional doesn't mean they can fully understand your situation, or that they ever lived it. It just means they got a diploma and the "knowledge" of psychology.

- Vonterul, GunZFactor Forums

One of the few places where we can come close to equality is the internet.

Picture largely unrelated

On the verge...

And on the internet. This is what I found on GunZFactor Forums:

I'm so tempted to commit suicide, I can taste it. I think about it a few times a week. I think I'm gonna do it. There's nothing to stop me, nothing to change my mind. I have no reason to live, I have no support group I'm willing to talk to. You're my god damn support group. This is nearly anonymous. If we're being realistic, I don't even know why I'm making this topic. It's not like you can just say "Don't do it." over and over and it'll calm me down or change my mind. It will postpone it at best. I'm not in a state of depression, I'm in a state of disappointment. Why the **** am I not doing it? Is it some sort of survival instinct kicking in, making me hold back? No amount of music can calm me down. I can't wait to cool down so I forget about my troubles and become numb. I've been numb my whole life. I haven't trusted a single human being. I haven't felt fear in years. I've never been in a good relationship with a girl. I haven't felt alive in... probably a year ago.
-Jackolope


This is one response:

I find it futile to fuel this mans need for attention. I don't have time to sympathize with a guy who is thinking about suicide nor the energy. If he really is thinking about suicide then lets cut the horse**** and call his parents or whoever cares about him and get this **** done. I'm not in the mood to discuss how bad he has it in life.
- Waterbuster

This is another:
I know what you're going through man, and it sucks but you have to change your frame of mind. Change your outlook. It's easier said than done, I know, but that's your major issue. Like someone above me said, your entire life can change at any given point in time. Mine changed about ten months ago when my girlfriend and I split. At the time, she was the only stable thing in my life. She seemed like the only person who gave a damn, and then she really ****ed me over. It wasn't just a split, it was a life altering event. I had to ditch friends I had who were connected to her.. Most of my friends, in fact. Couldn't stand talking to them because everything about them brought up a memory of her. I mean, we were just about inseperable for three years.

Anyway I'm not here to tell you about my problems, but I'm just saying that I know what it feels like to have virtually nothing to look forward to in life. And I can tell you now that it's your mind, not your situation. Your mind might be affected by your situation, sure, but that doesn't mean it's permanent. Make lemons into lemonade, as they say. You have nothing? Make something. Do something. Do you have a job? If not, go get one. If so, ask for more hours. Save up a lot of money and start doing something you really like. Hang out with friends more and go out and socialize. Go paintballing or something like that. Hell, I dunno, whatever you're into. Point being, the fact that you can leave everything behind and just start over fresh means that you're capable of turning any situation into a win situation, as long as you have the mentality to back it up. And that means you can't just read what I'm saying, but you need to absorb it and really THINK about it and REALIZE what I'm telling you, don't just skim over it because you know the basic routine I'm typing out here.

I hope you feel better man. If you ever find yourself close to it or thinking about it, just remember that the only people who suicide are the people who didn't give themselves a chance to get over it.
-Paul


So, is Jackolope serious? Regardless of whether or not in this instance, a real person, sitting behind a real computer, is entertaining real dreams of suicide, the world (or at least the part that cares) is going to have to accept that the internet is no longer some sort of advanced telephone that lets you play games as a sidebar. Pitifully few people recognize what the internet is: it's a connection to the rest of the frickin' world. It's a world of it's own. It has its own culture, its own factions, its own laws. Too often we underestimate this fact, or choose to see only the aspects that are immediately useful to us.

Even if Jackolope is a troll and is faking it for attention, logical deduction based on the popularity and growing influence of the internet shows that people do treat other netizens, as real people. (Maybe that's because they are.)

We've already seen the evidence in many internet romances (failures and the underreported successes) and friendships (I have seen proof of this myself). The internet is no longer simply a place where people share funny jpegs. It is also a place for them to laugh about them together.

And yes, it has also become a place where people come to make very real real-world decisions. Look back at what Jackolope said above:
I have no reason to live, I have no support group I'm willing to talk to. You're my god damn support group.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, time to go do my maths after I type this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana Mikana MIKANA mikana

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Added to list of things I want to write about/feature:
A group of voluntary counselors going around the internet saving lives. The counselors are very young.

That's the kind of stuff we should be seeing on TV, not that sci-fi superhuman crap (I'm looking at YOU, Heroes). That, or something on places like Darfur and Ossetia. Try watching an episode of Pokemon, or listening to your sister rant about sexual fantasies over the phone, or reading some article about a kid who won big bucks in a gaming competition, then turn to the page where they talk about what's going on in Iraq, in North Korea, in Darfur, in Ossetia. If that doesn't put things in perspective for you and make you absolutely loathe the reasons behind modern oversensitivity and censorship, then you need to tell me how you sleep at night, because this is partially why I can't.

People preferring to watch their Sunday cartoons so they can ignore the difficulties of others around the world. Then they go to their church or mosque or whatever, and then they pray for the welfare of themselves and their families. Makes my stomach turn.