It disturbs me greatly how many posts turn into long mulit-page debates over who is right, who should feel a certain way, or what attitude or philosophy everyone should live by. Most people with cf believe their way of approaching life is the best. And most people who believe this are right!! (for themselves)
I think this forum is great for cf support, learning about various facets of the disease and how people deal with it. I've noticed that many posters are good at saying things like "from my experience . . .", "what works for ME . . ." "My husband feels . . ." Comments such as these do NOT need interpretation/critique from others, or any unsupportive comments prompting the original poster to defend themself. If someone responds with a completely different experience/philosophy, THAT'S GREAT as long as it's personal and not imposed on someone else.
I believe it would be healthy to have some bullet points at the top of the forums page to remind posters what this site is for. Here are some ideas:
We are here to <b>support</b> one another. We will not attempt to "fix" another.
Keep your sharing focused on your own thoughts, feelings and experience.
Each person can be as positive or negative as they choose if they are speaking about their own experience. (no one has the right to say "you should be more positive", "you should be thankful for what you have", "stop complaining", etc)
Each person is free to express feelings without unsolicited interpretation. (they have the right to be respected and not need to defend themself)
Do not give advice unless it was SPECIFICALLY asked for - some people just need to vent. (try saying "what works for me" instead of "you should")
Do research to avoid asking vague questions such as "what is cf?" "how are people affected by cf?"
I would love to hear your ideas. My hope is for the above suggestions to evolve into something we can agree on. And for this site to be exclusively for <i>support</i>!
Jason 30 w/cf
I think this forum is great for cf support, learning about various facets of the disease and how people deal with it. I've noticed that many posters are good at saying things like "from my experience . . .", "what works for ME . . ." "My husband feels . . ." Comments such as these do NOT need interpretation/critique from others, or any unsupportive comments prompting the original poster to defend themself. If someone responds with a completely different experience/philosophy, THAT'S GREAT as long as it's personal and not imposed on someone else.
I believe it would be healthy to have some bullet points at the top of the forums page to remind posters what this site is for. Here are some ideas:
We are here to <b>support</b> one another. We will not attempt to "fix" another.
Keep your sharing focused on your own thoughts, feelings and experience.
Each person can be as positive or negative as they choose if they are speaking about their own experience. (no one has the right to say "you should be more positive", "you should be thankful for what you have", "stop complaining", etc)
Each person is free to express feelings without unsolicited interpretation. (they have the right to be respected and not need to defend themself)
Do not give advice unless it was SPECIFICALLY asked for - some people just need to vent. (try saying "what works for me" instead of "you should")
Do research to avoid asking vague questions such as "what is cf?" "how are people affected by cf?"
I would love to hear your ideas. My hope is for the above suggestions to evolve into something we can agree on. And for this site to be exclusively for <i>support</i>!
Jason 30 w/cf