Posted by Racer on February 21, 2008, at 14:20:16
I know that this has come up recently, and I just experienced it myself. In posting on the Medications board, I suggested to a poster that psychotherapy might be helpful.
And then proceeded to write another paragraph to say that it wasn't a suggestion that anything was wrong with him/her, that I knew others had different opinions about it, that I didn't mean to suggest that my way was the only way, etc...
For me, I don't think my problem is with the civility guidelines per se. I can't quite put my finger on what I was nervous about, beyond the fear of how my words would be taken. It seems as though a number of people have reacted to my suggestions of therapy lately, and I'm not sure how best to express my belief that it can be helpful even for biologically based difficulties. I'm not sure how to express my suggestions, while conveying my respect for differing viewpoints.
Maybe it would be productive to start a discussion about positive, supportive ways to express our beliefs in a manner supportive to differing beliefs? Or maybe we could offer suggestions of ways to give advice that clearly express that we're not saying it's the only way to address the problem?
I don't know. I just felt uncomfortable when I realized how intimidated I was about posting, and thought I'd say something about it...
poster:Racer
thread:813933
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20080204/msgs/813933.html