Community Constitution

Mission

Peer support subsequent to trauma contributes to full recovery. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -- including complex trauma (cPTSD) -- is debilitating, breaking down the body through anxiety and stress, and it poses a significant suicide risk in sufferers. MyPTSD exists to help and inform those who are directly or indirectly affected by these conditions through providing peer-to-peer support and educational resources.

Community Personality

MyPTSD's personality ranges widely within a candid, empathetic, challenging, yet supportive membership. Diversity is the spice of life, and this community respects diverse opinions. A community philosophy often read here is "use what helps you, and ignore the rest."

Community Beliefs

  • To encourage and support one another to grow beyond our present selves.
  • To be honest and considerate to other members.
  • To endeavor to educate ourselves and each other about the facts and advances in the management of PTSD and related disorders.
  • To contribute thoughtfully and celebrate diversity within the community.

Individual Responsibility

All members are expected to manage their own emotional and psychological regulation. In the event that a member consistently engages in disruptive behavior and does not progress towards self-regulation, that member will either be temporarily or permanently removed from the community.

MyPTSD does not use trigger warnings. Mind reading what could be a trigger for another is a negative thinking style, a problem all PTSD sufferers need to correct at some level. Whilst some view its use as a courtesy, it is impossible to know what will, or will not, trigger another person, regardless the graphic detail contained. After all, this is a space where those affected can discuss trauma and its consequences.

Community Governance

MyPTSD is run with a balanced approach, aiming towards enforcing our legal policy whilst valuing member self-expression. There are four rules we follow:

  • No Personal Attacks: There is a difference between attacking someone and disagreeing with their viewpoint. We prohibit blatant attacks against the character of another member. Disagree with the point of view, but respect the individual, always.
  • No Suicidal Posting: MyPTSD is not a crisis service, and posts that point directly to suicidal intent will be edited. We understand that suicidal ideation is a very real part of PTSD and allow our members to post their struggles and fears freely. Suicidal ideation is acceptable; suicidal posting is not.
  • No Self-Promotion or Advertising: Members are allowed and encouraged to recommend anything that has helped them on their journey to recovery. However, no member is allowed to promote themselves or their web content in any way, nor is it acceptable to post advertisements for goods, products, or services.
  • No duplication of content: When referring to another member’s post, only quote what you need. Here is a tutorial on our Quote functions. Also, we ask that you only post your content in one place, instead of posting the same question or statement in multiple places on the forum. When copying and pasting from elsewhere on the web, only excerpt what you need, and provide a link for the rest. Read more about respecting our copyright guidelines.

You will be notified by staff if you have broken a rule, and each violation is assigned a certain number of points. Points expire at the end of a set term. Accumulation of 100 points or more results in an automatic temporary ban.

Staff Role and Conflict Resolution

Staff have the power to edit or restrict content and to restrict membership both temporarily and permanently. Staff ensure the community operates efficiently, with the least impact on overall membership. Staff act in an unbiased manner, to ensure harmonious operation of the community. To fully understand staff responsibilities and powers, you can read the Public staff documents. Here is a list of Current staff.

Members have the right to fairness and equality within MyPTSD. Members should treat others as they desire to be treated. Members can ask administrative questions or question staff decisions by initiating a Help ticket. Members can contact the site administrators privately (if they have anonymity concerns), by emailing [email protected].

Building Community Ties

The life of MyPTSD is in its threads, and we encourage members to bring their questions and stories there.

We protect your privacy, and encourage you to do the same. We don't have rules prohibiting off-site contact with members, but we encourage you to remember that the internet is not a 'safe space'. Here's more about Safety on this site.

Members should use some thought when writing subject titles to assist readers in identifying the content. A relevant title and well written post significantly impacts whether you get few or many responses. Paragraph breaks are encouraged, and abbreviations discouraged. Posting only in images or emoticons is discouraged, and those posts may be edited. Go here to read more about When an image is OK, and when it's not.

Members can strengthen their position within the community by posting upon the forums. As a member posts and their post count increases respectively so does their member title, working towards "MyPTSD Pro" You can read more about the benefits of Various upgrades available.

MyPTSD has been in existence for over a decade. Learn about our Community history.

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