Psychology Student Here, And Wanting To Learn

[Mizzy]

A quick overview here. I'm in an IB HL Psychology class at my school. Some might know what that means, some might not. It's not important. Anyways, for our final exam grade we were to pair up and we were assigned a disorder. And if you haven't already guessed, my group's disorder is PTSD.

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[anthony]

Hi, please see: [DLMURL]http://www.ptsdforum.org/faq.php?faq=faq_16#faq_ptsd_studies[/DLMURL]

You are soliciting participation, thus you fit into the above requirement.

 

[Mizzy]

I think that's an unfair assertion. I'm not conducting an experiment or a study. I'm not asking for any more participaton than a "what would you do?" thread.

 

[Lady of Longbourn]

"what would you do?" what?

 

[kers]

Asking people "what would you do," as someone who would like to learn from/about them, is conducting a survey, the definition of which is to gather information.

 

[gdf]

Hi Mizzy,

I don't know how old you are or what year you are in college or what your aspirations are but I will give you a little insight from my perspective as one who suffers.

People who have PTSD have been through some pretty serious crap in their lives and have often gone through some horrendous things that they must live with on a daily basis. We have issues with trust and are hypervigilent and often cope with a lot of mental health issues. We come here to feel secure and supported and often times inquiries like yours makes us feel less secure in our surroundings so you can't expect to join the forum and be automatically accepted especially when you are looking for material for a class project. That can make us feel used and like we are being taken advantage of. This is why there are rules and we all abide by them. I am a graduate student in psychology and it would be very easy to use the forum to find people for "project" material but this would be unethical and inappropriate because this is a group of friends/confidants/people who have unique needs and feelings--not my personal research subject pool. If you are going into psychology with the aspiration of being a therapist one day then one of the biggest and most humbling lessons you will learn (if you are open) is that the damaged human psyche is a fragile thing put into your hands for healing and not just an interesting "case." I wish you luck with your pursuits but do not ever think of human beings, or their gathering places to share their suffering, as open sources of assistance for you and your needs. Come and observe and be a part of us for a while and learn that way vs. just announcing you need help and expecting people to assist.

And DO explain things--it IS important. Definitions are important. If you are asking us for help you need to spell out your credentials and define your status--we don't know who you are or if you are a student. We all don't know what you mean and in any psychological research you should let people know what you are planning. If you are in the States, look up the ethics code on research on the APA website and see what is entailed. Project or study, you should employ professional aplomb when you are soliciting subjects. Take care.

Gina

 

[anthony]

Hi Mizzy,

Whilst I respect your enquiries, wanting to learn is a matter off reading. The moment you want to begin asking questions, studying people, their thoughts, etc, that is the same moment you begin to perform a study. These have ethical requirements, as Gina outlined above. I do not, nor have ever, just allowed this forum to be the subject of research for professionals / students. I do however endorse and assist those who are conducting legitimate studies with priority listings here. I do ask them to make a suitable donation for such assistance, as this community is expensive to keep online and it is a method to keep the site from ever having third party advertisements upon it. Any way I can think off to keep paid third party advertisements from the site to curb the growing running costs, I will pretty implement and insist enforcement upon. It is a free resource for sufferers, carers, family, friends and mental health professionals who want to assist others, without promoting themselves, to take part within.

Anthony

 

[reallydown]

Hi Mizzy,

If I'm not mistaken, you are a secondary school student...IB (International Baccalureate...a very demanding program) and HL, I assume, stands for Higher Level. Perhaps you should have explained this at the outset as that probably would have spared you some of the criticism. Having said that, most of the criticism still applies. Chalk it up to a good learning experience (which will undoubtedly be useful as you head to college/university) and by all means, have a read through the forum. Good luck.

 

[gdf]

That is very nicely put, reallydown. Well said.

 

[taogotaz]

Hi Misty,

As a secondary public school English teacher, I understand that when you receive an assignment and start moving forward, it can become a daunting experience.

I hold a B.A. in English and a M.A. in Secondary Education Curriculum and Instruction, and I've been teaching the English Language Arts for seventeen-years. While a graduate student studying to become a responsible teacher of young people 12-18 years old, I was given the task of interviewing people with disabilities as part of my Special Services training. I remember politely asking a man in a wheelchair once if I could ask him a few questions for my work in order to become a teacher? He graciously agreed as I explained this was to help me become more aware of and sensitive to the needs of my future students. I quickly on-the-fly, during the interview, realized the profound implications of what I was doing. I was humbled by his story and adapted immediately to his way of telling it. It stopped being a simple question and answer session or even an "interview." I saw myself as intruding on sacred ground in a man's life who had lost the use of his legs forever. I had no right to see him any other way then the way he saw himself.

I spent a year leading men in combat when I was eighteen-years old. To date no one has ever understood what happened to me. NO ONE!

PTSD sufferers and those who care for them are a part of my soul, my art, and my deepest experiences. I found this site recently thank goodness and understand the reactions you've received to date, all sincere and all heartfelt. Listen to them and read between the lines. We are protective of each other and this site because we are surviving together. It's not what we want in life that makes us who we are, but what we want for others. On this forum, and in this moment shared... we all want each other to heal and recover from the trauma that only we can know. Real blood, real guts, real stories from real people who don't need or want to draw attention from anyone who would not be able to see their wounds and understand their scars before there visible; anyone who could not understand our pain before there told it; anyone who would not weep for the human love lost in the seconds of shared experience though years apart and thousands of miles away. We all share only one thing here: The thrill of healing, the hope for love, and the dream of finding our way back to who we were, to who we are, to who we should have been and to who we must become.

The PTSD Forum was started by pure human energy looking for solutions not answers, sharing not informing, trusting and not harming. Good fortune to you in your work, make it part of your life and you will succeed.

Douglas

 

[taogotaz]

I apologize for the Freudian slip in calling you "Misty" instead of "Mizzy". I have a "Misty" in my life who is totally clueless about the feelings and needs of others. I must have on some level been unconsciously addressing her as well. If only I could be as successful with her as I believe I've been with you. Again, sorry for getting your name wrong.

 

[taogotaz]

Ayesha,

Were you upset by her inquiry?