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How Usenet Fosters Support Groups
Traditional support groups are still better than online support, but many people just do not have enough time or resources to attend meetings. Round the clock, you may be taking care of your five-year-old son who is suffering from Angelman syndrome, or you are a busy secretary with multiple sclerosis. It will be doubly difficult to fit the group meeting into your schedule. A certain illness has already made a huge dent on the family’s resources that even a means of transportation already became a concern. Geography poses a challenge as well; no one else in your small town has muscular dystrophy and there are no support groups within a hundred-mile radius. Then your colleague told you about alt.support.musc-dystrophy on Usenet. Soon you find yourself corresponding with people from as far as New Zealand and Israel who have the same illness as you. You discuss about medicines, therapies and exercises that can alleviate your well-being. You realize that this illness does not have to consume you because other people have adapted so well. Traditional support groups are of two types: some focus on information such as advancements and new drugs, while some concentrate on the emotional aspect. Usenet support groups combine these two methods, making it a holistic approach to coping with the disease. The operative word, then, offered by Usenet support groups is ‘cope’. It complements traditional treatment—therapy, drugs and procedures. It provides a cathartic feeling, rejuvenates the tired spirit, and affirms the thought “I am not alone”. It is not just serious or rare conditions that are being supported by Usenet groups. Because Usenet offers anonymity and accessibility, it has also led to an explosion of so many groups catering to every conceivable disease or condition, foremost of which is depression. If you feel you are clinically depressed, just gathering up the energy to venture outside your home and attend a meeting is awfully hard. For someone with a mental illness, a support group has to be regularly available, not just every week or twice a month. A newsgroup such as alt.support.depression conducts virtual meetings all the time, ready to answer your query or simply listen while you rant. On the other hand, a support session in your small town may not completely help you because you are forced to make a face-to-face encounter. You develop a legitimate fear of being seen by everyone attending a session, worrying that you could be stripped down and exposed. This promise of anonymity has led to what experts refer to as 'online disinhibition effect’. Since no one knows who you are, you become free to honestly talk about what you are going through. Openness in Usenet groups becomes an asset to develop a more accommodating and solid support group. Usenet support groups, or any online support for that matter, should not always be viewed as authoritative. Posts should always be taken with a grain of salt because not everyone is an expert. Although the intention of the poster is pure, vital medicines or procedures should not be received as is, unless perhaps a trend is shown by the majority in the newsgroup. Still, the positive effects of Usenet support groups cannot be ignored. An overwhelming number of people already found a second family in their respective newsgroups. With a serious condition and the seclusion that comes with it, these support groups become another home. People come and go, ask questions and tell stories, and over time you will have the ability to give advice. Being able to help someone else cope with the same condition empowers you. That in itself is therapeutic. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com JV Valdez writes about technology--its development and innovations, and how people respond to them. He also writes about travel and political affairs. |
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