It Really Is Okay to Talk About It – A Website Review

copyright 2000

I found a terrific website at http://www.angelfire.com/ok2/talkaboutit...

If you go there, make certain you have plenty of time though. I still haven't explored the entire site and its links. Bruce, the webmaster, is a former police officer from Australia. He suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and wants to help others who have mental illness.

The introduction on his home page describes the goals of his website well:

"There are so many of us around who have mental health issues, and often we are forced to hide or conceal it from family, friends, or workplaces. Some of us are born with it. Others acquire it as a result of some event. I think I can say that none of us want it, but we survive to live with it."

"'It' will remain this way until such time as we speak out and are heard. We have to be a part of the education process. By telling your story on this site, you can educate others. By silencing ourselves, we can not educate others."

Bruce's website has links to hundreds of other mental illness related websites. Links cover abuse, anxiety, phobias & panic disorder, attention deficit disorder, bi polar, borderline personality disorder, depression, dissociative identity disorder, eating disorders, incest, obsessive compulsive disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, personality disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, self injury, substance abuse, suicide and trauma.

In addition, the site has information about chat rooms, forums, mailing lists, diagnostic help and professional sites from around the world, including the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, China and Jamaica. The professional sites are either maintained by professionals or are used by professionals.

On his website, Bruce says, "What I would like to do here is direct people to places where they can talk about it. Places that are safe. Places where no one will criticise what you have. I also want this to be a place of learning for everyone, without distinction, one where any person can come, read our stories and maybe understand a bit more about our mental health issues."

My favorite part of the website is Bruce's telling of his own story. His career as an Australian cop was interrupted by PTSD. Now the Lord is using him to educate others about mental illness on the Internet. On his website, Bruce describes his life now:

"What I am doing now: A lot of my time is spent on this computer. I am an active participant in Mental Help Net where I monitor a couple of forums for them, keeping out the nasties. I also do book reviews for Metapsychology, a section of MHN, as well as doing website reviews for the MHN ratings. This allows me to see plenty of sites related to Mental Health Issues and give out some gold stars as well for the owner's site. I am co-ordinating a self help group for cops with PTSD. I am still continuing in my Theological studies, as well as a course in Everyday Counselling."

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