# The discourse here is bad for my mental and physical health, and yours, too. Prove me wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 17, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714 "2024-05-17T19:13:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/21 "2024-05-17T23:15:03Z")
I do so wish I could do a 1000 other things. Some people literally cannot. _And_ this place(and others) can hurt you physically. We all know mental health and emotional upset affects your physical well being. On top of never being accustomed to vicious fighting. Fighting for exactly _nothing_. It gets you no rewards. It makes you no friends. It pays $0. So why do it? Do you get an endorphin hit if you let out a stream of filthy demeaning words to a stranger on a message board? I struggle to understand this. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/22 "2024-05-17T23:23:41Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > Do you get an endorphin hit if you let out a stream of filthy demeaning words to a stranger on a message board? Yes. I’m pretty sure this has been demonstrated in research. Venting _feels_ fantastic. In this context it also increases identification with a tribe, thus enhancing your sense of security. Unfortunately it just increases aggression and stress. One of the more eye-opening things I got out of the book _Sapiens_ is that gossip is an evolutionary strategy. You need to know who to trust or not, who is in or out, or you could die. That’s how high the stakes used to be. So we still do that. We can all choose to rise above it of course. But you have to be motivated to change and if you feel like that strategy is working to grant you security and status, you’ll likely keep doing it. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/23 "2024-05-17T23:29:07Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I don’t begrudge anyone taking time off when things get stressful here… I have taken a few hiatuses (is that how you spell that?) from this message board over the years. I’ve learned to have a thicker skin and be more judicious in what I post and how I respond but I still get caught out sometimes. I do think this is the best message board on the internet so I keep coming back. I totally get needing some time off though. ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/24 "2024-05-17T23:37:45Z")
I haven’t been on much lately because I’ve felt unwell. I’m better now. I saw the woman man bear thread, but it was way too long for me to start. I honestly thought it was going to be about dump’s “I.Q.” test that he “aced”. 😆 I think I’m glad I passesd on that one. I’ve been on a few mbs and I’ve learned to not give too much of a crap about what is said. I avoid calling names (juvenile imho) and I try to let everyone think what they like, and just bow out if it gets ugly. - Except for literally. That is a hill I’ll… wellll not die on but…sleep righteously on. 😉- ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/25 "2024-05-17T23:43:42Z")
Woman man bear thread I identified as full of land mines. That is me getting smarter(ish) about the threads I participate in. That had trouble written all over it. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/26 "2024-05-17T23:45:41Z")
See, I thought it was mostly fine, with a few bad actors, who were moderated appropriately. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/27 "2024-05-17T23:51:20Z")
I’ve been on the board for, I think, 20+ years (how do you find your join date?), at times more active than others. When I see some of the heated, nasty exchanges I participated in from the dim past, I’m embarrassed. What the hell were you so worked up about?, I ask myself. It’s much better for my blood pressure to simply not have so much invested. I love the place, but I just don’t need to “win” like I used to. If someone posts something hostile towards me, I might snark at them in a humorous way. But probably not. In short, I no longer give anonymous internet posters the power to rile me. ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2024, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/28 "2024-05-17T23:51:53Z")
Well, I’m mostly a lurker, and I can’t **prove** you wrong, but this is the only place I can interact sanely with the political world. I don’t watch TV, I do watch some friendly Youtube, read the Post and the NYT, but if it weren’t for the measured debates on this board I would lose all hope for Americans if not humanity… ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/29 "2024-05-18T00:09:08Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > (how do you find your join date?) You joined on Joined Mar 25, 2000. So, you’ve been here a little over 24 years. I’ve seen a few posters with join dates before yours but not many. I’m about a month later than you are. You can see that by clicking on your avatar (some people hide that for some reason…most do not). ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/30 "2024-05-18T00:22:43Z")
Many thanks! And I expect a lot more town-elder respect from the rest of you. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/31 "2024-05-18T00:54:35Z")
Well, that’s just it. You can’t snark humorously, or nudge a joke out, all that easily. From what I can tell. You get flagged, junior modded, you get snarked back you end up falling into an idiotic struggle. You piss real mods off. (We can’t all be a Mister Fish 😊) ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/32 "2024-05-18T01:00:59Z")
Just speaking for myself, I haven’t encountered that much. ETA: And it’s entirely up to me if I want to participate in a back-and-forth. No one can force me to respond to anything. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/33 "2024-05-18T01:03:20Z")
I’m learning that. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/34 "2024-05-18T01:05:30Z")
It was a hard lesson for me, including outside this board, but it’s actually pretty liberating. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/35 "2024-05-18T01:15:54Z")
I’ve been here since 2000, if I remember right, and I’ve never felt like the discourse here was bad for my mental or physical health. If anything, the SDMB has helped just a little bit to keep me sane, and to make me better off by teaching me things and exposing me to new perspectives and forcing me to express myself clearly and just entertaining me, and making me feel a little less alone in this world. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/36 "2024-05-18T01:30:14Z")
Mental I can understand, but how’s it bad for your physical health? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/37 "2024-05-18T01:40:31Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > I expect a lot more town-elder respect from the rest of you. Hmmff. Maybe if your name was Telecaster. Otherwise, you’re just little bro as far as the town is concerned. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/38 "2024-05-18T01:42:03Z")
Stress can affect you physically. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/39 "2024-05-18T01:43:14Z")
> [@Stratocaster](#): > > It was a hard lesson for me, including outside this board, but it’s actually pretty liberating. Concur. To go more broadly, just stopping the need to control what everyone else thinks is really liberating. I mean people believe some wacky stuff don’t they? Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2024, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714/40 "2024-05-18T01:49:48Z")
Ditto. I have fun here, when things start getting a bit much I back away. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-discourse-here-is-bad-for-my-mental-and-physical-health-and-yours-too-prove-me-wrong/1001714.md?page=3)