# Why was the "psychotic thoughts" thread closed?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [March 12, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282 "2010-03-12T19:20:00Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/1 "2010-03-12T19:20:00Z")
[Thread in question.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555606)
**Czarcasm** : it was pretty earlier on established we all tend to have these zany thoughts and it turned into a fun thread of the crazy things we think about from time to time.
Does that thread violate the asking for medical advice rule? I’m perplexed.
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### Author:  [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/2 "2010-03-12T19:24:17Z")
On what grounds was the IMHO “ever had irrational psychotic thoughts” thread closed? The OP wasn’t really asking for medical advice, but simply whether other people have had similar experiences, and from the responses, it seemed that it was becoming increasingly clear that the thoughts the OP was describing were pretty normal. The moderator then advised the OP to seek professional help and closed the thread.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/3 "2010-03-12T19:45:44Z")
While we can discuss nearly anything here at the Dope – that’s the hope, anyway – there are some things that are too difficult to handle.
Anyone who admits to “psychotic thoughts,” for example, is asked to stop soliciting comment on a mere message board and go get some help. Because what can we do for them? Nothing. And this is a situation that requires outside assistance. This is not a therapy outlet – at least not a professional one – and we can in no way adjudicate this sort of deal towards a good outcome.
We’ve had other kinds of situations that we cannot help and shouldn’t be involved in – suicide notes, for example – they may be a cry for help and we’re sympathetic to anyone who is in that much pain – but we are totally unequipped to handle this kind of thing. We shouldn’t be expected to be able to handle it, either. This is not the suicide prevention line.
Can we judge that the thoughts were “normal?” Not really. Should we be put in a position to have to judge such things? No.
If someone cut their hand and was bleeding all over the place and came here to report on it we’d tell em to go get a bandage, to go to the hospital, to get direct help, to stop writing posts about their bleeding hand and go get it fixed. This is the same thing.
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### Author:  [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/4 "2010-03-12T19:47:56Z")
Merged two threads on the same situation together.
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### Author:  [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/5 "2010-03-12T20:14:20Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#):
>
> If someone cut their hand and was bleeding all over the place and came here to report on it we’d tell em to go get a bandage, to go to the hospital, to get direct help, to stop writing posts about their bleeding hand and go get it fixed. This is the same thing.
What f cut my hand and am bleedng all over the place but only need help fxng my keyboard?
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/6 "2010-03-12T20:43:44Z")
> [@Sapo](#):
>
> What f cut my hand and am bleedng all over the place but only need help fxng my keyboard?
Once again, we are not equipped to provide psychiatric help.
😃
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### Author:  [@Ace\_Weederman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ace_Weederman)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/7 "2010-03-12T20:45:09Z")
Lest any of the commenters in the closed thread worry too much about having disastrous thoughts, [here’s a NYTimes article](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/07/health/07mind.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=imp%20poe&st=cse) from last year that may be of some comfort.
"But a vast majority of people rarely, if ever, act on such urges, and their susceptibility to rude fantasies in fact reflects the workings of a normally sensitive, social brain, argues a paper published last week in the journal Science. "
Here’s a [link](http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/sci;325/5936/48?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=wegner&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&issue=5936&resourcetype=HWCIT) about that paper.
Interesting stuff!
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### Author:  [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/8 "2010-03-12T20:45:20Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#):
>
> While we can discuss nearly anything here at the Dope – that’s the hope, anyway – there are some things that are too difficult to handle.
>
> Anyone who admits to “psychotic thoughts,” for example, is asked to stop soliciting comment on a mere message board and go get some help. Because what can we do for them? Nothing. And this is a situation that requires outside assistance. This is not a therapy outlet – at least not a professional one – and we can in no way adjudicate this sort of deal towards a good outcome.
>
> We’ve had other kinds of situations that we cannot help and shouldn’t be involved in – suicide notes, for example – they may be a cry for help and we’re sympathetic to anyone who is in that much pain – but we are totally unequipped to handle this kind of thing. We shouldn’t be expected to be able to handle it, either. This is not the suicide prevention line.
>
> Can we judge that the thoughts were “normal?” Not really. Should we be put in a position to have to judge such things? No.
>
> If someone cut their hand and was bleeding all over the place and came here to report on it we’d tell em to go get a bandage, to go to the hospital, to get direct help, to stop writing posts about their bleeding hand and go get it fixed. This is the same thing.
So it seems to me that the thing that got the thread closed was the OP’s use of the single word “psychotic”. If the OP had simply referred to “irrational thoughts” and otherwise been the same word-for-word, would it have been allowed to remain open? Because, IIRC, we had another thread not too long ago on exactly this same topic, and there was no problem.
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### Author:  [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/9 "2010-03-12T21:50:10Z")
I’m really baffled about this thread closing too. There was nothing that indicated psychosis or mental illness in the OP’s post, just the workings of a normal human brain.
Assuming for a second she was off her rocker… just because she used the wrong words to describe her affliction this thread was closed? Yet the threads in IMHO where people discuss applying therapeutic techniques to cope with depression or the Pit Threads where everyone psychologically tortures the mentally ill… those are okay? Seriously, we have ‘‘I’m batshit insane’’ threads on the Dope on a daily basis. This makes no sense, I don’t even see a precedent for it, and I think you killed an interesting/promising thread for no good reason at all.
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### Author:  [@Rushgeekgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rushgeekgirl)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/10 "2010-03-12T21:55:26Z")
I really just do not understand the interpretation of some rules on this board.
Perhaps if “psychotic” were replaced with “goofy”? Would that have made it okay?
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### Author:  [@Rack-a-Bones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rack-a-Bones)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/11 "2010-03-12T21:58:48Z")
Thanks for the explanation. It all seemed pretty tongue-in-cheek to me but I can see your point.
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### Author:  [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/12 "2010-03-12T22:01:43Z")
Yeah, that one made me scratch my head too. Maybe **Czarcasm** just looked at the thread title and the OP’s “So, should I admit myself?” comment? My impression was that that last line was tongue-in-cheek and not actually a request for medical advice, but if you were looking at those alone and didn’t catch the _sarcasm_ (sorry, couldn’t resist :D), it might indeed look like something more serious than it actually was.
It seems obvious to me that there’s nothing inherent in the subject matter of the thread that warrants or even suggests “getting help,” professional or otherwise.
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### Author:  [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/13 "2010-03-12T22:37:59Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#):
>
> While we can discuss nearly anything here at the Dope – that’s the hope, anyway – there are some things that are too difficult to handle.
>
> Anyone who admits to “psychotic thoughts,” for example, is asked to stop soliciting comment on a mere message board and go get some help. Because what can we do for them? Nothing. And this is a situation that requires outside assistance. This is not a therapy outlet – at least not a professional one – and we can in no way adjudicate this sort of deal towards a good outcome.
>
> We’ve had other kinds of situations that we cannot help and shouldn’t be involved in – suicide notes, for example – they may be a cry for help and we’re sympathetic to anyone who is in that much pain – but we are totally unequipped to handle this kind of thing. We shouldn’t be expected to be able to handle it, either. This is not the suicide prevention line.
>
> Can we judge that the thoughts were “normal?” Not really. Should we be put in a position to have to judge such things? No.
>
> If someone cut their hand and was bleeding all over the place and came here to report on it we’d tell em to go get a bandage, to go to the hospital, to get direct help, to stop writing posts about their bleeding hand and go get it fixed. This is the same thing.
And yet, it was established that it WASN’T a case of psychotic thoughts – it was something very common and everyone has these kinds of thoughts. They’re freaky, yeah, but they’re not psychotic, and after the initial OP, it was a thread about medical advice. I think you’re reaching here.
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/14 "2010-03-12T23:05:14Z")
I rarely chime in on such matters, but that closing seems clearly unwarranted, and suggests either a way-too-cursory skimming of the OP or a rather silly overreaction on the part of the staff.
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### Author:  [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)
#### Post date: [March 12, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/15 "2010-03-12T23:40:33Z")
My take is that when the OP asked if s/he should be admitted, it became an asking for medical advice.
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/16 "2010-03-13T00:35:12Z")
> [@picunurse](#):
>
> My take is that when the OP asked if s/he should be admitted, it became an asking for medical advice.
The OP was being rhetorically facetious.
My Gawd. The level of paranoia among some of the mods about allowing a thread that might even be remotely construed as medical (or legal) advice is unbelievable. For crissakes, “Yahoo Answers” (and virtually every on-line version of print newspapers for that matter) routinely fields medical questions and surely has a greater readership than the Board, yet I don’t recall any rush of suits against them.
It is beyond credulity, then, to think that someone is going to take the _SDMB_ of all sites to court because there was a discussion held there on a normal facet of human psychology. I embarrassed for **Czarcasm**.
Tell me, if I open a thread asking for people to list their “phobias” would it be closed because phobic disorders are best discussed with a medical professional? If yes, how about if, instead, the thread asked people to discuss their irrational fears? OK, how about things that freak you out for no rationale reason? For no good reason? I’m serious and hope you’ll answer.
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### Author:  [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2010, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/17 "2010-03-13T00:48:07Z")
> [@cjepson](#):
>
> So it seems to me that the thing that got the thread closed was the OP’s use of the single word “psychotic”. If the OP had simply referred to “irrational thoughts” and otherwise been the same word-for-word, would it have been allowed to remain open? Because, IIRC, we had another thread not too long ago on exactly this same topic, and there was no problem.
Wasn’t that the one where someone mused about the urge to jump when they were enjoying the view? I’m fairly certain I’ve read the “Imp of the Perverse” comment before. It was ridiculous to close this recent thread as the OP was clearly not referring to honest to Og psychosis, but meant the kooky weird stuff that flits through people’s minds.
> [@picunurse](#):
>
> My take is that when the OP asked if s/he should be admitted, it became an asking for medical advice.
It was a joke.
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### Author:  [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/18 "2010-03-13T01:52:52Z")
> [@Eats\_Crayons](#):
>
> It was a joke.
Can we get this thread re-opened, please?
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### Author:  [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/19 "2010-03-13T04:04:23Z")
> [@Rack-a-Bones](#):
>
> Thanks for the explanation. It all seemed pretty tongue-in-cheek to me but I can see your point.
I’m not so sure. Pouring tapioca pudding on the dog is tongue-in-cheek; pouring boiling water on it, not so much.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [March 13, 2010, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-psychotic-thoughts-thread-closed/532282/20 "2010-03-13T04:13:59Z")
It wasn’t the word “Psychotic” in the title that caused me to close the thread.
First paragraph: “You’d never act on them, of course (I hope!), but I’m really hoping I’m not alone in this and that I am still sane. I mentioned this to my husband last night and asked if he had similar thoughts, and he acted like I was crazy and denied he ever has such thoughts.”
I’m not seeing much kidding around there, personally. The next three paragraphs describe fantasies about pouring boiling water over a dog, stabbing her husband in the leg and driving over a cliff. The OP concludes with “These thoughts happen about once every few days. Sometimes they are horrible enough that I have to immediately distract myself because I’m horrified at the thought I just had and if I allow a mental image to form, I might get very upset.” I’m not getting the giggles reading this.
At this point, the “So, should I commit myself” sign off is just the icing on the cake. Claims that particular line was just a big josh doesn’t, in my mind, negate the rest of the post.
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