Forums » Smalltalk » Mental Health and RP

Hey y'all, how's it going?

So lately this year, I've been dealing with some pretty severe health issues, and the one that I'm most concerned about is mental health. This community is so open with how things are dealt with and I've never met any kinder individuals online.

So, my question is How do you balance mental health and RP?

I grew up with the concept of keeping personal issues close to the chest, such as not posting anything or saying anything you wouldn't want published in a newspaper. Communication is a wonderful thing, but I feel horrific for accidentally ghosting people.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Much love.
Doiteain

For me I use RP as a distraction from life, not that I avoid life and my issues entirely, but RP is a nice way for me to just not have to deal with it for a bit, give myself a break from it all and just escape into my own little world of creativity with my friends

RP for me has always been about imaging a happier place for me since I'm always pretty down and tired. It's a distraction, essentially. So when I'm feeling sad, anxious or something similar, I RP.

However, the point at which you know you should either stop, or tone it down is when RPing and getting out responses starts to feel like a chore. I burned myself out completely and ended up dropping 99% of my perfectly healthy and active RPs because typing out responses felt too much like a chore, not a hobby. If it starts to feel like that for any reason, it's usually best just to send people a quick message.

"Hi! I might stop responding for a while as RP is beginning to feel a bit like a chore and is taking up too much effort. I'll get back to you as soon as you can, but for now, I apologise." or perhaps something similar.

You don't need to go into depth, but it should solve the accidental ghosting issue.

Totally agree

Yeah and if all else fails (like if messaging people seems too hard), a profile note saying you're taking some time off can be helpful. Sorry to hear you've been going through rough stuff! *hugs*

I think it's good to at least communicate if you feel like you need a break, even if you don't want to share any details about why you want a break.

Me, I had to back out of a few games, including one that only ever got an opener from the other person. Originally, I thought it would just be a bit of a delay, but I've updated them a couple times since then; I still haven't responded IC in months now. I tried to be clear that don't know when/if I ever will get back into it, and as long as it's been, what'll probably happen is one day I'll randomly reply IC along with a note that it's fine if they don't feel up to continuing it anymore.

When you do end up ghosting someone, if you eventually feel like you could explain at a later point, a lot of folks are usually pretty understanding. Sometimes it's just too hard to communicate when something is going on, and sometimes you might not even be able to access the site if you wanted to communicate. Again, the level of detail is up to you.

And if you want to work on being more open about your mental health, depending on how you view things, I have a little trick that might help. Something that helps me to discuss my own stuff more openly (and with that, to feel less shame about it and get some sense of being constructive with it) is to focus on modelling behavior. I think it's good and healthy for people to be more at ease sharing their feelings, and so I practice normalizing such sharing by sharing my own. There's definitely still times I don't - a lot, actually - and so I also remind myself that it's okay not to model it all the time. I think it can be helpful, but it's not a responsibility I actually owe anyone. If you think that could help you, awesome! If not, no worries, and I wish you the best.

Honestly, I'm the strange one. I have BP2, BPD, MDD, and GAD. One would think I couldn't even begin to think about RP?

Wrong.

RP is sort of an escape for me. It distracts me from my unpleasant thoughts, my cycling, everything. Honestly, I owe a lot to the people who put up with me while they help me tap into my muse and allow me to escape from my reality.

Though for someone who isn't like me, I'd say do what you can. If you don't feel like RP, don't do it. I'm more than positive that your partner will be understanding. If not, then did you really want them as a partner?

Happy trails, my friend. Good luck!

So far as I can tell, a list of diagnoses and often an effort to get some escape is the norm around here, actually.

For me it's MDD, GAD, ADHD, some form of complex trauma (it's been measured but not officially identified), and I have a strong suspicion of undiagnosed cyclothymia. And a mild math disorder, but that's a different sort of thing and not really an issue now that counting/math isn't a duty anymore (would have been nice to know back in school and in past jobs, though).

Thank you all for your input!! All of it is incredibly helpful. I'd love to talk to y'all more often if possible.

I have Fibromyalgia, most of you already know that. It comes with its own set of mental issues, namely brain fog, which is another term for severe forgetfulness especially in the middle of speaking.

I was diagnosed this year with Complex PTSD.

I also have severe Depression.

Lovely little cocktail of things.

My inbox is always open if needed

Well, some of us are in the small, more mental health focused Here For You group. It's a little more balanced between privacy and community.

And I'm not really picky about my inbox, but I am terrible at keeping a conversation going.

I suffer from depression, anxiety and c-PTSD.

For me, roleplay is actually my escape from the real world. I dont have to be me or deal with my issues for a little while.

Sometimes things get too heavy and im unable to get a post out but if that's the case I know I need time for myself to focus my mind.

Same lovey. I’m always here to talk if you need. Plus maybe we can role play together sometime.

I have bad anxiety and depression, just joining this site last night and forcing myself to socialize has been a struggle. But like everyone else RPing is an escape for me, you can't think about what's scary or wrong in life when you're focusing on the next installment of your saga. It can be hard getting there for me, but once I do I'm usually quite happy.

I also have various health issues that cause migraines and headaches, so RPing can be almost impossible sometimes. People can be very understanding that life doesn't revolve around RPing, and thus they can't always expect replies constantly. As long as I explain why everyone is usually content.