I can’t speak for other professions, and it might help that there’s more demand than supply for nurses in most places, but nobody in hiring has ever seemed to care what school I went to. I went to a small private school, and I passed the same certification exam and have the same professional license as anyone who went to an ivy league school or a state school. 🤷

Eh, I have worked in 2 psychiatric hospitals in the USA. Neither have interior pictures posted online - it’s not that they’re trying to hide anything, it’s probably just that it never occurred to anyone with authority that making photos available could be helpful/useful. The only time I’ve seen interior photos online is the websites of private/for-profit places that wanted to show off how nice their facility is in order to attract customers.

That said, whether CAPS has something to hide is a question beyond me.

Don’t apologize for being yourself.

(Unless you’re a narcissist. Then you probably should apologize.)

For me, it depends how those hours are grouped. I currently work five 8-hour days and hate it. I miss working three 12’s. I only work a few more hours per week doing 8’s than I did with 12’s, but I have two thirds more commute time, and never have a weekday off, so it feels like I work almost twice as much. And it’s a pain trying to schedule appointments for anything, since I work the same hours as doctors, banks, etc.

Neither of those are examples of government databases though? The first was a (disturbingly, comedically) poorly secured private database, and the second an instance of a single individual being targeted and their records accessed illegally…

Certainly, data breaches happen, but I’m not sure what your point is specifically.

I’ve been working on myself a lot recently and realized that I can’t do this alone anymore (or rely on Internet strangers to talk about my issues). I feel like I finally have the strength to ask for help in the real world. I’ve just never done this before.

That’s awesome! Be sure to acknowledge your own effort and reflect on the progress you’ve made, especially whenever you’re feeling stuck or frustrated about the things you feel still need work.

What’s it like? Is it warm and fuzzy, or cold and analytical? (Does it feel like someone is providing care and comfort, or is it more like an emotionally detached scientist meticulously studying you and scribbling down notes while mumbling “Hmm, I see, I see” while you yap at them?)

Maybe yes, or maybe no, or maybe some or all or none of the above. As others have noted, therapists can come to their work with a variety of different backgrounds, potentially trained in a variety of different methods and philosophies, with different ideas about the how and the why and the nature of the patient-therapist relationship. They also come with their own personalities, which influences all of this. A good therapist will do their best to make the interaction something that works for you. Even so, as others have mentioned, sometimes it can take time to find a good fit. The first time I saw a therapist, I felt like it just wasn’t clicking, they weren’t understanding me, and we weren’t getting anywhere, even after a few months of weekly sessions. So I stopped going and languished for a while. Eventually I decided to give it another try, and found someone who really helped me make progress with my anxiety. Much as you couldn’t get along with just anybody as a roommate, or not just anybody could be your best friend, or not just any shoe will fit your foot, so too can not just any anybody be a good therapist for you. So, don’t get discouraged if the first therapist you meet doesn’t seem like a good fit - it happens sometimes.

Do you start to see results right away, or are things slow at first?

Something like treating a specific phobia (e.g. spiders or elevators) often sees noticeable results faster than treating complex trauma from years-long childhood abuse. It just depends. It depends what you need help with, what you’re willing and able to tolerate, and the methods used, but generally progress is slow to get started. Expect the first session or two to be pretty much just the therapist getting to know you, what your concerns are, and where you’re already at with the work you’ve done yourself. Also, working through trauma and anxiety and big feelings is really hard sometimes, so expect there to be difficult points where you feel like you’re not making any progress, or sessions that make you feel emotionally drained. But, if you feel like something isn’t working, or it’s causing you too much distress, or any other concern, then don’t fret or hesitate to say so. Any half decent therapist will listen to your concerns and do their best to help address them.

How much stuff is recorded in a database that other systems can look up?

It depends what you mean by “other systems”? Some electronic medical records systems are accessible across an organization, and rarely in between organizations who use the same software, but even then it should only ever be accessed by someone who is involved in your care/treatment. And even then, psychotherapy notes typically have an extra layer of privacy and legal protection. Nothing is automatically getting sent to like a government database, if that’s what you’re concerned about (at least, not in the USA - but I assume/hope it’s similar in most places?). If you use insurance, they’ll have to give the insurer certain details like a diagnosis code and length of sessions, but nothing more detailed than that.

I wish you well! It has been a bumpy road sometimes, but going to therapy has significantly improved my life.

I get that we don’t think straight in those moments of our life, but it’s such a horrible thing to force on someone and their conscience…

I’m a nurse in a psychiatric hospital. When someone is actively suicidal, they indeed are not thinking straight. They are (usually) just looking for a way to escape their pain. Actively experiencing pain (be it physical or mental) reduces our capacity for empathy - that is, to consider how our actions will impact others.

I have had countless patients tell me their method/plan for suicide was to jump in front of traffic, jump from an overpass, lay on a road, lay on train tracks, etc… and none of them are ever, in those moments, thinking about how it will effect other people. Not because they wouldn’t care, but because they are simply unable to while in that state of mind.

I’ve had some who, once they were feeling better, shared about how they eventually realized how it would have impacted the driver of the vehicle (or the person who would find their body if it was by another method). But that usually only happens once they’re no longer actively wanting to die.

I’ve also had several patients who were the person to find a loved one post-suicide. It messed them up.

I’m guessing the concern would be resolving them to the wrong address, either to censor or to serve disinformation.

For practical stuff like that, I find directly searching on YouTube to be the most useful. The wealth of free practical instruction available on YouTube is staggering. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help for those who want the information in written form, and a not insignificant proportion of it is by amateurs who have no idea what they’re doing nor know what the word “safety” means.

I don’t know why you’re booing; it was a well-timed joke.

Titanosaurs! 100+ feet long, 100+ tonnes. Imagine if a blue whale had legs and a long neck. And it walked around. We would be like mice to them, or insects to the largest ones.

Stegosaurs! For those who don’t know how the name came about, look it up if you’d like a chuckle.

I’m the same. Best I can do is read as fast as a kinda fast talker? I do not comprehend how a person can read much faster than speaking.

The worst part is: the wealthiest few of them could each, individually, if they wanted to, end world hunger permanently with their current wealth. Estimates I’ve read range $40b per year or something like $250-300b just once to set up sustainable long-term solutions globally.

Musk, Zuckerberg, or Bezos could end hunger globally and permanently. Any one of them, individually, could do it. If the richest 10 billionaires all pitched in a portion, they’d all recoup everything they spent within a couple years at worst. If the richest 100 did, many of them wouldn’t even notice the expenditure.

But it would only take 1 of them.

Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica): Amateurs!

Huh. Is it a rule or an instance culture thing? Do you know what was the impetus?

As one of those friends, I appreciate the thought, but also was definitely a little confused until you explained it.

Yep. I tried it because of TNG, and found I rather liked it. Now I drink it near daily. I also opted to try Yorkshire Gold after Patrick Stewart mentioned in an interview that he prefers it over Earl Grey, and I found I don’t prefer it. Plain black teas are fine, but … they’re not my cup of tea.

I tend to go for rooibos when I want something without the caffeine.

They also call themselves “the party of law and order”, but made a convicted felon their king. They also say they favor “small government”, but try to use the government to dictate what people can do with their own bodies. They also say they’re defenders of free speech, but then call the news media “the enemy of the people”. They also portray themselves as the party of Christianity, but actively try to do everything the opposite of what Jesus Christ taught.

The Republican party isn’t known for being honest.

Hear me out: Taken, with muppets. Liam Neeson reprises as the token human character.