Mr Lasastryke posted... going to have to go with no.
it's not that it's been 100% bad or that there haven't been times that i greatly enjoyed being here but yeah, overall, i wouldn't say my past 16 years on this board have been good for my mental health. i also think it's turned me into a more unpleasant person.
This.
When I was younger, Board 8 was my online life. And I had problems here. I had friends, but also enemies, and those enemies weren't good for my mental health. But as an adult, it's been better because of a few good friends I've made that made positive impacts on my life.
Those people are the positives of this board for me (rather than the board itself) and it's been huge. I've flown a few times to see a friend I met here and it's been great. A group of friends I have IRL would have never happened if it weren't for another friend. I'm not sure the people involved want me to say who they are (but they're welcome to say who they are if they want) but it means so much.
In recent years, I've been tackling depression and anxiety more publicly and the board has been supportive of that. It's been great to see and it has saved my life. But I do believe that, at the same time, some of my issues were worsened by the more toxic members of the board and the impacts last to this day since those things pile up.
So overall? It hasn't been healthy. But there are some awesome people that make it worth it nonetheless.
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<D