Dear Kaytie (or Katie?):
It’s nice to meet you too! In regard to how the forums help me: the more I learn about others, the more I understand myself; the more I understand myself, the more I understand others. I share a lot about myself when I reply to members and the more I share, the more I process my emotions and get better for it- an example of how I do it is the last post (May 13, 2022) on the first page of my School Bullying thread (currently on page 2 of the list of topics).
As far as asking other members for advice… I have done very little of that. The reasons:(1) the areas I currently need advice on require professional and expert advice that is not available here, (2) I received unasked for advice in the past that was insensitive and unkind and that left a bad taste in my mouth. (I myself gave unkind and insensitive advice in the past. I regret it and I keep working on improving my communication with members. There were times when I asked for advice from particular members with whom I communicated for a long time and trusted to be kind and sensitive.
More in regard to how the forums help me- in your other thread (which I will go to next), your input on healing from OCD helped me organize my thoughts better as I typed my reply to your original post, so I understand OCD a bit better because of you!
anita