Forum Specific Guidelines for Recovery

New Recovery Guidelines

Guidelines:

• The site wide rules give the outline for what is and what is not acceptable in the Recovery, Mental Health, and Physical Health forums. These Forum-specific guidelines clarify those rules specifically for this area of the site.
  

Recovery is a place for Christian peer support and advice, not as a substitute for professional care, nor a place for ethical/moral discussions.

Therefore these things are considered off topic and will not be allowed in the Recovery forums:

• Promoting yourself as an expert

• Diagnosing anyone's symptoms

• Offering treatment of any kind to other members

• Prescribing over the counter remedies

• Discouraging the use of the Christian faith to cope with problems and struggles.

• Recovery Staff feel very strongly that members need to seek out real life licensed professional services and local pastoral care in addition to asking for support and advice here.

• Discouraging someone from taking prescribed medications, using or seeking professional services, using hotlines or crisis lines.

• Ethical and moral discussions. Other areas of Christian Forums deal with these topics.

• Any posts dealing with spiritual warfare will be removed.

• Asking or requesting that members engage in research topics or volunteer as research subjects, or directing web-traffic to another site for this purpose is not acceptable.

Endorsement of certain topics - This is not allowable and staff will remove any posts which endorse any of the following topics.

• drug use
• gambling
• polygamy
• extramarital or premarital sexual activity.
• homosexuality
• transsexuality
• abortion.

Recovery is a place people come to stop doing these things and using the Christian faith to help cope with problems. Other areas of CF can be used for discussions of many of these topics including, in some cases, endorsement of them. Included in this rule is posting triggers to self harmful behaviors.

When discussing over-the-counter remedies, Please use a disclaimer, like one of these examples:

• Disclaimer #1," I am not an expert in this area. I do not advocate or endorse anyone stopping regularly prescribed meds from a mental health care provider. Nor do I recommend anyone relying on OTC drugs to cure or treat depression. ALWAYS seek professional mental health care and talk to them about any questions regarding OTC drugs.

• Disclaimer #2, “I am not a health care provider. Be aware that over-the-counter (OTC) remedies may interact with any medication you are now taking and I encourage you to continue to take all prescribed medications. There may be some adverse reactions so check with your health care provider before taking any OTC remedies.

• Disclaimer #3, “Before taking any over the counter drugs, Always check with your Dr since there may be drug interactions that could affect your depression and cause you to become suicidal. These interactions could cause your med levels to be unstable and other severe reactions. Always talk to your Dr and ask questions about OTC "cures" for depression and tell them of any interest to take them."

Harmful or hurtful posts:

• Recovery staff will remove posts or threads that we think could be harmful in any way to any member or group of members, Even if the post or thread might not be intentionally harmful.

• Recovery staff will edit or remove posts that we see as being a trigger for someone who is trying to stop doing some behavior. For example, a post that might trigger someone to self injure or a trigger for people with eating disorders.

• Because of the risk of triggering suicidal thoughts in others, we remove threats and/or endorsement of suicide. This includes posting that another member others know have killed him/herself. If you are having thoughts about suicide but have no immediate plans or intentions your posts may be able to show.

• We want to allow you to have support from others but we must be careful not to have posts that might trigger others. Staff will err on the side of safety and caution for other members in these situations. Please utilize local professional services such as calling 911, going to the emergency room or to a local medical clinic.

• When Staff remove these suicidal posts or self harm posts of any kind from view we are trying to encourage the members to seek professional services in their local area and provide phone numbers to local crisis lines if available.