I comment, therefore I am

I've been really lucky that since having Marianna - in direct contrast to what I expected - my mental health has been a lot better. I've noticed it mainly through the little things, like not having the rush of panic every time I need to make a phone call to somebody I don't know well, and happily leaving online comments again even when my view is not that of the majority. When I was feeling fragile the mere idea of that would make me want to be sick. Defending my own opinions seemed as impossible a task as climbing Everest.

Every time you hit 'post' with a typo still at large, you think you're about to get ridiculed as much as a Diana Gabaldon quote on fandom_wank. (Weren't on the fandom scene? Read more HERE.)

But now I'm back blogging, debating, and commenting - though not on YouTube. It takes true bravery to dip a toe into the pit of ignorance and illiteracy that is a heated YouTube comments section.

I think it's that when you're in a good place mentally you're better able to put things into perspective. If somebody online thinks I'm wrong and calls me an idiot, well, all I have to do is prove that I'm right (99.99% of the time ;) and call them an idiot in return, should the fancy take me. If I can't be bothered, or if the idiot calling is likely to go on ad infinitum I can just log off and get on with my life. I don't need to spend time agonising over what a stranger thinks of me based on a two minute exchange on some internet forum. In the scheme of things, it just doesn't matter.

As Cracked (self billed as 'America's only humor site') notes -

It is said that opinions are like assholes: everybody has one.