Well, my “I” is a bit fuzzier than most people’s, so the benefit to me is more about the benefit to my goals than the benefit to my body/mind locus, if that makes any sense?
And while the internet is a terrible place to find such people, I’m a bit isolated in real life, and tend to cause friendships to detonate spectacularly due to weird emotional resonance issues and generally freaking the hell out of people. So the level of detachment afforded by a forum is probably a better option, in the long run.
“Benefit to you” is defined in exactly the manner in which it is; I have some conscious input into what benefits me, but not conscious fiat.
If you have trouble interacting long-term with people, try a different style: meet people in a strongly structured format and only slowly move outside of that structure. I find gaming clubs useful for that; bridge might be the best case, because it is very much structured even in playing, and is normally a significantly different demographic than I think you are.
What I am suggesting you look for is an amateur counselor. Professional counseling is expensive, ineffective, and scary (ask anyone who’s been threatened with institutionalization). I think that finding one in meatspace is a better return on investment for your time than finding one on the internet.
Well, my “I” is a bit fuzzier than most people’s, so the benefit to me is more about the benefit to my goals than the benefit to my body/mind locus, if that makes any sense?
And while the internet is a terrible place to find such people, I’m a bit isolated in real life, and tend to cause friendships to detonate spectacularly due to weird emotional resonance issues and generally freaking the hell out of people. So the level of detachment afforded by a forum is probably a better option, in the long run.
“Benefit to you” is defined in exactly the manner in which it is; I have some conscious input into what benefits me, but not conscious fiat.
If you have trouble interacting long-term with people, try a different style: meet people in a strongly structured format and only slowly move outside of that structure. I find gaming clubs useful for that; bridge might be the best case, because it is very much structured even in playing, and is normally a significantly different demographic than I think you are.
What I am suggesting you look for is an amateur counselor. Professional counseling is expensive, ineffective, and scary (ask anyone who’s been threatened with institutionalization). I think that finding one in meatspace is a better return on investment for your time than finding one on the internet.