Hello,

I have been wondering if there is a danger that actively participating in a health forum over time can actually skew one's perception of how dire the situation could be for a prognosis.

In a nutshell, the majority of the posts are going to be from people who really have it tough or from people who are in a phase when they are really finding it difficult.

I know people do share success stories and stay to help others (which is important and really wonderful) but for the most part people are the most motivated to post when they need help. Once the situation isn't as bad then they happily move on with life. I doubt if people post "I am having a great day today" as much as they post their questions and frustrations.

For example, for many people chemo-induced neuropathy goes away. However, I bet those people have more posts asking about their concerns than later coming back and reporting that their neuropathy has gone away ... they have probably moved on and are off enjoying themselves rather than writing about enjoying themselves.

I am not criticizing health forums in any way. I just raise this point because it might be important to remind ourselves of this bias as we form overall impressions in the back of our minds about our condition while participating in health forums.

Any thoughts?