Credits: Social Media
Why Quora is the best form of therapy Ive received in years
I had come to believe no amount of therapy could help me heal or lead me to find answers to a lot of questions until I chanced upon Quora. It changed my life for good in ways I never imagined. Perhaps, it could help you, too.
No, this story isn’t intended to talk you out of conventional therapy. Like me, a lot of you may be struggling to think out loud. I have been there too, when I almost gave up. But Quora surprised me with the vast knowledge shared on its platform that you may not find elsewhere. There are several reasons I believe the Q&A website can be extremely helpful in navigating difficult thoughts and emotions.
Some of the brightest minds offer their insight
I was surprised to see the extent of humility displayed by some of the smartest people on Quora. Regardless of their profession – be it a scientist, a doctor, or a professor – everybody is viewed just as a fellow-user. My questions about mental health were met with answers backed with facts, which even conventional therapy lacked. The mind-boggling data and stats only made me realize there are many fighting battles similar to mine.
Responses are born from personal experiences
I felt I was the only one struggling with issues I couldn’t explain until I chanced upon responses on the platform born out of true and similar experiences. While my therapists could only sympathize with me, the people on the platform made me look at the issue differently, by openly sharing the tools and methods they used to emerge stronger from certain situations.
You can find a variety of answers
This is one of the main reasons I always resort to Quora – a wide variety of perspectives. Most problems I thought of as the end of the world are navigated much more easily and practically by others. Especially when it comes to mental health, it’s almost impossible to find a single solution.
For instance, expert blogs on Google may tell you to indulge in physical activities and monitor your diet to deal with anxiety, whereas a Quora user may surprise you by saying they talked to plants or their pets when they felt anxious and the same may work for you.
Quick to find and easy to access
When I couldn’t narrow down to one therapist – as one too many options can get overwhelming – Quora was always there to offer me quick advice. When I had no strength to find a mental health professional or share my problems with friends and family, it was much easier to find answers from strangers, which are moderated by the platform to ensure they are insightful.
Users boast decent language skills
Another impressive factor about the Q&A platform is the language skills of the respondents, which are mostly decent and easy to comprehend.
Of course, spelling and grammatical errors are bound to happen, but even answers constructed with half-decent sentences successfully drive the point home. Well, isn’t that what you’re looking for? Also, the fact that Quora allows you to post in many languages other than English is an extremely helpful feature.
You end up finding more than you asked for
More often than not, I have ended up finding answers to questions that never occurred to me. As Quora shows answers to related questions, you can easily navigate from one topic to another, which you may have not known existed.
As issues related to mental health fall on a broad spectrum, discussions around related topics contributed significantly to self-awareness and broadened my knowledge, which was paramount to my healing.
