I am an emotional person and a fair amount of my energy goes into controlling and modulating my emotions in my daily life. One of the things that is hard for me is how quickly I get attached to persons in RL – although I try to use good judgment so it has mostly not backfired on me as yet – and occasionally to Internet friends. It is almost a year since I joined DB and from the first moment, I was welcomed by a number of you with open arms. I value and like this community so much and it gives me unending joy so if any of you who routinely interact with me intend to disappear from here as some point, could you give me a heads up so I can say goodbye and grieve a little bit? As you can see, I am in a bit of a melancholic mood but it will pass. Have a great day you lovely Beannies!

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    Stay strong no matter what we do. I left DB in 2018 but decided to return later. Others here may decide to do this too. It is only a reflection of us as independent, fallible, humans. The tides change and the seas churn, but we all move forward.

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      @ghostoftim: Thank you for your wise words and empathy. I recognised even as I was writing my original post that my request wasn’t really practical or even necessarily feasible but couldn’t stop myself.

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    Hopefully, if people are chatting on your fan wall and responding directly regularly in the recaps etc. they will feel able to say if it’s an intentional break or permanent move away from the site. I get the impression most people have notified others but there seems to be a few who got busy and didn’t realise that the break would last as long as it did.

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    I think many do, but for others it may be unintentional breaks we take, knowing we mean to come back. If I’m ever gone for very long, trust that it’s probably work related. 😆

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      @ally-le: Thank you for taking the time to respond. Btw, I haven’t forgotten to look at your channel. In a few weeks, when I have a teaching break, will get on it.

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    I think for a lot of us, “disappearing” or taking breaks from this community ends up happening organically and not something we carefully plan out. Life…happens and sometimes we may not have the time, interest or energy to interact with others. Please know that if I just happen to disappear one day with no heads-up or messages, it’s only temporary and I intend to return as soon as I can. If in the truly unfortunate situation I have to leave permanently (very unlikely as I consider DB as a safe space where I found so many like-minded souls with the same niche interests), I will of course inform you ahead of time. I value your online-friendship (I hope I’m not being presumptuous by calling you my online friend!) too much to not do that. And I hope you’d do the same if you were to leave this community.

    Please stay strong, @dncingemma. I understand a bit about suffering through melancholia and loneliness myself. If it’s possible, try to spend time with loved ones or engage in a hobby that brings you joy. There is no guarantee it’ll make you feel better, but it’s worth a try.

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    That’s one of the hard things about internet friends. I still wonder what happened to several Beanies. My absences are due to RL issues that I hope will be resolved some time next year. I miss interacting with you and other Beanies.

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      @ndlessjoie: So true. I have been thinking about where you have been and have missed your presence here. I hope your RL issues get resolved soon and that you have the time and the energy to get back here more frequently. I’m sending you lots of good thoughts, vibes and hopes. Hang in there.

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