TOPIC: Suicide and emotional distress. What can ZARP do?

With the recent passing of WoW streamer Reckful, it has bought to the forefront of our minds the role we all play as gamers to help support each other and build each other up. Every life is incredible and it’s worth living every moment. We have noticed a build up of toxic behaviour from a number of people again recently in the community. If you think you might have been one of those people can you, please take this moment to think and reflect.

How are your actions and words effecting the other people who play ZARP? Nobody is completely perfect and we all should take a moment to answer that question. Is there anything you could do better to be kinder and help within the community? Have you been involved in any drama or perhaps gone along with your friends recently in a toxic manner? Online communications have real effects. What you do and say can affect someone’s life and mental health. Please help us improve ZARP and the wider Garry’s Mod community by changing your behaviour if you can.

If you have been experiencing lows recently in your mental health or even having thoughts about suicide. You are not alone. Talk to someone you trust, even if that is someone in ZARP. We as a CM team are always open to talk. You could also talk to a doctor in confidence or your mental health crisis team if you have one. If you are worried about someone else, do not be shy to speak up too. Tell someone close to them about your concerns or talk them yourself if you feel it might help. You can also contact a number of fantastic organisations. We’d like to recommend this list compiled by the BBC: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4WLs5N...ormation-and-support or this list internationally: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines

Thank you for this, It will for sure change people and maybe change some little aspects about me. People sometimes don't think before they act on the internet because I guess it is behind a screen and they don't think about the damage that it can cause.

Wow, really didn't expect this. I'm really happy to see you make a statement on this Chute.

I agree with people not fully understanding the weight that their actions or words have on others and how that could affect them, especially if they're feeling low already. I mean, look at the people in Zarp in the past that have been ruthlessly harassed, it's all got to them at some point no matter who it was and that stuff needs to stop.

I personally think everyone can do better though, including myself. It's really not hard to be nice to someone or speak to another person whether they be your friend or not when they're feeling low. Everyone is important and things always get better, if you're going through rough times right now, it's always important to keep a goal in mind, always be working towards something!

Speak to loved ones if you're feeling low, it may feel daunting at first but it really does help to put in perspective how your mind is working against you, and how things really aren't as bad as they seem.

- I would also like to state that my DMs are always open to anyone that needs someone to talk to and I genuinely mean that.

Thank you guys for taking the time to not only write this post out but to be so willing to help those who may be struggling to find help and listen to them. There are so many amazing people here and it’s such a nice sighting to see, I truly hope to see you guys take a much more strict approach to abusive behaviour that are personal and targeted to people who may get targeted here.

I would like to personally thank Chute for taking my message into consideration about taking stance at those who may struggle with their mental health.

Quite happy to see this, glad you took time out of your day to make a post about this Chute, thank you!

it's quite nice to see a post like this and to see that you took your time to write this and I hope stuff might change and become less toxic and a more friendly environment because you never know if the stuff that you say to others affects them or not

Your mental health is something incredibly important and we all need to look after each other. Especially while the world is in such a state. We play video games to immerse ourselves in a fun world away from the real world. Zarp is a great place to do this but there are times where no game can distract from your real life issues. If anyone feels like they need help or find some kind of support please do not stay quiet. There are so many people like narexa in this community who will take the time out to listen to you. Just please talk about it to someone.

My discord is Nay#2844 if anyone needs someone to talk to. Im happy to take the time to listen.

Probs one of the best ever forum posts. Does mean a lot to a lot of people. Gonna keep it short and sweet with a massive thank you to you Chute

I would take a moment to reflect myself and apologize for what I did in the past.
I mean its a year ago but still here being sorry for it, the poor attitude I had has changed over the year.
Would love to see this place being more friendly and supporting for those who suffer from mental illnesses and Depression in particular.

If anyone wants to talk because I have been through it myself, feel free to add me on discord.

With that being said "hope everyone will have a great day"

rip byron

I'm going to link Kurze's post as well. Thank you Chute!

<3

it's no secret that i haven't been the friendliest due to a combination of poor impulse control & a rather pessimistic/cynical outlook on most things, for which i'd like to apologise because i oftentimes wholly dismiss the impact of the words i say because i find it hard to connect the person on the screen to someone behind it and actually place a human there

i've dealt with all manners of mental health struggles & my current mental health is rather poor, so truthfully i should be more considerate towards the impact words can have on the general state of a person because i know just how detrimental they can be when already in a bad place

hoping to work towards solutions this year & see what can genuinely be done about my ever-declining mental state, because while some may people consider this potentially distasteful, i simply don't want to end up like reckful

rest in peace

sorIe wrote: I relate to this post I was always toxic, still am but not in a hurtfull way I like to think just more sarcastic bitch type of toxic, but I thinks it's due to the pain I was going through and we all go through rough periods in life and have hard times and in the end they make us who we are and stronger as a person I've been through some serious shit and I would not change it as I got through it and am now thankfull sometimes we just need a little help to get through it, I wish you the best sorle.

Thanks.

Great guy Chute for writing this, this community has so many toxic and disrespectful players and it need to stop. People as myself used to get targeted for so many things both in and outside of Zarp through steam, discord, facebook and other things. It got to the point where I just didn't want to be a part of Zarp, I felt like no one dealt with anything when I still played on the servers.
People literally spent their time finding my familys information and sent my parents messages and added and harassed me over facebook and discord with alt acccounts, who does that??

Remember guys, you are worthy and have a purpose in this world regardless of what others tell you. However, I need to hit some of you with some reality. YOU need to be the one finding your purpose and happiness, and you cannot expect this to come "spontaneously". The world is enormous, and there are countless amounts of opportunities you can explore. Whenever you DO get in the state of emotional distress, I hope you will be strong, and tell yourself that you will do whatever it takes to change your life. When it gets worse, make sure you seek help from your parents or professionals.

I thankfully never experienced any depression or emotional distress in my life, so I cannot really relate to those with these conditions. However, I still think that I can give some tips on how to live a happier life:

1) EXERCISE - I think that one of the reasons that I have never been depressed is because I have been doing sport all my life. It is scientifically proven that you release "feel good" hormones when you exercise. Exercising regularly will give you a goal in life and something to work hard for. If you don't like team sports, just get a gym membership or workout at home. When you work out, you will feel accomplished, and it could be the cure to your depression. Just imagine: you get into the gym, you pump the weights HARD, you feel your heart racing. You begin to sweat, and you feel your muscles aching. You continue to be consistent, and you start seeing results. How much happier would this make you? Just imagine yourself looking BUILT with juicy biceps, a THICK back, with all the guys staring at you. Wouldn't this be nice? If you end your own life, you will never be able to feel the happiness of such a journey. You can expect to see your confidence SKYROCKET too once you start seeing results. If you aren't already workout out regularity, you REALLY are missing out.

2) Get yo bitch ass sleep - I know it is hard to sleep early or enough at all in our teenage years, but I really urge you to sleep at least 8 hours per night. Sleep will do wonders for you, and getting more sleep can really improve your mental state

3) Drink more water - Probably the easiest way to increase your mental health and overall health is to drink more water. Try to get at least 3 litres in per day. You need to space it out tho and drink like 200ml per hour.

4) Stop gaming too much - This one, I can relate. When I used to game like 10 hours at a time, or just too much in general, I started feeling quite sad, depressed, and a feeling of emptiness. I started to be more responsible in the amount of time I spent gaming, and I must say it really was effective. I urge you to make changes to your gaming time too if this is the case.

5) Watch Kpop - I must say, I used to hate kpop and never watched it. However, once I started watching it, I think that it is great, and I guess I could say it boosts my happiness. I'd recommend you to start by watching the music videos by "TWICE", and you will eventually begin watching their variety shows and love them. Trust me. Once you are hooked, you will become like the Kpop master and be able to find any video easily.

These are just some tips to increase your mental health and of course, there are many other ways out there too. If you would like to have a conversation with me personally about something you are struggling and would like some tips, do not hesitate to contact me on discord Buff Horse#8847. Always remember: YOU HAVE PURPOSE and there are people who care about you, and there is always a way to improve your current state.

Definitely applies to this community

Nice to see mental health being supported like this because my mindset always used to be "oh mental health not that serious just don't feel depressed" but its definitely something that should be taken seriously so I am grateful to see the community coming together like this.

Expecially big up chute this thread wasn't necessary but it just goes to show how great of a guy he is and how much he cares about the community.

I have tried to edit your post Ezeh I hope you don't mind as the rest of it is helpful. We do need to keep this thread on topic. This is not really the right place to call out others on their past actions. We all have things to look back on and improve upon.

However so far I have been absolutely amazed by the response to this thread and want to thank everyone who has responded so far. I even had a few people come on last night to thank me personally for the thread and to tell a few stories of how ZARP has helped them through some very hard times. And I know many of you reading this can relate, for some people the friends they make in ZARP are some of their best friends and closest friends, some people have spent many years of their lives here and had some of their happiest memories here. When we all come together we can really help build each other up. Let's try and make something positive out of yet another tragic event this year with the passing of Reckful. Let's all try and make a change.

Thank you chute for taking the time to make this thread, I’m glad to see it in a community like ZARP and I’m sure a lot of people appreciate the thread and the reply’s on it.

I’ve always been open to talking with anyone really and it sucks to know there’s people hiding their feelings and it could affect a lot of people in their lives. Just know there’s so many people out there that want to help, take a moment to chat with someone, anyone, I’m sure they would be understanding of your situation and would love to help. I’m usually instantly replying to messages on discord and if you want to chat with me, mine is Hiro!#6664. I’d love to help, so please do talk to me if you need help in any way.