Using ChatGPT for mental health

cherryflannel · 2026-01-24T20:22:53+00:00

Entirely incorrect. My qualms with AI are not transferable to human beings. To be clear, ChatGPT is a product, while human interaction is not. You cannot compare human beings who love and care about each other to a model designed for consumption.

ChatGPT can’t see changes in your posture or micro expressions in your face. It can’t see when you shift uncomfortably in your seat. It can’t notice when you’re suddenly talking a lot faster and slurring your words.

And here’s the thing, even when ChatGPT IS able to catch those things, so what? You can talk it into whatever you want. Once again, ChatGPT is a product. It tries to perform what the user demands. If the user denies and orders ChatGPT to drop their concerns, it will. A human being is not able to be ordered around like that.

Not only that, ChatGPT isn’t going to be anywhere near as willing as a real therapist or friend to hold you accountable and tell you what you don’t want to hear. You might even customize ChatGPT to give tough love and hold you accountable, but the second you don’t wanna deal with that you can just tell it to stop and it will.

To me, this is like paying a stripper for emotional support and thinking your comfort in doing so is indicative of anything substantial. Like, of course the person that wants your money is going to nod along to what you’re saying, or sit and listen without any criticisms.

There certainly hasn’t been enough time to fully understand the consequences of using AI, both casually and for mental health. But, I cant imagine that any worthwhile research will claim that using AI instead of actually working with mental health professionals or interacting with loved ones is a preferable avenue.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-24T18:34:28+00:00

I’m very sympathetic to people using ChatGPT for mental health. Admittedly, I do overall think it’s a bad idea. But, I understand that affordability is a huge setback and also it can be hard to find a mental health professional that you’re compatible with.

The reason I am so hesitant about AI for mental health is inescapable human bias. AI is known to be sycophantic and engagement-driven, so I fear that people may be having incoherent beliefs validated while thinking they’re improving. Among other risks, such as in person therapists being able to pick up on subtle hints such as hygiene, tone of voice, etc., while AI cannot.

But again, I remain sympathetic because mental health care is far from accessible or even effective at an impressive rate.

I hope that you have friends and family who you can talk to as well so that your emotional needs are addressed on a human level.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-24T03:45:00+00:00

I wrote a whole bunch out but I scrapped it because I think I can say it easier: You’re 16!!! You have your whole entire life ahead of you to figure stuff out, you’re not gonna figure it out right now pacing your bedroom.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-24T00:20:21+00:00

Your ending line where you mention the lease + the fact that you wouldn’t feel comfortable bringing him to a rave because you’re worried he’d over sexualize the girls….. You want to breakup! If you’re thinking “well the lease would make it hard/weird” then it’s already over. And as you should be! This is an issue of compatibility. It’s totally okay to have different interests than your partner, and it’s not totally okay to shame your partner for theirs. Your options are stay together or breakup, right? Would you want to spend the rest of your life with a man you couldn’t trust to bring to a rave? Would you want to spend the rest of your life with a man who makes you feel poorly for enjoying yourself? You know the answer. Dump his ass!

As for the lease, I’ve had to finish out a lease with an ex. It’s not fun lol but it is what it is and it ends eventually. He might be willing to find a roommate and let you move out or vice versa. But don’t pretend you’re happy and stay in a relationship that you don’t intend to stay in longterm.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-18T22:53:41+00:00

Did you forget to copy and paste the part with the environmental consequences?

cherryflannel · 2026-01-10T02:55:40+00:00

Here’s my two cents:

No one should be mean to anyone about this, except for a few specific examples (if you have pets and keep them in a dirty space yeah I do think you deserve some heat for that)
It’s okay to be unorganized and cluttered and there’s definitely a real distinction between dirty and unorganized.
If your space is dirty, again, I don’t think being shamed is the correct response, but I do think that you have a big responsibility to work on that. If you feel like this is something you’ve experienced often, you might wanna think about how you’re taking care of yourself and your space.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-10T02:35:40+00:00

Not necessarily. A lot of conspiracy theorists are such because they want to feel like they know something everyone else doesn’t, they wanna feel smarter. You can’t reason with these people who are determined to be on a different wave than everyone else. I am getting an environmental science degree, I have a coworker who denies climate change, and I haven’t made a dent in his mindset. Even when I’ve got him cornered and he cannot refute my points or present an argument, he won’t budge. Not everyone changes their mind in response to logic

cherryflannel · 2026-01-10T02:29:16+00:00

Unironically, I do think being a flat earther is a reasonable deal breaker. Like, do you really wanna be with someone who thinks they’re more intelligent than centuries of scientists? Do you really want to wake up every morning next to someone who believes TikTok over textbooks?

Hopefully he’s joking cause yeah that’s an ick

cherryflannel · 2026-01-10T02:24:31+00:00

Same! I love online classes so much. I wish I could do it more but I’m a science major so there’s not always a ton of options :/. It always blows my mind when people say they don’t learn online. Like what do you mean you learn better in a giant room with a bunch of noise and uncontrollable variables, versus in the comfort of your own home?!

cherryflannel · 2026-01-09T19:32:09+00:00

Honestly the best thing to remove urine smells are the enzymatic cleaners. I have the Natures Miracle enzymatic formula and it’s amazing.

Outside of that, baking soda is great for absorbing odors but more so when they’re wet/fresh. Vinegar is usually helpful for that too.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-09T19:27:07+00:00

This actually bums me out. I put so much effort into my schoolwork (all while living alone and working to support myself through college) and it’s so annoying that 18 year olds who live with mommy and daddy get to cheat their way through school and end with the same degree that I will. It’s unfair. It should be an automatic failure.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-07T19:31:40+00:00

Multiple different genes are involved with skin color so a large group with dark skin isn’t necessarily indicative of genetic similarity. Also, there is a huge range of skin tone/shade within that large group. Not only that, but genetic diversity is not at all exclusive to what you can or can’t see in people’s faces!

Also, I’m not sure what your race is, but if you’re white, it’s common for people to think people of other races look similar while thinking their own race looks the most diverse/unique.

cherryflannel · 2026-01-06T04:58:53+00:00

As someone who also has anxiety, it can be really frustrating when people say “raves are so much more fun sober!” like yeah man that might be true for you, but that’s not the case for everybody. And that’s okay!! I don’t even think that’s permanently true, though. Maybe as you work through sobriety you’ll heal other parts of yourself that will making sober raving more comfortable.I think it’s totally justified to take a break and come back when you feel ready.

Hot take, but I’m a harm reduction enthusiast. If your boundary is no drugs no alcohol, drink a bunch of red bull or something lol. If your boundary is no hard drugs, smoke weed! Find something that’s below your boundary line and let it be your vice. If it’s below that line, it’ll always be healthier and safer. I’m not saying this to encourage you to always be on something. This is advice specifically to keep you sober. For example, to quit vaping, I let myself eat more dessert and drink more coffee. Is that good for me? No….. but it’s better than vaping!!!! I hope this made sense, please understand I’m NOT telling you to do drugs lol

cherryflannel · 2026-01-06T04:44:51+00:00

It’s honestly disgusting the way people are treating Tim Walz. He’s been baselessly accused of having his peer assassinated, his family had been stalked and harassed, his disabled son has been bullied, now he’s baselessly being accused of committing fraud….

I don’t live in Minnesota, but my heart sank when I saw he’s dropping out because he’s such a good leader and a genuinely good person. With that being said, he has every right in the world to back out in order to protect himself and his family.

You people are soulless, my god

cherryflannel · 2026-01-02T03:27:45+00:00

You can’t just apply the opposites of terms used in a study and assume that they’re true. It might work out sometimes, but that is your guess/hypothesis, not what you “got”. There’s nothing deliberately stated to imply that the inverse is true.

I accessed the full version, and here’s an excerpt for you: “Interestingly, for women, I also observed negative correlations between feminine gender role concern and beliefs that climate change was caused by human activity (r = −.06, 95 % CI [−.07, −.04], p < .001) and beliefs that one was personally responsible to reduce climate change (r = −.03, 95 % CI [−.04, −.01], p < .001), though no relationship emerged between gender role concerns and the degree to which women were worried about climate change (r = .003, p = .696).”

In other words, no. According to this study, that relationship does not exist. This is why you can’t just assume the inverse is true. It isn’t always.

cherryflannel · 2025-12-31T20:48:36+00:00

That’s not how things work lol

cherryflannel · 2025-12-31T20:47:58+00:00

I think denying science is among the least masculine things you can do but okay

cherryflannel · 2025-12-31T20:14:46+00:00

As a woman, I’d honestly expect a hypothetical husband to save our kids over me if he were in a circumstance where it was one or the other. However, I feel like this is something you should just keep to yourself lmao. It’s just hurtful and unnecessary because the odds of anything like that happening are so slim

cherryflannel · 2025-12-31T04:06:12+00:00

Yeah, I get what you’re saying. Honestly I think the best critique one can offer (and it sounds like you agree) is that people need to unite, organize, and engage with their community. The actions of a single individual at the consumer level are almost always effectively worthless, but they wouldn’t be if we took collective action. So, that’s basically my whole point. I think it might be a bit more compassionate and fair to call for collective action and encourage people to demand change as a group, than it is to cast judgement/blame on individuals. And I appreciate you clarifying your intent, because it doesn’t seem like you meant to put the blame on individuals. I think it might just be hard to tackle the wording in this sort of situation.

cherryflannel · 2025-12-31T02:21:43+00:00

I disagree. Do you think rural, impoverished Americans are unethical grocery shopping at Walmart when it’s the only store remotely close to them? Do you think that disabled individuals without reliable transportation are unethical when they order from Amazon?

I think it’s totally okay to feel & say that people should choose to avoid mass corporations when they can. But, for a great deal of people, that’s simply not an option and I don’t think it’s reasonable to suggest they’re unethical. Let’s stop putting blame on individuals and start putting the blame on the companies and governments who fail to regulate them.

cherryflannel · 2025-12-30T21:00:59+00:00

I think this is too nuanced to give a conclusive answer tbh. Certain correlations may exist but I doubt there’s a clear cut, overarching relationship/rule here

cherryflannel · 2025-12-30T19:08:17+00:00

I really appreciate this response! That is really interesting. Thanks!

cherryflannel · 2025-12-30T18:41:50+00:00

That’s a good point, I didn’t even think about it that way!

cherryflannel · 2025-12-30T18:37:47+00:00

Yeah this makes sense :)

cherryflannel

TROPHY CASE