Topic: WCDT 2961-2965 (18-22 May 2015) (Read 26775 times)

Near Lurker · « **Reply #50 on:** 18 May 2015, 07:42 »

My guess would be this storyline will lead to Hannelore adjusting her medication... I'm wondering whether we might get a closer look at what the heck was going on when we first met her.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #51 on:** 18 May 2015, 07:59 »

Quote from: NilsO on 18 May 2015, 05:44

Quote from: BenRG on 17 May 2015, 23:24
FWIW, I'm wondering if, rather than focus on maybe being sick, Jeph will focus on how this brush with mortality affects Hannelore's thinking. Maybe she starts brooding about all the things that she hasn't done yet because she is letting her fears paralyse her. So she writes a "things to do before I die" list. Some are sweet ('Have a first kiss'), some are silly ('Eat a fantastically unhealthy but delicious meal') and some show her wilder side ('Learn to pole dance').
This is a very good and plausible theory. Although Hanners has progressed a lot throughout the series, there are a lot of phobias still remaining. My opinion is that Hanners will not be cured before she finally gets laid. A lot of hygienic phobias can be cured by irresistible libido. She may need this scare to finally break out of her shell.

Global Moderator Comment We're deliberately open to mentally ill members here and something like this is jumping on an open wound to them. Please don't. Also don't take any more steps down to the road to advocating a sex life for Hannelore: creepiness lies at the end of it.

NilsO · « **Reply #52 on:** 18 May 2015, 08:10 »

Quote from: Welu on 18 May 2015, 06:51

NilsO, OCD and mental health in general is not something that has an easy cure. People live with their mental health issues their whole lives and often only manage to find coping mechanisms that make it easier to function in daily life. Saying someone can just be "cured", especially with something as condescending as "loosen up and get laid", is ableist and ridiculously ignorant.

Think of it as a variant of exposure therapy. It might work. But my main argument was that your deeper instincts may overcome phobias, rational thinking, and learned behavior. Countless sex scandals support this theory.

Relax, it is just a comic.

Detachable Felix · « **Reply #53 on:** 18 May 2015, 08:10 »

I know there's a like button on this part of the forum but I feel a click of a button can't express how much I agree with Welu and IICIH.

Thrillho · « **Reply #54 on:** 18 May 2015, 08:16 »

Quote from: NilsO on 18 May 2015, 08:10

Quote from: Welu on 18 May 2015, 06:51
NilsO, OCD and mental health in general is not something that has an easy cure. People live with their mental health issues their whole lives and often only manage to find coping mechanisms that make it easier to function in daily life. Saying someone can just be "cured", especially with something as condescending as "loosen up and get laid", is ableist and ridiculously ignorant.
Think of it as a variant of exposure therapy. It might work. But my main argument was that your deeper instincts may overcome phobias, rational thinking, and learned behavior. Countless sex scandals support this theory.

Relax, it is just a comic.

Two mods have requested you stop this line of discussion, and I'm a third telling you not to. And being patronising towards one such mod is not going to help matters.

Global Moderator Comment This discussion is over.

Welu · « **Reply #55 on:** 18 May 2015, 08:32 »

Global Moderator Comment While this thread may be about a comic and its characters, as IICIH said, this is a supportive place for those with mental health issues and the mod team works to ensure that.

You wouldn't (or at least really shouldn't) tell a person that getting laid will cure them of their mental health issues so don't say that about a fictional character in a place where it will be seen by people dealing with similar issues (or preferably don't say it at all). It's gross, over-simplifies the problems, and is incredibly insulting.

That is my final comment on this.

Thrillho · « **Reply #56 on:** 18 May 2015, 08:43 »

Back to the comic.

She scratched a spot, or a mole, and it bled. That shit happens to me all the time. I assumed this comic was an indication of 'Hannelore freaks out over something, perhaps unnecessarily' rather than 'THERE IS SOMETHING MEDICALLY WRONG WITH HER'.

BenRG · « **Reply #57 on:** 18 May 2015, 08:47 »

Quote from: Gareth on 18 May 2015, 08:43

She scratched a spot, or a mole, and it bled. That shit happens to me all the time. I assumed this comic was an indication of 'Hannelore freaks out over something, perhaps unnecessarily' rather than 'THERE IS SOMETHING MEDICALLY WRONG WITH HER'.

As I posted yesterday, Jeph said that this week's strips are very much something from his own life. We know that Jeph on occasion has near-disabling anxiety attacks and Hannelore who, if anything else, has even more serious anxiety issues, must suffer in the same manner sometimes. So, yes, this week is going to be about there being something medically wrong with Hannelore but not any kind of dermatological complaint. Instead, I suspect that we're going to see just how destructive anxiety can sometimes be to a sufferer and how a very good set of friends can help her at least confront it if not cure it.

Thrillho · « **Reply #58 on:** 18 May 2015, 08:54 »

Probably a poor choice of phrasing on my part, I didn't mean to imply that anxiety is not also a medical issue. I get anxiety attacks also, I just - I dunno, I never considered them medical, more mental health... but then your brain is in your body...

[Lex Luger]I DON'T KNOW[/Lex Luger]

Timemaster · « **Reply #59 on:** 18 May 2015, 09:53 »

I only hope for Hannelore that she will not freak out completely and get herself in danger of any kind. I think of the old episode when she hit her head on the cupboard door (wearing the worry-hat) and recieved a bleeding headwound.
She panicked and ran only half-dressed through the city to CoD to get help.
She has come a long way since then, but mortal fear of cancer may lead to completely irrational behaviour.

Keep calm, Hanners. Everything will be fine.

TM

Verteiron · « **Reply #60 on:** 18 May 2015, 10:04 »

Oddly, my first thought was that it was a staph cyst that had gone unnoticed and drained overnight. I've never had one, but a friend of mine did, in almost that same spot, and it left a massive (for lack of a better word) crater in her skin. She had no indication it was there until the night before, when it itched a little, no redness. She thought it was a bug bite. By morning it had left an unspeakably nasty mess in her sheets and turned into an enormous scab, after which it healed up on its own without further intervention (which was good, because she had no health insurance).

Apparently cleanliness isn't the issue, it's just a Thing That Happens.

If it was a cyst, though, I can see where it would be particularly traumatic for poor Hanners. Staph are bacteria, and she's (at least) OCD and germaphobic. This might set off a whole series of self-destructive neuroses she previously had under control

The Staph thing would certainly match up with Jeph's comment about gross pictures, as they can turn quite nasty.

chaospersonified · « **Reply #61 on:** 18 May 2015, 10:31 »

Quote from: Verteiron on 18 May 2015, 10:04

The Staph thing would certainly match up with Jeph's comment about gross pictures, as they can turn quite nasty.

My dear, sweet god, this checks out. I mean, most of them were okay, but at least a few were... Yeah.

War Sparrow · « **Reply #62 on:** 18 May 2015, 10:52 »

I would like to second the scratched mole theory. I have peeled of a mole before(Do Not Do This) and it looked like Hannelore's sore.

Though my first thought was that Pintsize somehow punched a hole in her skin, but that seemed a bit violent for him.

Endellion · « **Reply #63 on:** 18 May 2015, 11:00 »

If this is not a cancer story...

Is it Lupus?

Welu · « **Reply #64 on:** 18 May 2015, 11:04 »

Zebediah · « **Reply #65 on:** 18 May 2015, 13:53 »

By the way, can I get a copy of that poster on Hannelore's wall?

Except with a tiger instead of a bunny. Because being told not to worry every morning by a tiger would be totally badass.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #66 on:** 18 May 2015, 14:28 »

Quote from: Doc on 18 May 2015, 04:35

ketchup

Shame on you, that's disgusting.

DSL · « **Reply #67 on:** 18 May 2015, 17:59 »

Bunny bite. See that critter in the lower left of Panel 1? Little bastard's not to be trusted. He probably put up the poster, too.

chaospersonified · « **Reply #68 on:** 18 May 2015, 19:01 »

Comic. FAYE! HANNERS! PANIC!

~~mustang6172~~ · « **Reply #69 on:** 18 May 2015, 19:21 »

Worry Hat engage!

Zebediah · « **Reply #70 on:** 18 May 2015, 19:24 »

WebMD results: You are going to die. In fifty years, give or take fifty years.

Penquin47 · « **Reply #71 on:** 18 May 2015, 20:00 »

You know, I've looked up my symptoms on the internet a lot. Only twice have I come to the conclusion that I was gonna die.

Once I was right about the diagnosis but wrong about the prognosis. The other time I have no idea, the symptoms went away on their own within a few hours so I figured meh, can't have been that bad.

Perfectly Reasonable · « **Reply #72 on:** 18 May 2015, 20:04 »

What's worrysome about this is that she didn't know it was there previously. I'd expect someone like Hanners to know every inch of her skin -- using mirrors and cameras as necessary. Then again, OCD doesn't necessarily make you a hypochondriac. But it wouldn't help...

aliensporebomb · « **Reply #73 on:** 18 May 2015, 20:17 »

Faye will help! Faye might seem like she's just barely recovering from her recent scare but she seems like she's the like of person with a level head on her shoulders and if you asked her a serious question she would be able to detect if Hanners was overreacting or if she should get it checked out.

She will probably recommend she get it looked at just to be sure. Just thinking. This way even if it's probably nothing that's the way to be sure and also a way of not pooh-poohing her friend when she's genuinely in distress over this.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #74 on:** 18 May 2015, 21:16 »

We've seen short bursts of possible hypochondria from Hannelore.

Kugai · « **Reply #75 on:** 18 May 2015, 21:27 »

Called it

Now it's up to Faye to be the level headed one

*Crosses fingers and toes*

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #76 on:** 18 May 2015, 21:52 »

Well. If Hanners looked it up on the internet, it must be true.

ummm.. Can someone find my eyes? I think I rolled them to hard and they fell out... What does WebMD say about that?

SubaruStephen · « **Reply #77 on:** 18 May 2015, 21:53 »

She looked up her symptoms on the Internet?

Yep, she's a goner, going to cease to be, soon to bring down the curtain and join the choir invisible, she'll be an ex-Hanners.

Tova · « **Reply #78 on:** 18 May 2015, 21:58 »

My take on this is that it is perfectly normal to become concerned about something like this, but for someone with anxiety issues, concern could boil over into something quite traumatic.

I still got a laugh over panels one and two.

Y · « **Reply #79 on:** 18 May 2015, 22:50 »

I always worry if such a thing is a tick, perhaps a tiny hard to see tick, hearing all the chronic diseases you get from it.

snubnose · « **Reply #80 on:** 18 May 2015, 23:24 »

Absolutely everything people write in the internet is true !!!

BenRG · « **Reply #81 on:** 18 May 2015, 23:46 »

Ah! Internet medical diagnosis tools, otherwise known as "the hypochondriac's enabler". For someone like Hannelore, that was pprobably the worst thing imaginable to do! The problem is that it is too easy to give worst case descriptions of your symptoms (because it always looks and feels worse to the patient) and fool the system.

Still, at least she was sensible enough to go to a friend. Nonetheless, convincing Hanners that she isn't dying will probably be a full-day job for poor Faye!

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 18 May 2015, 21:16

We've seen short bursts of possible hypochondria from Hannelore.

More importantly, it has only started recently, in-universe. It could be a sign that Hannelore's psychiatrist will have to adjust her medication.

Nepiophage · « **Reply #82 on:** 18 May 2015, 23:48 »

Quote from: snubnose on 18 May 2015, 23:24

Absolutely everything people write in the internet is true !!!

For sufficiently small values of "true"

Tova · « **Reply #83 on:** 19 May 2015, 00:31 »

Seriously though, if you can't trust Doctor Google, who can you trust?!

osaka · « **Reply #84 on:** 19 May 2015, 00:49 »

You can trust Doctor Dude and his eXcellent ray.

Doc · « **Reply #85 on:** 19 May 2015, 01:32 »

Doctor Google is scary.
I asked him: How many diseases do I have? and he gave me 338.000.000 results!

Mr. Skawronska · « **Reply #86 on:** 19 May 2015, 01:50 »

Ya gotta be careful with dem Inernets!

Especially when you look up your symptoms and the top Google result is: "How the Fszk are you even ALIVE?"

Followed by:

Quote from: Zebediah on 18 May 2015, 19:24

WebMD results: You are going to die. In fifty years, give or take fifty years.

Except mine is: "You are going to die. Yesterday. You should not be alive. You should be working on a good rigor mortis."

And I'm thinking, "And today looked so good from this morning..."

ZoeB · « **Reply #87 on:** 19 May 2015, 01:55 »

Quote from: Tova on 18 May 2015, 21:58

My take on this is that it is perfectly normal to become concerned about something like this, but for someone with anxiety issues, concern could boil over into something quite traumatic.

Exactly.
See a doc.
If all-clear given (spoiler says it will be) then can treat any remaining anxiety with cognitive therapy.

Mlle Germain · « **Reply #88 on:** 19 May 2015, 07:04 »

I can relate to Hanners a lot in this arc.

I do not have any other anxiety issues, but I am a hypochondriac (with actual illnesses more often than the average person, which does not make that any better) and have to stop myself from googling symptoms more or less on a weekly basis.
I would probably not worry about a scratched mole so much (except if it was this size and I really didn't know it was there before), because I have mine checked by a dermatologist pretty regularly. But just one evening last week I suddenly had a weird, 1x2x0.5cm red bump under one eye and pretty much did exactly what Hanners did; one of my housemates heard me freak out and came to ask what was wrong. That was actually quite embarrassing, because I don't know him that well and had to tell him that I was scared I would have to run around with the bump for the rest of my life and never have a normal face again. When I said it out loud, this sounded a lot less reasonable than in my head.
It turns out the bump came from an allergic reaction and was gone by the time I got to see a doctor the next afternoon.

How do you stop yourself from being a hypochondriac when you know too much about all the illnesses that exist? I'm just happy I didn't choose to study medicine.

CM_albion · « **Reply #89 on:** 19 May 2015, 07:53 »

Hanners lis..Han...Hallelore will you please....calm dow...hanners..you're not....eugh, fuckit. better to wait this one out.

DSL · « **Reply #90 on:** 19 May 2015, 08:50 »

Quote from: Doc on 19 May 2015, 01:32

Doctor Google is scary.
I asked him: How many diseases do I have? and he gave me 338.000.000 results!

And then there are the ever-popular "flu-like symptoms" which mean either that your head will collapse and skin start sloughing off while your bones turn to powder. Or, you know, you have a cold.

Cattus · « **Reply #91 on:** 19 May 2015, 09:00 »

I predict a visit to Dad's space station for some experimental testing/treatment will be in order for Hanners. Faye will go with her and will strike up a convo with the head of security (I forget her name) Faye will open up to her (strangers are easier to talk to, often, than friends) and the visit will end with a promise of future visits for "therapy". After that, time travel, because, 30 years since.

BenRG · « **Reply #92 on:** 19 May 2015, 09:07 »

Jeph has Tweeted that the reference photos for an upcoming strip 'horrified' his girlfriend. I can't imagine anything for this Friday's Alice Grove having that effect so...

Possibility:
Hannelore persuades Faye to examine less-visible parts of her body for more signs of the cancer that only exists in her terrified, anxiety-stricken imagination. Hoping to help ease her fears, Faye agrees. Marten and Claire come in to witness the resulting scene without any context. Marten insists that Hannelore and Faye are adults and he is therefore 'cool' with whatever they want to do. However, he does insist that the bedroom and sock-on-handle rules be respected.

Timemaster · « **Reply #93 on:** 19 May 2015, 09:22 »

The first two panels of Faye were just perfect. Best Fayeface ever in panel 1. That´s exactly how I look like in the morning before I take my first sip of coffee.

A litte detail: she is using a CoD-mug. *sigh*

I don´t think we´ll travel to space anytime soon. We´d rather see a holographic projection of Station or Hanners´ dad visiting her on earth. Anyway, this actual anexity attack of hypochondria has to be dealt with. Faye has proven to be able to calm Hanners down more than once. So I think she ist the right counterpart right now. But I am courious how she will treat Hanners and if maybe this will have an effect on Faye and her personal problems. Maybe helping Hanners will do her good too.

TM

Welu · « **Reply #94 on:** 19 May 2015, 09:25 »

Hanner's eyes in the third panel make me think she's been crying.

pwhodges · « **Reply #95 on:** 19 May 2015, 09:31 »

Quote from: BenRG on 19 May 2015, 09:07

Hoping to help ease her fears, Faye agrees. Marten and Claire come in to witness the resulting scene without any context. Marten insists that Hannelore and Faye are adults and he is therefore 'cool' with whatever they want to do. However, he does insist that the bedroom and sock-on-handle rules be respected.

Tsk!
This is perilously close to a forbidden level of shipping (e.g. any involving Hanners), and I cannot imagine that Jeph would go this route either.

BenRG · « **Reply #96 on:** 19 May 2015, 09:38 »

Quote from: pwhodges on 19 May 2015, 09:31

Quote from: BenRG on 19 May 2015, 09:07
Hoping to help ease her fears, Faye agrees. Marten and Claire come in to witness the resulting scene without any context. Marten insists that Hannelore and Faye are adults and he is therefore 'cool' with whatever they want to do. However, he does insist that the bedroom and sock-on-handle rules be respected.

Tsk!
This is perilously close to a forbidden level of shipping (e.g. any involving Hanners), and I cannot imagine that Jeph would go this route either.

Come on, it's a joke, not advocating shipping. The whole point of it would be for Faye and Hannelore to have a splutter-fest whilst they try to persuade Marten that he has things entirely wrong. Oh... and for us to have a free laugh at Marten and Claire's expense, based entirely on their freaked-out facial expressions.

pwhodges · « **Reply #97 on:** 19 May 2015, 10:11 »

Quote from: BenRG on 19 May 2015, 09:38

Come on, it's a joke,

I got that; but I still feel it's going to places that are inappropriate given the rules we follow in this forum. We try to second-guess Jeph's views here, as this is his space, and we are here by his leave. If you think we are wrong, ask him.

K1dmor · « **Reply #98 on:** 19 May 2015, 11:51 »

At least she doesn't have Network connectivity problems.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #99 on:** 19 May 2015, 13:53 »

I've heard that line was ad-libbed. Chris Pratt's the fucking best.

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Author Topic: WCDT 2961-2965 (18-22 May 2015) (Read 26775 times)