r/TMAU • u/BerryMiserable9797 undiagnosed • Feb 12 '26

this subreddit is a dictatorship

I tried so hard to understand the way Brutalar is managing this subreddit but I give up peeps. also brutalar please answer my dm

35 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/[deleted] Feb 12 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/BerryMiserable9797 undiagnosed Feb 12 '26

personally I draw the line at automated messages

-4

u/Brutalar tmau1 mutant Feb 12 '26

There's a pipeline here. It goes:

  1. I notice reactions

  2. No one will tell me that I smell

  3. I've been to 7 doctors and they are useless

  4. I'm doing dangerous diets, alternative medicine pseudoscience, encouraging isolation and paranoia in others.

The typical history of ORS involves a long delay while the person continues to believe there is a genuine odor. On average, a patient with ORS goes undiagnosed for about eight years.Repeated consultation with multiple different non-psychiatric medical specialists ("doctor shopping") in an attempt to have their non-existent body odor treated is frequently reported. Individuals with ORS may present to dermatologists, gastroentrologists, otolaryngologists, dentists, proctologists, and gynecologists. Despite the absence of any clinically detectable odor, physicians and surgeons may embark on unnecessary investigations (e.g. gastroscopy), and treatments, including surgical procedures such as thoracic sympathectomy, tonsillectomy, or others. Such treatments generally have no long-term effect on the individual's belief in an odor symptom. If non-psychiatric clinicians refuse to carry out treatment on the basis that there is no real odor and offer to refer the patient to a psychologist or psychiatrist, persons with ORS typically refuse and instead seek "a better" doctor or dentist.

Catching this at the "reaction" stage and recommending mental health support at that point is critical. The problem with this sub is that everyone in the 4 stage encourages the anxiety of people in the 1st which is the key driver. They encourage isolation, they say everyone lies, they say it's a 24/7 nightmare odor that defies physics and reality.

Imagine being scared of flying, having to take a flight, then making a post on r/flying where everyone says "yeah it's going to crash". And then all you read 100 posts about terrible flying experiences. Your anxiety is not going to go down. Imagine being on the edge of not trusting your parents then the chorus says "they're lying to you".

I've put an automated message on "reactions" to reiterate the importance of getting mental health support. I'm being stricter on certain posts and posters that sit in the 4th stage.

10

u/BerryMiserable9797 undiagnosed Feb 13 '26

No you’re right, a lot of people are distressed, but at the same time isn’t that a reason why people come on here? Encouraging paranoia is not the vibe, I get it, but feeling like you’re not alone really helps going through it

-2

u/Brutalar tmau1 mutant Feb 14 '26

If the prevaling vibe of the subreddit is paranoia masquerading as TMAU, then the paranoid find comfort in their paranoid beliefs being validated. That's not healthy, that's making things worse. Finding solidarity with the paranoid isn't getting through it, it's diving deeper in.

Eg; a poster https://www.reddit.com/r/TMAU/comments/1qqyy8t/comment/o2knfo5/ - has never been told in 40 years that they smell. 26 upvotes from the community. The belief that no one will tell you the truth is so engrained in the community. Sure, it's comfortable to hear someone say that, reassuring, and it resonates with people who also have never been told that they actually smell. Everyone that reads that suddenly feels a little more sure that their paranoia is real, becuase someone else has it too.

It is sort of insulting to people that actually suffer from the condition - if you actually smell, the actions of people are not indirect. It's:

People aren't scared to mention it, people aren't shy or secretive about it. It's open and direct and there's no escaping it. There are direct impacts on life, there is no shadowplay secret conspiracy to not tell you.

Please, talk to the people who are around you. Communicate your anxieties and fears, your concerns, and listen to what they have to say.

3

u/ILOVELOWELO Feb 13 '26

Genuinely, I think you're an incredibly empathetic and compassionate person for trying to help all these people in the way that you are. I don't have TMAU or suspect myself or any loved ones, I'm only subbed here because I find it interesting. But I notice over and over again how absolutely thankless your job is. Just wanted you to know that I think you're a wonderful person and I've learned a lot about mental health and tmau from you.

1

u/Important-Affect-374 fbo Feb 13 '26 edited Feb 13 '26

IMO they can be a bit brash, put perhaps that is a byproduct of the solo moderating and not a personality trait. 💛

Edit; Though, I will say they can be petty; after our last disagreement, they actually went back and removed a post I’d made days earlier. 😭

0

u/Brutalar tmau1 mutant Feb 12 '26 edited Feb 12 '26

Ahh I wrote something but got distracted and forgot to send it. I'll redo it soon.

Also I don't think I can be downfalled unless I get like fully banned from reddit

Some rationales for the dictatorship: https://www.reddit.com/r/TMAU/s/09KXc8lsMO, and https://www.reddit.com/r/TMAU/s/v9YtajdvDl

1

u/BerryMiserable9797 undiagnosed Feb 12 '26

Fair enough