What qualifies as medical advice?

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Zebra F701

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Recently a thread was closed because someone asked for advice about a "friend" (quotes or no quotes, it's beside the point) who was/is struggling with some sort of secret. The MOD closed it because the terms and policies of SDN forbid seeking "medical" advice. However, questions such as "how do I manage my time in grad school?," receive numerous responses and are never shut down despite the fact that said responses invariably involve psychological advice.

Respectfully, can someone clarify the distinction for me.

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Why not PM the Mod directly?
 
I thought this was an interesting question that would be up for debate.
 
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Recently a thread was closed because someone asked for advice about a "friend" (quotes or no quotes, it's beside the point) who was/is struggling with some sort of secret. The MOD closed it because the terms and policies of SDN forbid seeking "medical" advice. However, questions such as "how do I manage my time in grad school?," receive numerous responses and are never shut down despite the fact that said responses invariably involve psychological advice.

Respectfully, can someone clarify the distinction for me.

I think the more interesting question is why do you consider time-management discussions as "psychological advice?"

Personally, I think the distinction is very clear if one uses common sense. What are some ways to cope with the stresses of grad school? ok. How do I cope with my bipolar disorder with frequent suicidal ideation? Not ok.
 
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I think the more interesting question is why do you consider time-management discussions as "psychological advice?"

Personally, I think the distinction very clear if one uses common sense. What are some ways to cope with the stresses of grad school? ok. How do I cope with my bipolar disorder with frequent suicidal ideation? Not ok.

+1

I was trying to think of a way to say the same thing without coming off as a smarta**...you said it much better than I could have!
 
I agree, this has sort of a "Know it when you see it" aspect to it. Certainly the distinction between the two recent threads is patently obvious, though I can see there being a middle ground where it would likely just boil down to a judgment call of the moderators involved.

A lot of it seems to come down to whether the person is looking for help from "students" versus "healthcare providers". One could just as easily pose a question about how best to cope with grad school to a forum of math grad students, and likely get similar advice. One presumably would not seek out a mathematics forum to ask about one's bipolar medication or abuse history.
 
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