Novelists can't make this stuff up. I suspect no less than 50% of the threads on here are real, genuine cries for help. Probably more. I've posted some things- there aren't many people I feel comfortable talking with about things like that, but the internet offers an anonymous place to discuss it. As long as a person can take the anonymous abuse that comes with it, it's a good way to get something off your chest. And some of us will, on occasion, actually try to help someone else. That's how things work on this series of tubes.