STOP ROMANTICIZING DEPRESSION
Vložit
- čas přidán 4. 02. 2018
- so here's a little bit of a rant on a kind of touchy subject. please let me know if you agree or disagree with me, I'd love to know your opinions!
if you're struggling and need help here are some resources:
try the method I use for counseling
www.tryonlinetherapy.com/sara...
national hotline for the US
1-800-273-8255
international hotline information
ibpf.org/resource/list-interna...
------------------------------------------------------------------
p a t r e o n | / sarahhawkinson
e m a i l | sarahhawkinson@gmail.com
h o r r o r . c h a n n e l | bit.ly/1h7ZKUF
v l o g . c h a n n e l | / @sarahhawkinsonvlogs7150
t w i t t e r | #!/sarahmhawkinson
s n a p c h a t | sarahhawkinson
i n s t a g r a m | / sarahhawkinson
d e p o p | www.depop.com/en-us/sarahhawk...
------------------------------------------------------------------
c a m e r a | canon rebel t5i
e d i t o r | adobe premiere pro cs5.5
FTC | not a sponsored video :)
We need to destigmatize, not romanticize.
@Daddy Max yeah, but romanticizing is worse.
Olivia Frances YESSS
Olivia Frances
What does that mean?
Phoinex Girl basically don’t promote mental disorders and illnesses as an “ok” thing
Ah yes, big words
I'm very photosynthesis myself
The one about angels wanting to go home is extremely toxic, I saw it when i was 12 and just assumed that it was ok to want to die
Same, I feel very stupid now
I want to throw up.
It's so true
Same it crossed my mind that it was okay
It’s not normal to feel like that?
Tw
"Suicidal people are angels just trying to get home"
DON'T ENCOURAGE IT. SAYING THAT THEY'RE ANGELS "TRYING TO GET HOME" JUST SAYS IT'S OKAY TO DO IT. THAT'S THE OPPOSITE OF HELPING.
That's my two cents on the issue.
So... My experience has been that I would seek out shit like that when I wasn't sure I was going to make it through the night. It helped me to see that something, anything could be beautiful. It showed me that I wasn't alone, and that maybe I shouldn't hate my guts for hating my guts, and that hating oneself was something that happened to people who made beautiful things, not just complete worthless piles of sniveling inert mush like me.
It got me just out of the cycle of loathing enough to bargain with myself for a little more time before I died. I would bargain for months, weeks, days, or even hours. I survived about 4 years that way until I could get access to proper help. Shit like that also helped instil the idea in my mind that I could maybe mention this stuff to people other than a password locked word document hidden deep in my computer.
I've been suicidal for a decade now, and in danger for half that time. But I can say for certain that it wasn't any social media post that caused or worsened it, because I HATE social media. I only ever use CZcams and Google if those things even count as social media. 😁
Btw, I totes get where you're coming from, when I see this stuff when I'm not on the knifes edge it makes me feel like crap.
no stop romanticising it
Then just go home already. Stop making others more depressed than before ... -.-
It is okay to do it. If people want to die they can. No reason to stay alive just for other people.
@@aldenheterodyne2833 I respect u :)
Tumblr is a place that is so dangerous to look at for a lot of reasons...
True that
Tumblr experience depends almost entirely on user control and responsibility. I manage my dash and settings, and it's an incredibly inspiring and positive place for me, full of creative people. So, donno
Maybe it’s only your own mind that’s dangerous.
i've seen literal communities on there that promote self harm and self starvation...
Pink bunny i only use lt for fanfics
Okay that "suicidal people are just angels who want to go home" thing made me really angry. That is not an okay thing to say!
Typical Tumblr bullshit
Gloomy Fish I agree, I have been a person that has battled suicide, I tried to hang myself when I was 19/20. I was a very sick man and I still am. I was never an angel nor am I trying to get home. I was trying to end suffering that was so unbearable all I could think to do was just to end it all and the pain would be gone. But my saving grace was thoughts of my family crying at my funeral. I have not attempted suicide since. point being i was mentally ill and wanted to die. I feel so sorry for those lost souls who did take their own life. I would have loved to have 5 minutes with those people. When you’ve been in a suicidal place. You can’t see tomorrow or 5 minutes later. all you see is your plan to get out of the hell.
suicidal people aren't the same as depressed people. it's two different things.
ikr
Hi
Same with anorexia... Tumblr has a lot of bad advice on it if you search in all the wrong places.
Didu Dianna I've seen so many of these unhealthily skinny people saying it's just 'tumblr beauty'. Makes me sad. :/
I used to be seeing the aneraxia part of Tumblr and it gave me a lot of body issues I can see the same thing happening with someone looking at some of these images especially if they keep popping up in ones feed
I've been having a hard time and trying not to relapse with my eating disorder, and I made the mistake of searching tumblr for people/posts I can relate to. Almost all proana/mia and thinspo. I gotta remember why I left that place behind besides for finding funny stuff when I'm bored.
Absolutely, I feel like the pro-ana aspect of tumblr is extremely dangerous. It certainly was for me when I was younger.
It’s honestly terrifying seeing young girls on tumblr encouraging each other not to eat/to purge......it’s harder to find now but not by much.
Tumblr: "if you self-harm you're awesome!!!!1!!!"
me: no you are really not tbh stop endorsing it
i think that they were intending it in a way like, even if you self harm, you are still an awesome person.... but i agree that it comes off WAYY wrong
'1!!!' yep, this dude is on a computer
people who actually self harm are ashamed of it and try to hide it
Thank god tumblr is actually deleting most of the blogs that post that or blocking the posts. I like to scroll on tumblr to vent out but that was like, not a way to vent your problems.
@@sansgirlfriend true, from past experience
Reading these posts as an adult or mature teen is so different than reading them as a preteen/young teen. Now, I can see how ridiculous they are and hearing you read them out loud makes me wonder how I used to post/believe these quotes. There is no way to express how much influence social media posts like this have on young people, especially alone on their phones or computers with no one to tell them otherwise. The worst is when older, more mature people post these for younger kids to see...
I had the same (I'm only 18 tho...) but I remember I used to post these as a 13/14 year old because I felt like I could relate. They didn't help me at all though, all it did for me was creating this image that being depressed is a tragically beautiful thing and it's not. It's not at all. And I see that now, I was living inside my head where it all seemed so pretty until it got to the point of getting hospitalised and after a while I just woke up, kinda.
The backlash is hard but yknow, feel pretty rational and good now though.
Anyway didn't mean for this comment to be so long so excuse me for that.
so true...when i was 12 my friends and i were so influenced by these types of posts. kids don’t know any better but to believe anything they see.
Marissa Dias right? When I was a younger teen these seemed “relatable”. Now when I actually say these posts out loud I’m like what the hell, these are actually so toxic and just plain untrue.
Ikr... me and my friend are voth preteens. Whenever my friend feels depressed, she always blogs these types of posts, believeing she actually is depressesed.
Same, I always wanted to have depression and anxiety as a pre-teen bc I thought I could finally relate to like everyone, bc apperantly *everyone* had/has (it's just a few years ago, so it's still the same on the internet) depression
Thats really fucked up, people should really stop glamorizing it and stop self diagnosing themselves
*trigger warning*
what pisses me off the most are those reposts on Snapchat that’s a picture of someone’s arm fully cut and just COVERED in blood with the caption something along the line of “what would you do if you saw this on my arm. I bet nobody would care :(“ it makes me sick that I’ve seen that more than twice.
THANK YOU! I have felt with self harm,anxiety and depression and seeing that. Triggered me so much,even sometimes I did self harm after seeing those and the sad part is,is that 13 and 12 yo's don't realize YOU CANT REPOST THAT TYPE OF STUFF.They don't understand what it does to other people.
Natalie Pullman or the people (mainly girls) who post things like “hate my life I’m so depressed” or “another sleepless night” really trigger me. I don’t know these people personally but I know from experience that when you actually have a mental illness you don’t post it on your social media.
@@payget3882 true, I mean, unless on places to vent where it is anonymous and when it's not things like that, just to feel understood and not like look for pity or attention (in bad ways), like that's not cool or edgy that's stupid, maybe you should seek help to see why you need so much attention that you post that on some website like Snapchat.
Ivy Winter Fr. Snapchat cant solve your problems
@@payget3882 yeah, that's why I said what I said, like, get help because that type of attention seeking is not healthy
I think the worst part about Tumblr romantizacing mental illness are those people who write an introduction to their page saying "PTSD, depression, anxiety, eating disorder" like if all those things were SOOOO cool and the more you had, they cooler you are.
Editing more into de video: I actually met my partner through Tumblr and we have been together for 4 years! not everything was bad in that site 😂
fromtheinsidex yes! one of my counselors had asked me to describe myself to her and all i could do was define myself with my diagnoses, and all i knew about myself was these “bad” labels
awh,, sweet! good luck to you and your partner
i'm glad I'm not the only one who realizes this
fromtheinsidex I met my gf on there too, and we are going on 5 years!
There's undoubtedly people who write mental disorders/illnesses because they think it's cool, and I only used to think that of them. Until someone said that those people may not be trying to romanticise them, merely trying to find someone they can relate to who has the disabilities/illnesses they listed. Just trying to say that not all bios with them in them are self-diagnosed teenagers/20-somethings with an attitude problem and a warped mindset on mental illness.
When I was 13, these kinds of posts and videos brought me into terrible anxiety and caused my self harm, I then found people who would spread positive messages and talk about how to help mental illness, we need more of those kinds of posts and accounts
Holy heck agreed
Hope your doing well
Holy heck what were you doing on tumblr when you were 13 and where your parents were?
Fernanda Alvarado it wasn’t on tumblr, I think it was on CZcams.
Rebecca C How the fuck does a post make you self harm?
Idk um WORDS CAN BE POWERFUL?
There is this girl in my class who jokes about suicide because she is "edgy"and thats what "edgy suicidle people do": i told her that was not right and she told me it helpls her i mean if it helps her i get it but saying that suicide is some edgy trend is disgusting
Flower Child if you have to, report her to someone of authority. Either she will get the help she needs, or it will show her how scary mental illness can be. Idk what supports you have but school councilors usually can help. Ive had to do this before and its not that scary
Charlee Johnson oh she has already been diagnosed with mental illnesses before its just she makes them some fashinable thing and it really irratates me
I really don’t understand how that could help anyone.
@@LibbyLou123444 Dark humor, it exists. I have extremely dark humor and joke about my suicidal tendencies. There's nothing wrong with this sort of coping mechanism unless used improperly.
Tell a counselor
I was a depressed teenager (and still am) and I can say that those edits, or shows like American Horror Story (first season with Violet and her self harm) made me try self harm... I felt like I was part of this beautiful, hurt and depressed community... it's over now, thank god, but it IS dangerous... I went deeper into my depression and didn't even want to change that, be careful guys, sometimes you don't even realise it but it gets to you!
nostalgia same here, ahs edits were very popular back then and it made me try self harm as well... Hope you‘re feeling better now. xx
Really wise of you to be able to critically analyze yourself Iike that. :) I’m glad you are recovering
me too! i had no idea it even existed until like 2012 and there was a hashtag on instagram that i stumbled upon, and it was all depression, anorexia, and all these self harm images. like i wouldn’t have ever started self harming if i didnt know that it was a ‘normal’ or a ‘common’ response to being depressed
nostalgia nostalgia same with me but with skins, and it made my 12 year old self think i needed to stop eating so i could have a thigh gap, and more people should rlly be aware of how they handle social media bc you could be romantizing all these things without evn realizing till youre suffering
24Umbreon much better, I stopped seeking for "aesthetic" and cool and just embrassed what was unique about me, never felt better and never such good friends!
"Anti-treatment"? Jesus christ if it wasn't for therapy and meds idk where I'd be. I actually have a tumblr and once stumbled upon a picture of someone having the word "sad" cut into their wrist, and honestly it pisses me off when things like this-- which aren't even the poster's pictures to begin with many times, it's others' pain- are put up for reblogs. There's a lot of positivity on there as well, and I wish that was able to overcome the negativity.
CemeteryDrive I would be in a ditch dead right now if it wasn't for therapy, and medication. I tore my life apart before I got help
Cameo Gonzales it takes a lot of courage to get help and it can be complicated, but treatment is definitely worth it in the end
I have a three year old scar on my arm where I carved the word "FAT" when I was really in the depths of my eating disorder. As if having regular scars isn't emberassing enough, now I have body shaming there. So fucking mortifying.
I don't see the problem with rejecting treatment. Doctors don't really care anyways.
@@Em_Elizabeth The problem is people are promoting it, It's dangerous, and yes doctors do care. There are bad doctors out there, but that doesn't mean none of them care.
I love tumblr but it really can be soooo toxic
agree 100%
heyyyyythere "can"...
+RAINBOW TOAST Just like all social medias Tumblr has different communities and subgroups. So yeah, it's not inherently toxic but certain people and communities definitely are.
i’ve actually blocked some of the toxic tags and since then i’ve been having a fun time lol
Love the setup!!
Katrin Berndt y'all need to collab or something
i specifically came to comment he same thing
Bitch yas! It's so cool to see you here! :D
Love you
Katrin Berndt aaaaaaaa
yeah I remember being 13 and stumbling into "ana and mia" blogs and how they sent me into a spiral because you would get that validation and support to keep going, just in the opposite direction of recovery. That was before tumblr though. When I joined tumblr at 16 it was more because of fandom stuff for the shows I liked. Still, fandoms can be really toxic places and images like these would pop up fairly frequently. I was lucky that I quickly found ways to block them and was also very selective of whom I followed. If I needed to share stuff about my disorders, I would make sure to tag it so other people could blacklist it and I would always put it under a read more. I actually found a lot of support (the proper kind) this way before I could afford therapy, so it wasn't all horrible. Now I look back and see how dangerous and disgusting those comunities were and it saddens me that they've done nothing but keep growing.
Nat GL I sorta found the good side of mia and ana blogs, 'cause in the tags there were some recovery ones (blogs) and just out of curiosity I checked them out and I saw that people actually recovered from eds, were happy and beautiful and lived normal lives. So with the tips they gave I actually helped myself out of it better than the (sadly terrible) therapists I had stumbled upon.
I guess it just has to do with the tags you look at and the ones you don't, and probably a bit of luck, too.
Nat GL dude when i first found it on tumblr in middle school i was so confused as to who they were dude. but then i saw all these self harm post and its just lowkey messed up that thats up there like people actually go through serious stuff and these tumblr dudes were like making it seem like this trendy thing bruv
Yeah I just follow things about my fandoms, but it’s annoying that I can’t scroll without seeing toxic posts like these
omg when i was like 10 i saw smt on the news about those blogs and it was horrifying
You know when you search "Eating" the first suggestion in the bar is Eating Disorder.
ChaCha Charlie well not necessarily, I mean really what else would people search beginning with ‘eating’ honestly unless you’re on some mukbang (that’s what it’s called right?) site, id guess that it would always be the first suggestion.
That's sad
I'm 25 and I've been a (more or less) high functioning depressive since I was at least 8 (though my psychologist & psychiatrist suggest it was earlier), and I distinctly remember being about 14 or 15, completely miserable, and looking on tumblr or deviantart at artsy images like this and thinking "These people can't *really* be depressed. It's not like that??¿ There's nothing beautiful here, I just want to get out¿¿??" And I'm glad I was able to identify as a teenager that the romanticized ideals of how depression is portrayed is nothing like the day to day, oppressive and horrible reality of dealing with these illnesses. I think it's the reason that c. 2013 when my friend was trying to get me to watch AHS I was so disgusted; anything glorifying this horrible thing in my life was always such an anathema. (I can watch that show now and deal with it and look over the more romanticized sh*t cos I'm an adult in a way that I couldn't at 19 or 20).
So yeah. Good take on this topic 👌🏻
I'm 13 (still young, but ..) and was depressed, which i'm definetly not being proud of. I only talked about it with one person, but that's not what i want to talk about... some girls i know (also 13) who always post post in their iG storys, say that they're depressed, have so much fake friends, etc. I don't know, how they really are, so i won't judge. I'm from Germany, and there are so many sides, which talk abot mental illnesses, self harm and most of the comments are "omg! True" or "same". It makes me kind of sad, because i realized, that something like this isn't good for you, it makes you just sadder.
I use Tumblr for the memes and follow people who post fun/political stuff and so I have never perceived the website as negative as it may be for some. But I'm sure that if you look for that kind of validation you'll find it on there.
I understand where you're coming from. But in my opinion, the first pictures were more about sharing your feelings with the world in an artistic manner and not really romanticizing anything. It's like songs about sadness can be a really beautiful a way to feel less alone with these negative feelings or thoughts. Even songs about suicide could somehow be considered as romanticizing suicide with that way of thinking. I was just thinking about Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine for example. Art can get inspired by everything and be about everything and it shouldn't be seen as bad. But I do get your point on how it would be wrongly interpreted by teens, especially on Tumblr. Maybe the platform and/or users are the problem, not the actual posts. If they go to an art gallery, there might also be some triggering paintings about pain, suicide or negative feelings which also could be seen as 'encouraging'. Still an awesome video as always, though. I'm just sharing thoughts :)
EleaGlambert yeah even Vincent van Gogh paintings were about that. But I still think there a lot of times ppl do romantize It but not just over depression. A lot of things actually.
I somewhat agree but like she said there are a lot of post that are extremely graphic & actually encourage these kinds of things. I know bc I seen them before. When I first join tumblr, that’s all I saw & it didn’t help my depression & suicide thoughts & bc I was so young, I didn’t know any better. Bc now a lot of us who were on tumblr before are now older & have more common sense we know better than those post but before it was a mess & in fact, the post makes an impact on people’s life especially if they suffer from mental illnesses/eating disorders & made it seem as if self harm/suicide was something beautiful or whatever. But I do agree with what you & her said in the beginning of the “dark thoughts” kind of things. Lol
Sad music is completely different than a gif on tumblr of someone cutting themselves with some 'poetic' words over it. That stuff can be really triggering for a lot of people, I know it was for me...
Obviously, that's why I mentioned I was only talking about the very first images Sarah showed, with just words and nothing else. To me, that wasn't bad. Of course I agree with you about the gif of someone cutting, which has nothing to do with art, there's just art over it to make it pass as okay-ish. Which, to me, is very different
EleaGlambert Yeah, sorry I didn't notice you said only the first images. I still think from my own experience that even the first ones Sara showed contribute to people being stuck in this mindset that you're helpless and that life is just dark and horrible. Especially for young people who are depressed. I eventually had to quit using Tumblr because it just got me down and reminded me of my problems every time I would see stuff like this. It's hard to explain but it would sort of confirm the thoughts I had about life and make them more true if that makes sense.
You are such a good role model I'm proud of myself for looking up to you
I remember myself reblogging images like this thinking this was the way I could express my feelings but it really backfired on me and I only realize now that I am older that that made things even worse. :( I wish people would stop creating these things. They’re harmful
This exactly
czcams.com/video/VDKLYFYc40Q/video.html
I actually do that now. Sadly. But, idk, it's kind of... like, ask for help? It sounds really pathetic, but idk who to turn to, so I need to talk about it somehow.
I totally agree with this. Actually, when I was younger, I thought that feeling like that was ''normal'' because of tumblr images, so, it doesn't help at all to realize that we need professional help. But, it's great to know that this kind of web sites are finally dying. Btw, I think the camera quality is pretty good.
The worst thing about these quotes is that when you think your struggling with depression they make you think your not because you think depression is supposed to be this poetic beautiful thing when it’s not. (Not saying you can’t write about depression but write about it well so it shows how awful it is) OR it can make depression seem normal and not a thing to get help for
I never thought of it as depression to be poetic, beautiful or to be on such platforms. I hate the feeling of being sad, numb. I have been feeling that way for 6 years now but I have always tried to keep pushing its hard it really is. Currently I feel like I'm sinking deeper. I hate people who self diagnose or throw the terms depression and anxiety around like nothing. It really bugs me because so many people are struggling out there with these disorders only to have people who are uneducated about mental illness to shame the people who actually have them, to me is pathetic. If you feel ill talk to a mental health specialist.
I was heavy into ana and mia forums and blogs when i was a teen and until i was a young adult. And just last week i randomly got an e-mail from one of those forums saying I had gotten a reply on a post. A post i wrote 11 years ago. So I wen't in to see what I had written, and it was so sad. It was a post where I was saying hi to the forum again after having failed my recovery attempt. But what was more sad was all the people welcoming me back, not saying they were sad it failed or that i should try again. But they encouraged me to stay and continue being on the forum. Took me 6 more years before I recovered and I got out of my depression with the help of therapy and medication, but I'm all good now. It takes a lot of work and bravery to face your shit and take up the battle, and I'm proud of myself for doing it, and I'm proud of all the other boys and girls who's done it, is doing it, and will do it.
I hate myself for liking those kind of photos back then
Hey, don't feel bad you were young but you can inform others that depression is a illness and not something cute. I've been feeling down since 6 years ago. I hate people on Instagram who say " same because of my anxiety" or something like that but I can tell who has a illness and who doesn't and comments like that really tick me off. I only talk about my issues so others don't feel alone, so people see it's a real thing, but I mostly spread positivity I encourage people to live life don't let the demons win. I think my issues might be a big reason why I'm so nice because you never know what others are thinking or feeling. Don't feel bad about just know that you can now spread awareness of mental health, educate people and encourage those who need it to seek help.
I strongly agree with what you are saying about Tumblr, but the part of Tumblr that I prefer to be a part of are the fandoms and a really kind community that is against those kind of posts, and rather for a realistic outlook on mental illness, and how to get professional help- or sometimes just creating much more positive posts that outweigh the negative ones.
Honestly want to know everything about the breakfast nook 😂 want to see it!
Andrea Velez same here - it’s super cute!
I don't see those first four images as anything close to romanticizing, or promoting it. I think those go best with, as you said, expressing yourself in a social art form, and coming closest to it. All the rest though, needs to go. That's not right. Definitely agree with the quotes from the articles.
I agree with this. When I'm very down, looking at and posting images similar to the ones in the first batch has always been very cathartic and helpful to me.
They can be very triggering tho. I reblogged them a lot back in the day and now I can see how triggering they can be for others. It's not always about how you interpret them, it's about the people that come to your blog, see that and get triggered by it.
I have depression (I've had it for about eight years) and for me, these types of posts validated how I felt. Anytime I was at a low point, I'd look at this type of stuff and listen to sad music to purposefully feel worse, because if I didn't cry I felt nothing. I've self harmed a lot, attempted suicide twice, and still haven't tried to reach out to someone and get help. I don't purposefully trigger myself anymore, or self harm, but I am trying to be better naturally and privately. Thank you for making this video.
thejohnsonperson I hope you’ve started to get better ❤️
girl you're following the wrong people on tumblr, i'm mentally ill but all i follow is my interests and memes and i have a great time, it's actually therapeutic. the stuff you're talking about doesn't even get any attention these days
riot Yea but it’s easy for young impressionable kids and teens to get into the wrong stuff
Tumblr may not be as popular but the romanticization of mental illness is still a huge deal on other social media platforms. All these “relatable memes” about having depression and anxiety is normalizing the conditions. Now everybody says they have these disorders w/o being formally diagnosed.
First it’s that “not everyone’s who’s depressed is super sad all the time!”
And now it’s “stop making depression look happy!”
We shall never find a middle ground...
link to the breakfast nook or a picture of it? you hyped it up now i have to see it lol
www.hayneedle.com/product/finley-home-nantucket-coastal-nook-dining-set.cfm 😏😏😏
thanks for sharing:) i love it
I honestly think that if I’m feeling even slightly down and I look at any posts about depression that aren’t self help etc, I fall into a downwards spiral and start searching for quotes and stuff. It causes me to watch sad edits of things and I know it has such a negative effect on my mood. More recently I’ve been trying to cut down on my social media use when I’m starting to slip into a deeper depression because I need to avoid triggering myself.
Also the self harm images are some of the worst in my opinion because they make me feel like I don’t self harm well enough. I’ve been clean for quite a while but seeing one photo of a cut or something can start me off all over again and it makes me feel like I’ve gone back to square one. Couldn’t agree more with everything you’ve said in this video.
why was i thinking of the song freeze your brain during this whole video tho
from heathers?
Oof
cause "happiness comes when everything numbs"?
I know this video has a very strong point and I get the point but the entire way through all I could think was "DAMN GURL, your skin looks AMAZING!!!"
But also thank you for this video, I think there are people out there who really needed a wakeup call.
I’m planning on talking to my parents soon because I think I might be depressed, I was bullied for 4 years luckily it’s over now but I think it’s left a mark on me. I just want to feel happy again! This is a great video, I deleted tumblr a few months ago because of posts like this that romanticise mental illness.
Some people I know say thinks like “ my girlfriend dumped me, now I have crippling depression lol” or they use it as a meme?? Why it’s rude disrespectful and just wrong! My friends going to the doctor today because she told her Mum about self harm and depression I’m so happy for her!
Amy Driscoll good luck on your road to happiness
Carling MacDonald thank you! 💕💕💕✨✨✨
good luck! its very very possible to get out of it, i’ve definitely been there!
Well about the one part about jokes, it's a coping mechanism for me. But, that doesn't mean they're not joking around. Personally I've been diagnosed with deppression with atypical features and I dont see much wrong. Yes this behavior may feed into it but it's not the worst. I have really dark humor (like laughing about tsunamis and whst they did to people dark), there's a high chance that it may be due to humor darkness and whatnot. Other than that good post.
This reminds me of the novel Looking for Alaska, probably the worst thing I've ever read, where (spoilers) the main girl's heavily implied suicide is shown as just another part of her ~quirky and beautiful~ character 🙄 It's been nearly a decade since I read that book and I'm still annoyed.
This book is my favorite, and will always be my favorite.
Chloe Marie her boyfriend even overlooked them, until it was to late. This happens all the time in reality
I don't know, I saw Alaska as the trope of the "sexy damaged girl that exists only to further the development of the annoying male character", and her suicide only adds to that. He objectifies her through the whole novel and then uses her death as some kind of personal enlightenment. But that's just my reading, I dislike John Green in general and it has been a while since I read it and have only read it once, so I could be off base here.
Damn it, I'm thinking of a different book!!! I went through my book shelf, and found the book I was thinking of lol I have read the book Looking for Alaska and I hated it!!!
My bad Nena
I think that these people are horribly dramatic.
Now hear me out.
I'll argue that everyone in their own respects is tragic. People are tragic, as there are some things that no matter who you are you just cannot express.
I *will* not argue that I've had a hard life, not in the slightest. I tend to find myself liking life, and generally having a happy disposition around people..
Yet,
Not a day really goes by where I'm staring down the stairwell, pausing and wondering if I should jump. Or maybe I'm waiting by the street and I see a car and think.
"Maybe I should jump in front."
I'm not depressed, I haven't been told I am, and I have no idea what most depressed people feel like. I know though, that I want to live, and I'm happy living. Yet the thoughts of death don't leave, and I don't feel the urge to go jump off the rooftop, but thought does cross my mind, every time I exit a building.
I don't know, it's an odd feeling... Not.. Depressing?
Just, it confuses me more often.
Anyway, that was me rambling.
Tragedy is, by definition, an event causing great suffering. Therefore, if everyone faces roadblocks in their lives, and *everyone* deals with the loss of their parents at some point. We are all inherently tragic beings, and every obstacle we hit a low point at feeds this.
That being *said,* depression is a big deal. My own mother is depressed, and I often see her as stand-offish and devoid of emotion. I love her, and she shows through little signs that she loves me too, but... She just gets incredibly annoyed and peeved quickly, to the point I unconsciously take that to heart. She's also a little more brash with people, so sometimes it seems like she's "sick and tired of me", when that simply isn't the case.
I *adore* my mom, but is her depression beautiful or cute to me?
*N O*
It hurts, it hurts to have her feel down all the time. I don't want to embrace her sadness like it's a piece of dazzling jewelry she bought. It's not "stylish" on her. I'd rather lift her up, so that she doesn't feel so mad at me.
Or maybe I'm overthinking it.
Now, I set all of that up just to say that, depression isn't cute. It burns bridges, and if not for my unconditional love for my Mama, I don't know if I could take it.
Depression is a flaw. Yes, it is a mental disorder, but that still makes it a flaw. You just have to find someone that will accept that part of you.
I'm not doubting their depression, but self-labeling is annoying, and if you really feel so inclined... Get your counselor or reach out. And if you say "No that's dumb!"
Then I guess you either
1. Aren't depressed.
2. Really have consciously chosen to give up on life, even when the world has give you options.
There are cases where you cannot reach out, but there is always an option.
Since we all go through things that block us in life, we are all essentially in the same boat. So stop saying your life is the worst. Even a rich kid could be depressed because of a distanced family, on the other hand a poor person could have loving family and be happy.
Or maybe you have no reason at all to be depressed. Maybe you live a good life but you wake up and feel sad all the time, or you always feel the need to die.
There doesn't have to be a cause for it, but never claim your pain is greater than anyone's.
Pain is pain, and we should find ways to lessen it no matter who you are.
Hey I'm here for you if you ever need a friend to talk to.
Tumblr definitely still seems to be relevant, but is a lot less “aesthetic” than it used to be. People still talk about mental illness etc, but in a way that shuns people who don’t have it in the sense of “well, I have it worse than you so you can’t complain” and thus people seem to advertise their “uniqueness” by listing everything about them that isn’t “boring.”
I remember when my mental health was at its worst, I was also spending a lot of time on Tumblr and having such easy access to this sort of thing was definitely not helping. Quite the opposite actually. Like now that I’m older I realise that it actually made things way way worse for me and it’s images like those that are the reason why I won’t let myself use Instagram when my mental health gets bad seeing as a lot of it, as you said, seems to have drifted onto Instagram too.
teenagerfrommarss- czcams.com/video/VDKLYFYc40Q/video.html
Austin thanks but I’m not religious??
Whilst I agree that this kind of community (whether it be on Tumblr or Instagram or wherever) can never be a mental illness treatment, the creative expression of my feelings during my teenage years was one of the things that helped me the most (before I went to therapy). Frankly, I find it hard to draw the line between where one is just expressing themselves (which is totally valid imo) or where one is romanticizing depression. To me there is a difference of seeking support and understanding through these images or doing it for fame / to make others feel worse / to romanticize depression. These are not neccesarily the same category for me. They might look similar but there's more to it than just art. It's also the attitude behind them. Back at 16/17 when I made very dark art, I would always openly talk to people about my time in a clinic, about therapy. And about what I have discovered helps for me. That's not the same thing as isolating yourself in a community that doesn't WANT you to get better. I think it's difficult, but a topic worth discussing.
Thank you so much for making this! I’m so sick and tired thinking depression is cool and “aesthetic”. Thanks again ❤️
I think the focus should be less on tumblr (because this happens in many other social sites, and romanticizing sadness has been going on since forever) and the teens that post, and more on the situation they live in. Self medication, self harm, depression, etc dont happen because of tumblr but because of many external causes. Most times teens just dont have any other place where they can express their feelings (family and school are not often welcoming enough to make as easy as you insinuate to get help), its not a matter of actively choosing to "get treatment in tumblr".
I feel like focusing criticizing tumblr so much not only can alienate the kids in there that might need help, but that its a shallow and easy critique that really goes nowhere to analyze or change the real causes, which are way bigger
spiralveins I agree this doesn’t just happen on Tumblr, I’ve seen similar stuff on Instagram.
Yes, exactly. I remember this kind of thing on myspace when I was like 13 or 14.
spiralveins agreed thank you👏👏
I totally agree with you! I've reflected on this myself, and it wasn't until being out of the tumblr environment that I realized how negatively it was affecting me. Being a depressed teenager, I always thought it was comforting to know that others felt the same way that I did. But looking back, I can only see how it made me feel worse and contributed to my worsening depression. Everything was far too glamorized, and I eventually came to terms with the fact that tumblr can be really toxic, and for me it definitely was that.
Thank you.
I don't think most of these are really romanticizing them, but they're things that people post and edit and make that just... Make people's illnesses worse.
I used to look at these and read them when I was depressed, which only made me worse. After I stopped looking at them, I realized how much better my depression was getting. Not to say that those were the cause of my depression, but it just... Really made me feel like shit when I read these types of things when I was going through hard times. Even now, if I'm following someone on instagram or something and they start posting these types of things, I unfollow them because honestly those types of images and things aren't making mental illnesses more known, but they're making our illnesses worse.
FEELING depressed for a certain period of time is NOT the same as having depression the MENTAL ILLNESS and suffering from it.
I strongly felt it for 1 to 2 years however it hasnt gone away and it never will, I can feel it in the back of my mind constantly, im in thin ice, itll pounce back at me at any chance it gets and I hope to freaking god it doesnt, I hope the feelings continue to lessen in severity as they are now. I swear its the most horrible thing you can have and nobody should w a n t i t like these people on tumblr.
It was and is self inflicted so it will never truly go away, its like and endless spiral, the worse you feel the further you fall in which causes you to feel even worse..
I had no problem reading depressed and suicidal quotes because i thought i could relate to them. It also really encouraged me in to channelling my thoughts through words until, my depression got severe and i couldn't write or share anymore. And seeing many people today self-diagnosing themselves with multiple mental illnesses and carelessly showing it off as some kind of quirk without really understanding what some people go through makes me really sad.
Hi sarah, I think would be a great idea to show art / artists that you know, that represent or express mental illness in a better way.
Sadly, it's still like this. Sometimes there are posts about how you should not romanticize mental illness and how they really aren't cool, but for every post like that there's too many edits that tell you a completely different message.
I’m so happy that you’re talking about this stuff because I was one of those kids that looked at these posts and was influenced by them. And it makes me sad that people do this or did because now that I’m older and I’ve survived that time in my life I want to be like you and be able to help people, I’m glad there’s at least someone talking about it
@skins seasons 3-4
BECKY REBEKAH + Cassie throughout season 1
You have to be 18 to watch skins.i don’t think if you’re 18 you’re going to find depression beautiful.they’re not really glorifying it anyways,they’re actually just putting real life problems into the show
I was wondering I’m an artist and I suffer from mental problems and I use that in my art to bring awareness to it so I have pieces on bipolar disorder and some on depression but none are graphic and you need to look at it for long periods of time to understand what it’s really about what do you think? Is that okay? I’m questioning if I should make art on it and if I should change my muse to something else? I really value your opinion, especially due to your degree xxx ❤️
Nicolle Ross please do not stop doing your art! Its important, I feel, its so so important to visualize illnesses becayse theyre so "in our heads". Art is a way of venting and has been for.... Ever.
Nothing wrong with making art about mental health issues, many people do that and create wonderful pieces. There's a difference between bringing awareness to something and promoting a condition as a lifestyle, one shows how it is and the other depicts it as something desireable. I myself try to express what I felt when my disorders were at their height of activity with drawing how I visualize them. It's a way to deal with something, to reduce stress, and to help others understand what it is like. How it feels. Don't stop with making art.
love love love this video, my middle school tumblr years were filled with posts like this and it was super damaging to me growing up when dealing with my anxiety disorder. this video was super well put together and you look so beautiful in it as well!!
This came out on my birthday, wow- besides that weird bit, I love this video. Thank you for making this video, I really appreciate it that you're spreading awareness or at least trying to stop making mental illnesses "quirky".
Music romanticize depression too.... too often when I listen to such music with their video I impersonate such situations and act as if I am depressed .... your brain mirrors what we see often ....
It's high time that Industry stop this
It’s weird... now when people ARE genuinely happy it seems to be looked down upon, example would be someone just being happy and another person being like ‘Ugh, I wanna be as happy as you.’ And the happy person will just immediately like... victimise themselves and will just be like ‘you don’t know what I have to go through everyday, I’m so depressed and i get panic attacks all the time.’ And idk it just seems to like... ugh idk. This doesn’t make any sense but... yeah
I got sucked into these pictures and eating disorder pictures like these four years ago when I was at my worst. Thank you for talking about this! Love you and what you do
My favorite singer just wrote a book called Turn Your Pain Into Art. I remember her saying that she wanted to practice self love and that when she’s writing songs about pain, she doesn’t have to be in a dark place to do it. She also said that a lot of times in rock music people think it’s okay to flaunt your pain, but she doesn’t like to do it that way.
I completely agree. I know it feels comforting to know you aren't alone and get validation, but these "communities" where people just surround themselves with horrid negativity are in no way healthy. I get sharing your pain through art, it's one of the main reasons I do it, and to make people feel less alone with their feelings. But there are ways to do it without actually promoting those feelings and behaviours. I'm so glad I never got involved in those communities, but still some of the mindsets reached me when I was younger and definetely messed me up a bit. Bringing attention to mental health issues is fantastic, but normalizing it in a negative way is super unhealthy. I know I started to feel like it was normal to feel suicidal or depressed through these kinds of posts.
tinqtinq I agree, at first it feels comforting to know you aren’t alone, but then it becomes obsessive and you just start staying that way because people start to egg you on to post things like that and you just get swept up in the group momentum and never leave because no one is supporting you but encouraging you to recover at the same time.
I'm so glad I avoid that part of tumblr, it's depressing and toxic and it's terrible. Luckily I have found the (now pretty dominant) part of tumblr that encourages recovery, therapy and self care and that has really helped me personally. But you are right the depression glorifying part is a real problem (but I also once accidentally found the neo nazi side of tumblr that was horrific)
the setup is perfect! and i love the fact that you talk about this subjects, it is very important to bring awareness.
Always waking people up, your hair looks so healthy and your skin is glowing! Love you, always proud of you. xoxo
Tumblr def still has a lot of these kind of posts. Especially eating disorder ones that romanticize it, so dangerous and sad
all of these flooded me back into 2015 me. damn so much can change in so little time.
As a young teen in this very era of tumblr you are talking about, I can absolutely verify that it’s toxic. I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety and I felt so alone in the world, useless and suicidal. So I turned to the online community. It made me feel relieved to know that plenty of other people out there felt the same things I did, but indeed, eating disorders, depression, self harm, and suicidal thoughts were romanticised and even glorified. Seeing these kinds of posts and self harm images daily just reaffirmed my negative mindset. I withdrew and developed an eating disorder and started self harming. I think social media had a massive influence on this. It made it look beautiful.
this is relevant as hell. a tumblr post like these is what made me think self harm was okay, and i still remember the one i saw the night i did it the first time, the image is burned in my memory as i used it almost as a guide. people have to understand whether or not these images are still there, they have and still are affecting those who viewed them. i knew all this time that it was wrong, but i guess i needed to hear someone else say it to validate how i felt about these posts. so thank you for that.
My family has a history of mental health. And when I see people faking it or making it seem okay Is just so horrible. Suicide and self harm isn't fun it isn't beautiful.
A year has passed but this video is still relevant. More so now that some social media influencers think to profit by making merchandise with quotes romanticizing anxiety and depression. Instead of bringing awareness they're creating more problems.
This is my first time watching your video. I like your setup here.
Girl, I didn't know you have so many good stuff on your channel. I just subscribed and will start to check them out.
(I know im watching this video so late lol) What is so sad is that when I was suffering depression through like 6th-7th grade, Tumblr was a place I was on a lot and there were actually some guides on Tumblr on how to harm yourself in different ways and even ways to make make yourself throw up, which I actually used during that time. Tumblr gave me this mindset that there was no help for me and I was always going suffer as I was. I continued to feel this way until my mother actually forced me to go to therapy. Tumblr is honestly really dangerous if you're on the wrong parts of it. Now I still use Tumblr but usually to promote feminism and equality and self-love. I'm really glad that you made this video! Love you!
I love your channel! I have been subscribed for a long time and I love where it's going! You're such a role model and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you!!
Umm. I see where you’re coming from, but using this logic, you could say that a lot of songs romanticize mental illness. There are a lot of poetic songs about depression and suicide and sad feelings and those words are set to beautiful music pieces. That’s precisely what these posts do (in my opinion). They’re just smaller poems that express people’s opinions on the subject in an artistic way. I don’t think it’s inviting teens to kill them selves or harm themselves. To me personally, when I see them, I feel less alone in the world. I look at them and see that there are people like me and I’m not crazy. I still go to therapy and have professional help, but the 6/7 days of the week when I don’t have therapy, posts like these, and songs with dark lyrics, really do help. And I truly believe that’s what these intend to do.
As someone who actually struggles with depression and anxiety it always makes me super mad to read those things or sometimes even encounter people irl who romanticize it like this. I've been to a psychiatric hospital, I've been taking pills... it's not pretty, it's not nice and it's not artistic. It's horrible. And it's an illness and not an accessory.
Thanks for the video Sarah ! I had to deal with a lot of this on my feed as well , and it really brings you down during recovery . Found out that the website as a whole isn't necessarily toxic , you just have to follow the right people .
I love this video. As one of the kids who was kind of susceptible to these posts, I personally thank you for helping these kids who may fall into the same trap.
I think these kind of videos and review videos on your horror channel are my favorites! 🙋👍😘
I feel like these kinds of posts are just leftover from the emo culture from the mid to late 2000s, I mean, talk about suicide and self-harm glorification! I hope it isn't very popular anymore. Personally, I'm seeing a rise in pro-medication, therapy, and do what helps you best mental health culture.
You’re such a great role model Sarah
Thank you for saying this. People say they have depression and just joke about it and it is not ok
Thank you for making ths important video.
wow I've never been this early!!! hopefully will be a super interesting vid like usual :)
I think you portrayed this perfectly. I was, among many others who struggled mentally from a young age and I was also in an abusive relationship at the time, so I used to turn to tumblr in search of 'hope'. Knowing others felt the same way made me feel better, short-term. Little did I know it was only making matters worse for my recovery. But I was stuck in a viscous cycle of feeling low - turning to tumblr - feeling less alone (but in the mean time, only inspiring my susceptible mind to the ideas of self harming / overdosing and suicide. I was planning on creating my own video for my channel, where I react to some of my own tumblr posts from when I was a teen. Thank you for making this video, keep raising awareness x
i really thought i was over this and that the fact that i combatted depression, suicidal thoughts and shit will make me be able to watch this with no issue. half way through i had a gag reflex. and that maybe tmi. but it makes me happy, paradoxically. it means i'm not in that place anymore. so much these words make me so uneasy (to say the least) it makes my wanna l i t e r a l l y throw up.
i wish this upon anyone struggling. it will get better. it did for me. and i've had depression since i was about 6 years old.
sending love. and thank you sarah for this video.
yess i'm so exited to watch this
Piucaa excited*
“Suicidal people are angels who just wanna go home” that quote makes me cringe so fucking hard, no, suicide isn’t “cute” or “good” in any way, it’s gross that people encourage suicide .
They make it sound like this beautiful thing but it's not at all.
For the first four that she shared I didn't really see them as..romanticizing depression..I suffer from depression and a few of those first images explain how I feel
When I started using tumblr in like 2013/14 probably I was only like 16 maybe earlier and younger can't remember. Which for a lot of people was the height of my depression. I had a lot happen and stuff, so I went to Tumblr and saw these posts. Sometimes id see self-harm that was worse than mine and in my brain just kind of feel like "oh my depression isn't real because of my self-harm isn't that bad". Which is silly now to me, but you know as a 16year old self-harming person, it was really toxic. I think I spiralled alot and spent so much time reading all this "sad artsy" stuff. Instead of getting better. So i agree with you in this video so much, and I love the breakfast nook.
someone please forward this to john green
RT !!!
I mean, John Green has a mental illness, in fact he's written a book about it, and I don't think he considers depression as something to be romanticised. Just because he writes stories that can be sad and discuss mental illness doesn't mean that he is romanticising it.
literally what are you talking about lmao
Wdym? How does he romanticize mental illness?
I mean looking for alaska the theory she killed herself just addd to her troubled beauty
What do you think about so called Vines, that "cure" depression? I often see such videos pop up in my recommended videos. I believe it's strange click baiting...
For the most part, those titles are just a bit of hyperbole. I haven't seen anyone actually take the titles of those Vine compilations seriously; it's more just conveying a sense of nostalgia in a really weird way
Callisto Ursus As a young person, I'd like to mention that saying, "This cured my depression." is most often used as a joke. I know lots of people with mental illnesses that use it in this way, it's kinda just become a saying, or a hyperbole/metaphor. It's used to refer to something that makes you happy, and therefore briefly "cures" your depression.
lilly bunny I'd refer to myself as a young person as well, but I never heard anyone saying something like this. Probably it hasn't become a saying where I am from or I just stay away from people saying something like this or from similar internet phenomenons... That's why I was slightly confused seeing those titles.
Asha O'Hearn-Harvey I of course can only speak for a limited number of people, but all the depressed people I know, myself included, are fine with this joke. I've never seen a depressed person upset about it.
Asha O'Hearn-Harvey are you sure? it’s really non offensive. myself included, i don’t know anyone with depression who’s offended
Argh!!! I was just thinking about this today, and how damaging romanticizing anxiety and depression is! I know in my darker times, posts and imagery like this really made me question whether or not I had worth outside of the depression. Like my beauty was inherently tied to my depression, and that I shouldn't seek help if I wanted to say beautiful. Thanks for once again covering the topics that so many shy away from.
Loved this video and your breakfast nook setup. I completely agree with your view on romanticizing depression. I am a Psych major and I'm loving your all your videos!
please do a video on the romanticisation of eating disorders and the 'pro anna' community!! I think its something that really needs to be talked about.
i feel like this could have been put together better. saying "some might be lyrics" is lazy, and sort of saying someone can make art from depression but then saying pairing images with quotes that make someone feel something is inherently wrong is dismissive in both an ignorant and rude way.
I hit a really dark emotional point right at the beginning of my teens, which is also when the internet became a regular part of life. Seeing posts like these, not even on tumblr but just around the internet, gave me this deeply ingrained idea that to be loved I had to be broken. Broken was beautiful, and wearing the pain I was going through on my sleeve was the only way to be vulnerable and ‘honest’, and it got me into seriously damaging situations. I have since gone through therapy and gotten medication, but I still struggling with this idea of emotional trauma and love being tied together. Every year it lessens, especially as I learn more about myself and invest in myself and love myself more, but I still avoid dating. It didn’t even take long for my brain to get like this, but it’s taking me years to unlearn. Please, be safe on the internet kiddos. ❤️
I'm seriously ill at the moment but watching your video is a really good distraction/escape. Keeps my mind off the way my stomach is churning!
I stay away from this depression community when on tumblr because eventhough I don't suffer from depression (but I do suffer from a whole lot of other mental health stuff) but seeing stuff like this makes my mood dangerously down. There are a whole lot of good groups on tumblr there, such as the actually autistic comunity
I know that the romanticisation of depression and mental illness has been prevalent on instagram for years now, I think that it’s a co-occurring problem on multiple social media platforms
I totally agree with you, Sarah, and most of the other comments in saying that there are certainly parts of tumblr that are extremely toxic and do romanticise depression and self harm and all that. I signed up on tumblr when I was 13 and all the bad feelings and the sadness that I had just became worse because of it, but I only realised that much later. I have to say, though, that I met some amazing people on tumblr, all of which where in a similar state to mine when we first started talking, but over time we all realised that that wasn't the way to go. So everyone in their own way found a way to get better and I'm still friends with some of them today and I'm really happy to see that we all got through it together. However, there were and still are also so many blogs that are just so triggering that's just not a good thing at all, as you said.
I still have my tumblr and I still use it on a kinda regular basis, but the contents have changed drastically over the years and I want to point to the fact that there are ao many amazing and beautiful things on tumblr that I really love, even though sometimes I feel like I'm too old for it haha
I spent a few years in a depressive state and posts like this made it easy for me to indulge in my self harm and pity, glad I'm out of it now