Many people are sharing/updating posts about an unfortunate suicide of a young boy.The reason for his suicide was depression.
There is also a trending hashtag which says, #WeAreListening.
I usually do not speak up about social issues without having enough knowledge on the subject. I just listen and read about it. This time it is different. The sad truth is that there are people who are victimizing themselves regarding this bereaving news.
I would never publicly announce this but yes, I HAVE BEEN A VICTIM OF CLINICAL DEPRESSION for a long time. Exactly why I know what I am talking about.
Here is a list of things everyone, especially people who 'relate' to depression should know.
1) There is a fine line between staying
depressed and being sad. Learn about it. Being sad sometimes is a part of life and is rather a temporary emotion. Being in depression can be chronic too and NO, YOU CANNOT JUST SNAP OUT OF IT.
2) STOP making 'depression' a facebook post and a trending emotion/hashtag. Do you know how hard it is for a depressed person to see others talking about depression when they have been nowhere near it? Just like a rich kid standing amidst a slum and complaining about being hungry because he skipped breakfast. Makes any sense now?
3) Trust me on this, if you post a facebook update saying "I am listening", "My door is always open for you", "You can always talk to me", depressed people actually DO NOT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT IT. Writing this on social media platforms does not make it any better for us. NO.
4) How do you expect your childhood experiences of sexual abuse or depression to help others apart from making us aware of it? I have had a rough childhood. Really rough. I know people who have too. Reading your post does not make it any better for us! Yes, maybe it makes us aware that we did not suffer alone but DOES NOT HELP in any other way. At the end of the day, (maybe unwillingly) it is just you gaining sympathy from your 'friends' on Facebook. It is just you making your friends aware of your experiences. Do you really think we would want to talk about our childhood abuse out of nowhere when we really want to push it down further and further every day? NO. Will your post help in punishing your abuser? If yes, then go on but in most of the domestic cases, it is a big NO.
5) People suffering from depression DO NOT want to talk about it. Your posts and hashtags mean nothing to us. We can not generally talk about it and specially when we are trying to adjust to our environment every day, trying to be 'normal'.
If we do not help ourselves then NO ONE CAN; not even your fancy worded posts. At least do not make it any worse for us than it already is.
Depression is not about us reading your past/present experiences and trying to sort our life because we got your 'support'. Depression is like feeling hot on a cold day and you cannot switch on the fan because there are other people in the room who are feeling cold. You just kind of have to console yourself by saying, "Yes it is not that hot" while sweating like a pig.
Stop publicising depression/abuse. Stop victimizing yourself in the apparent efforts of helping others.