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Emo culture making things difficult for those with genuine depression
I've read a few threads on H&R in the last month or so saying things such as 'depression is a made up illness', referring to how emo culture has made it 'cool' to self harm and claim to be depressed. I'm not necessarily blaming the people who started these threads, but this tends to be the way that they go.
I've had a chat on MSN this morning with a friend of mine who also suffers from depression about this and we both came to the conclusion that these threads can be unhelpful. I am not an emo, as I am sure are many on here who post about pretty awful situations.
A lot of people also comment on some of my posts elsewhere on TSR. One recent example was someone who said my post was stating suicidal intent when I was actually opposing immortality. 'I want to die' does not necessarily mean here and now. If that was the case, I wouldn't be posting on a religion thread.
I try to help people. I feel that is my current aim in life. It makes me feel better. I would rather use my negative experiences for the greater good of others than let them eat away at my will to live. This is why I often talk openly about my problems. I do not want to see people repeating my mistakes. I couldn't get help due to being too ashamed and thinking people would see me as a hypochondriac until after I had attempted suicide. I know it's wrong to think of the 'what ifs' but I am sure that if I had got the help I needed when I started showing symptoms, then I probably would not have tried to kill myself that weekend and would not have the serious long term health problems that I have as a result.
I rant about my problems on TSR because there are a lot of helpful people here. I also hate being a burden to my real life friends. Despite my common rants, there is absolutely nobody who knows everything about my depression. My best friend is very supportive and knows quite a lot, but is not aware of my recently turning to self harm. My parents know next to nothing, and I don't want them to know more. The people who know the most are my local mental health team. I had to be honest with them to get the help I need. I want to recover and would not wish anything I am going through on my worst enemy.
Basically, I am posting this thread to stand up for those with genuine depression. Emo culture has seriously messed up both my recent past and also my long term health. You might not have guessed this but I am actually utterly ashamed of how I feel. Calling people with genuine depression, which is an illness, emos or saying we are just attention seeking is not going to help anyone.
I've had a chat on MSN this morning with a friend of mine who also suffers from depression about this and we both came to the conclusion that these threads can be unhelpful. I am not an emo, as I am sure are many on here who post about pretty awful situations.
A lot of people also comment on some of my posts elsewhere on TSR. One recent example was someone who said my post was stating suicidal intent when I was actually opposing immortality. 'I want to die' does not necessarily mean here and now. If that was the case, I wouldn't be posting on a religion thread.
I try to help people. I feel that is my current aim in life. It makes me feel better. I would rather use my negative experiences for the greater good of others than let them eat away at my will to live. This is why I often talk openly about my problems. I do not want to see people repeating my mistakes. I couldn't get help due to being too ashamed and thinking people would see me as a hypochondriac until after I had attempted suicide. I know it's wrong to think of the 'what ifs' but I am sure that if I had got the help I needed when I started showing symptoms, then I probably would not have tried to kill myself that weekend and would not have the serious long term health problems that I have as a result.
I rant about my problems on TSR because there are a lot of helpful people here. I also hate being a burden to my real life friends. Despite my common rants, there is absolutely nobody who knows everything about my depression. My best friend is very supportive and knows quite a lot, but is not aware of my recently turning to self harm. My parents know next to nothing, and I don't want them to know more. The people who know the most are my local mental health team. I had to be honest with them to get the help I need. I want to recover and would not wish anything I am going through on my worst enemy.
Basically, I am posting this thread to stand up for those with genuine depression. Emo culture has seriously messed up both my recent past and also my long term health. You might not have guessed this but I am actually utterly ashamed of how I feel. Calling people with genuine depression, which is an illness, emos or saying we are just attention seeking is not going to help anyone.
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Yeah I'd agree with you to agree with you there...
Emos seem to be just another alternative group in society, albeit a conscious group of people who ascribe definitely to certain music/dress style. Chavs are the same, but their style of dress etc, and general rhetoric is different and isn't as conscious as emos.
Some emos are not genuinely depressed, they are stuck in a rebellious teenage phase and want to make a stand and have a say, rather than having genuine mental health problems.
Emos seem to be just another alternative group in society, albeit a conscious group of people who ascribe definitely to certain music/dress style. Chavs are the same, but their style of dress etc, and general rhetoric is different and isn't as conscious as emos.
Some emos are not genuinely depressed, they are stuck in a rebellious teenage phase and want to make a stand and have a say, rather than having genuine mental health problems.
jaydoh
Some emos are not genuinely depressed, they are stuck in a rebellious teenage phase and want to make a stand and have a say, rather than having genuine mental health problems.
My point exactly. I have a problem with people calling those with genuine depression emos, because emos are in a rebellious phase.
Do you also feel that there can be people who are genuinely depressed but get called "emo", when they are clearly not? It's working the opposite way, but people who have never been depressed wouldn't know what it's like and therefore people who mix the two up are ignorant and very misguided.
I reckon they should get their facts straight before they start saying things.
I reckon they should get their facts straight before they start saying things.
jaydoh
Do you also feel that there can be people who are genuinely depressed but get called "emo", when they are clearly not? It's working the opposite way, but people who have never been depressed wouldn't know what it's like and therefore people who mix the two up are ignorant and very misguided.
I reckon they should get their facts straight before they start saying things.
I reckon they should get their facts straight before they start saying things.
Where I live, the emo 'scene' is bloody everywhere. Anybody who mentions that they're depressed or accidentally reveals a cut is instantly branded as 'emo' despite being nothing of the sort. This isn't the fault of these people though; it's the fault of the emos for taking every little thing and turning it into something to define themselves by. I wouldn't dream of buying skinny jeans (I mean I wouldn't anyway, given the shape on me..) because emos have claimed this fashion as being theirs. Similarly, they've got the monopoly on mental illness and self harm and brandish like a fashion accessory, clearly not all that upset by it, so that when someone who genuinely struggles with it every day reveals that they're unhappy, people assume that they 'suffer' in the way an emo 'suffers', and then don't take it seriously at all.
Rokit
what is an emo?
Listen to My Chemical Romance and then you'll know.
I would like to agree with averageguyonthestreet. I suffer from severe depression. However, because I also wear eyeliner, some of my friends have branded me 'emo'. Thankfully some other people, including people on TSR, have not done so.
It's really horrible watching emos claiming to be depressed because it makes people who do suffer from depression, a lot worse, because they could also be branded such, but also because they have to go through the actual depression.
I also post on here for the same reason, because the people who know me as depressed over TSR do not judge me, but instead they are kind and supportive. They don't know what I was like before I became depressed and therefore I feel like I have no need to live up to expectations.
It's really upsetting that some people on TSR believe that depression is not a real illness. Actually, yes it is, in my opinion. It has physical symptoms and mental ones. This sort of comment really hurts, because people who suffer from depression are going through such an awful, i cant even describe how bad, period of time.
It's really horrible watching emos claiming to be depressed because it makes people who do suffer from depression, a lot worse, because they could also be branded such, but also because they have to go through the actual depression.
I also post on here for the same reason, because the people who know me as depressed over TSR do not judge me, but instead they are kind and supportive. They don't know what I was like before I became depressed and therefore I feel like I have no need to live up to expectations.
It's really upsetting that some people on TSR believe that depression is not a real illness. Actually, yes it is, in my opinion. It has physical symptoms and mental ones. This sort of comment really hurts, because people who suffer from depression are going through such an awful, i cant even describe how bad, period of time.
I agree that emos basically mean that sometimes people aren't taken seriously when they do have depression or other such types of mental illnesses.
It's not fair that people are just branded as 'emo' because there are a certain culture of people that think cutting themselves and sitting together moaning about all of these 'terrible' things in their lives. However, it cannot be said that there are people who may dress as the emos do and be depressed... I mean, actually depressed. But then again, they couldn't be classes as emo then if they are genuinely ill, I think...
I know what I mean but I have the feeling not many other people will.
It's not fair that people are just branded as 'emo' because there are a certain culture of people that think cutting themselves and sitting together moaning about all of these 'terrible' things in their lives. However, it cannot be said that there are people who may dress as the emos do and be depressed... I mean, actually depressed. But then again, they couldn't be classes as emo then if they are genuinely ill, I think...
I know what I mean but I have the feeling not many other people will.
I agree also.
I have nothing against emos, infact they're quite interesting.
But I do think that yeh that play up the fact that they are 'depressed' they make it cool to be depressed. They have their black hair, tight jeans, and cuts on their wrists to make them fit in and me 'cool'. It's unfair on those of us who genuinely suffer from depression. Perhaps it makes people take us less seriously. Me personally, I have been called emo many times. And it's not funny. People now associate depression with being an emo, which is utter crap. Thanks for doing this thread averageguyonthestreet.
I have nothing against emos, infact they're quite interesting.
But I do think that yeh that play up the fact that they are 'depressed' they make it cool to be depressed. They have their black hair, tight jeans, and cuts on their wrists to make them fit in and me 'cool'. It's unfair on those of us who genuinely suffer from depression. Perhaps it makes people take us less seriously. Me personally, I have been called emo many times. And it's not funny. People now associate depression with being an emo, which is utter crap. Thanks for doing this thread averageguyonthestreet.
jaydoh
Do you also feel that there can be people who are genuinely depressed but get called "emo", when they are clearly not? It's working the opposite way, but people who have never been depressed wouldn't know what it's like and therefore people who mix the two up are ignorant and very misguided.
I reckon they should get their facts straight before they start saying things.
I reckon they should get their facts straight before they start saying things.
Yeah I got called emo by some year 9 kids. It really annoyed me. I've also been told I have "teenage angst." I've been through that & know this isn't what I have.
I was talking to my mum after I went to see a neurologist who said I have teenage angst, and she said she thinks that he said that because of the emo culture. A natural response is "I don't like this, I want to kill myself." even if it has no meaning whatsoever and won't be carried out. My mum explained to the guy that I'd tried several times & thinks that he adopted the idea that I was emo.
Very frustrating.
A pet hate of mine is people who claim to be depressed when they have not been clinically diagnosed. Depression is a serious debilitating illness, not feeling down for a day because you've run out of chocolate. I really can't stand it when people say 'oh, I'm so depressed.' No you're not, get a diagnosis before you make light of something as serious as depression. I've never been diagnosed as having depression before, nor do I believe I have it, but it's just something I feel very strongly about.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A pet hate of mine is people who claim to be depressed when they have not been clinically diagnosed. Depression is a serious debilitating illness, not feeling down for a day because you've run out of chocolate. I really can't stand it when people say 'oh, I'm so depressed.' No you're not, get a diagnosis before you make light of something as serious as depression. I've never been diagnosed as having depression before, nor do I believe I have it, but it's just something I feel very strongly about.
A pet hate of mine is people who claim to be depressed when they have not been clinically diagnosed. Depression is a serious debilitating illness, not feeling down for a day because you've run out of chocolate. I really can't stand it when people say 'oh, I'm so depressed.' No you're not, get a diagnosis before you make light of something as serious as depression. I've never been diagnosed as having depression before, nor do I believe I have it, but it's just something I feel very strongly about.
I too hate self-diagnosis, as I mentioned in another thread there is a trend on the internet of self-diagnosis Asperger's Syndrome, it's just crap.
emos are the chavs of the rock world
but yes the in thing is to be depressed as far as they are concerned, it is a damn shame
but yes the in thing is to be depressed as far as they are concerned, it is a damn shame
Well said OP!
I don't have anything against people trying to express their individuality but when their "individuality" comes far too close to those people who have problems and who honestly need help, it's just gone too far.
Outsiders, who unfortunately know no better, are likely to take less notice of the people who have to depression when so many "claim" to have it. They almost dismiss the person as being another one of "those emos".
Here's a
for all those who genuinely need it.
I don't have anything against people trying to express their individuality but when their "individuality" comes far too close to those people who have problems and who honestly need help, it's just gone too far.
Outsiders, who unfortunately know no better, are likely to take less notice of the people who have to depression when so many "claim" to have it. They almost dismiss the person as being another one of "those emos".
Here's a
for all those who genuinely need it.
Slashing your wrist is what you do when your depressed, no? And you should be depressed because you don't belong, right?
I know the above sounds daft, but reading literature on depression, an impressionable teenager could soon get the impression that a *genuinely* depressed person would could cut their arm. So cutting your wrists becomes a test of dedication; a reinterpretation of the classic cry for help.
Being a teenager can be hard time because, simply, teenagers have no sense of perspective. Not having had a girlfriend by a certain age can cripple some people-perhaps make them question their own sexuality for example (I dunno, could explain all the tight black jeans). Or having a one month old relationship break up can seem like the end of the world. A teenager can soon start feeling depressed and like they don't belong. Teenagers feel for the first time a desire for a different type of human companionship-it's a powerful feeling which can be hard for some to handle.
And I guess that is where Emo kind come in. Teengers simply have to be part of a social group; they just don't function otherwise. It's why music is popular with teenagers. Emo just mops up all those people who don't feel they belong to any other group; emo kind seems to accept anyone. Its a rebranding of yet another group that is into alternative rock and its depressed ridden lyrics.
So yes, emos will eventually get over themselves and being emo is perhaps no dfferent to being a chav, but you can't hate a teenager for wanting to express their emotions or belonging to a social group. It's what teenager do and unfortunately, as infuriating as it sounds, a lot of teenage depression really is just a phase, and so genuine depression can go over looked. but you can't blame the emos!
I know the above sounds daft, but reading literature on depression, an impressionable teenager could soon get the impression that a *genuinely* depressed person would could cut their arm. So cutting your wrists becomes a test of dedication; a reinterpretation of the classic cry for help.
Being a teenager can be hard time because, simply, teenagers have no sense of perspective. Not having had a girlfriend by a certain age can cripple some people-perhaps make them question their own sexuality for example (I dunno, could explain all the tight black jeans). Or having a one month old relationship break up can seem like the end of the world. A teenager can soon start feeling depressed and like they don't belong. Teenagers feel for the first time a desire for a different type of human companionship-it's a powerful feeling which can be hard for some to handle.
And I guess that is where Emo kind come in. Teengers simply have to be part of a social group; they just don't function otherwise. It's why music is popular with teenagers. Emo just mops up all those people who don't feel they belong to any other group; emo kind seems to accept anyone. Its a rebranding of yet another group that is into alternative rock and its depressed ridden lyrics.
So yes, emos will eventually get over themselves and being emo is perhaps no dfferent to being a chav, but you can't hate a teenager for wanting to express their emotions or belonging to a social group. It's what teenager do and unfortunately, as infuriating as it sounds, a lot of teenage depression really is just a phase, and so genuine depression can go over looked. but you can't blame the emos!
icedsilhouette
A pet hate of mine is people who claim to be depressed when they have not been clinically diagnosed. Depression is a serious debilitating illness, not feeling down for a day because you've run out of chocolate. I really can't stand it when people say 'oh, I'm so depressed.' No you're not, get a diagnosis before you make light of something as serious as depression. I've never been diagnosed as having depression before, nor do I believe I have it, but it's just something I feel very strongly about.
Your post is a little confusing. We all have times when we feel really down, and that is classed as feeling depressed. While it may not be the long-term depression with which people stay off work for months, it's not fair to dismiss that.
On the other hand, there is of course a world of difference between generally feeling a bit down and clinical depression for which you mught be put on anti-depressants. They are two separate issues though.
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