What NOT Say To A Depressed Person

March 14, 2020

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There is a stigma that surrounds mental health. It is my mission to squash the stigma of autism. I have that same mission for mental health. All we want is some understanding of the challenges we face. We are trying. It’s very difficult, but we are trying.

These are some things you should never tell someone with autism same case for mental illnesses. If you are interested, check out my blog post on what not to say to an autistic person.

Before I made a video about the worst therapist I ever had. He is very ablesit and invalidative.

‘So many people have it worse’

You think this is reassuring but it does the opposite. Brushing off our struggles because someone has it worse feels like a guilt trip. You’re basically saying we can’t have our demons because someone has it worse. The same can go if you graduated to be a doctor and you belittle someone who graduated to be a teacher. Life is not a competition. Please do not make it one.

“Get Over It”

This is not the same as fighting a cold. Mental illnesses are chemical imbalances. Do you really think someone can switch their depression off whenever they want? Would you tell someone who lost their parent, sister, brother, etc to get over it? Would you tell a diabetic to stop taking their meds? How is telling us to simply get over our depression any different? It’s still and issue that won’t just go away.

Mental illnesses need just as much attention as a physical illness.

“Try XYZ”

Some people will give their take on what they ‘think’ will help you fight your depression. What may work for one person won’t really work for someone else. We are all different. We are all not the same.

I wouldn’t have needed years of therapy if all I had to go was go for a jog. Again, it doesn’t work like you think it does.

“You Have Money/A job/A Car etc”

Depression doesn’t care if you have a nice car, a nice house, a nice job. Most folks with depression are called ungrateful. You can be depressed about anything that may happen in your life. The person could have lost their pet. Or lost someone they were close to. Sometimes you don’t really need a reason to be depressed. Stop guilting someone with mental illness for something they probably never wanted.

There are celebrities that had ‘everything’ and yet they have depression or killed/attempted to kill themselves themselves because of it.

“It’s All In Your head”

It’s a MENTAL illness for a reason. What do you think it affects, your foot?

However, the other party could see it as they think they are depressed when they really aren’t.

Another attempt at guilting people with mental illnesses.

“You Just Want Attention”

Well, we do want mental illnesses to have some attention and understanding. It is understandable that people fake mental illness when nothing is wrong with them. That takes away from people who actually deal with it. This doesn’t mean everyone on the planet is going it for attention.

Then there is the cliche that you are using it as an excuse. Since when is being upfront about your struggles making excuses? Seriously, I’d like to know.

The one thing you do not say and that is that depression is a choice. Again, it’s a chemical imbalance. It’s Neurological. Some people think addiction is a choice when in some cases it’s not. Some people look to drinking as an outlet. Your brain gets used to the outlet and the person loses control. However, with proper help, they can control their drinking. We can’t control our mental illness. All that can be done is to stabilize it.

Now I am going to spread my content across my gaming/main channel and my second channel. This helps me distribute it quicker.

https://youtu.be/ekZ4cTVeZeg

Here is a little introduction to my second channel. My goal is to squash the stigma that surrounds mental health and autism.

Instead. Be an ear for the person telling you about their mental health, not brushing it off.

People only care about mental illness when someone kills themselve or attempts to kill themselves. When the person tries to seek help they are invalidated and gaslit. That’s the cold truth.