Tumblr is social media platform that I have always loved, but am usually hesitant when it comes to opening it. All that I tend to see are black and white "thinspo" pictures of Effy from the UK series “Skins” and so many other models or actresses that are slim. It’s full of people promoting self-harm and self-destructive behavior. It seems to be a place for people to self-diagnose themselves with numerous mental disorders. This tends to be extremely dangerous, especially for people like me.
When I was in high school, I was diagnosed with a major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety. It wasn’t until my senior year that I decided to get the help that I needed. I regret waiting that long, but better late than never, right? I was fortunate enough to have a mom as great as mine, along with supportive friends because I would not have been able to do that on my own. I am so grateful for them. I went through treatment and started therapy, with their help. It was such a good thing for me, and helped me in so many ways. I can’t and won't say that I’m fully recovered right now, because I’m not. This will be a lifelong battle and something I will struggle with every day, but with the help of my amazing support system, I can get through it, I will get through it.
Now that I am getting better, I try to avoid Tumblr altogether. Those accounts are the absolute worst for people who are mentally ill. How are you going to get better when you see posts every day telling you to go hurt yourself or to kill yourself? How are you going to overcome an addiction when you see posts that promote it and tell you to do it? How are you going to stop harming yourself when you see posts that contain actual pictures of people harming themselves? How are you going to recover from an eating disorder when you see posts that promote starving yourself or pictures of skinny girls that you want to look like? You won’t! It’s so dangerous and scary to see those things and you know how bad looking at them can be, but you find it impossible to look away and to exit.
These accounts are the reason why so many people are called attention seeking for being sick. The people who run these accounts have given everyone who suffers from a mental disorder this bad image. They’ve made it seem like we do this all for attention and that none of it is actually real. That alone can scare someone of out reaching out and getting help. Many people are ashamed to talk about it or they’re scared to. That shouldn’t be the case at all! If you need help you should be able to get it, without hesitation, without fear.
If you happen to be reading this and you’re someone who’s afraid to ask for help, I can assure you that it will be completely worth it. Don’t allow other people to stop you from doing what you need to do to become healthy. If you’re someone who wants help, but you aren’t sure where to start or who to talk to, I can link a few resources for you. I’ve used all of them before, so I can assure you that they’re very helpful. They’re all free and they’re all confidential. I don’t recommend using these in replace of actual therapy, but it works for when you need something right away and you can’t wait for an appointment. I’d suggest you start with these and then think about seeing someone in person. Life is such a beautiful thing and you need to be a part of it.
The Trevor Project- The Trevor project provides an online chat, text and lifeline.
