Mental illness is a scary topic, seeing as there are so many of them and a lot of people suffer from one. A few things that bother me, and make me sad, is those people who take advantage of an illness and try and turn something so sad into this generational, romanticized version of something that it’s not. The generations below me, and the one that I am a part of are extremely guilty of doing this.
As I scroll through my Twitter and Instagram feeds, I see constant, "I'm so sad," "I have such horrible anxiety," "I'm so depressed" (now do not get me wrong, I tweet if I'm sad about something, but not for attention) all over it. All day, every single day. With all the mental illnesses being talked about, you don't really see people romanticizing anything other than anxiety and depression.
And for those who actually suffer from the disease (YES, PEOPLE, Depression is a DISEASE), it is kind of a slap in the face.
Mental illness is real, and it's raw and painful and it sucks. Being sad all the time sucks. Depression sucks.
What depression isn't: beautiful selfies on Instagram with a sad caption, a pack of cigarettes you smoke to be artsy, with makeup running down your face; it isn't drugs, and sex with random people to make yourself feel better; and it isn't this beautiful boy coming in to save you by saying all the right things and wiping away all of your tears.
Depression is depressing, it's loneliness when you're in a crowded room, it's never feeling good enough, it's a lot a lot a lot of tears, it's struggling to hold yourself up when everyone around you is standing. It's feeling lonely next to your parents, your best friend, your little brother.
It's a tough topic, you don't always know how other people are feeling, but those of you putting it out there, tagged with Banks, or Lana del Rey lyrics, spouting about your depression for attention: it's hurting those who actually suffer from the disease.
Depression doesn't pick you because you're rich or you're poor; it doesn't pick you because you live in a big house or a small one, or you have long hair or short hair. It will pick anyone, and anyone can suffer.
Not all of us have someone to save us like Freddie fought so hard to save Effy. (If you haven't watched "Skins: UK" on Netflix, check it out.) I'm sure there are some people out there who would do anything for someone, but most of us wake up and fight this battle alone. So if you're sitting here, playing around, pretending to be sad, hoping this beautiful boy will swoop down and save you from yourself, stand up.
Stop romanticizing a disease, and start loving those around you, because you never know if the person beside you is broken.
And if you suffer from depression, know there are millions of people proud of you, for lots of things: for getting out of bed today, for going to work today, for smiling today, because everyday is a new one, filled with a million possibilities. And just because you are sad today doesn't mean you won't be incredibly happy tomorrow. You will find your soulmate. You will eat lots of ice cream. You will make wishes on pennies thrown in fountains, shooting stars, and 11:11. And you will collect shells on the beach. You will laugh, you will cry, but you will get better.
