This is just a quick blurb, but I have something to say and no one to say it to...hence, using this blog!
I've been looking a lot into Mental Health Awareness, and what sort of groups and support and advocates there are, because it's important to me personally. In the course of this research, I am increasingly shocked (though I really shouldn't be) at the callousness and shear insensitivity of so many people on the internet. There's a campaign called "End the Stigma", which is all about changing the way the public perceives people with mental illness. This movement is great and I hope that it succeeds. However, in some areas I think it's gone way too far in the wrong direction. People glorify their perceived disorders. Now, I'm not going to say that these people don't necessarily have any sort of problems. However, I'm really skeptical about the people like those on Tumblr who post these "Mental Disorder Quizzes" where they answer maybe seven very open questions about various disorders and suddenly they have ADHD, OCD, Bulimia, Depression, and many others, all at once. I'm sorry for them if they really feel they have all of these illnesses...but seriously, taking a quiz like that and posting it on a social media or blog site such as Tumblr just smacks of begging for attention, sympathy, and maybe even being 'cool', since sadly in some social groups your status seems to be measured by how messed up you are.
Basically, this is what I have to say. If you feel like you have a mental disorder, do something about it. Talk to a friend, a doctor, someone to trust. At the very least do your research so that you can better understand the disorder. Get help, and if your help comes from talking to others and being public about your disorder, that's your way. However, don't trivialize it. There are so many people who are really suffering, and they have enough to deal with without trivializing what they are fighting through.
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