Over the last decade, mental health has gone from a taboo topic to an integral part of the conversation. All over the internet, a virtual world in and of itself, billboards and blaring lights either advertised how important it is to put yourself first or joked about wanting to die and feeling depressed. These two extremes are not mutually exclusive. They are bound by the same circle and have recently become one of the main focal points of the world. When we discuss mental health, we do so in a variety of ways. Like all conditions in life, it can either be used as an excuse or a justification, seen wildly through youtubers’ videos, celebrities’ public apologies, a brand’s marketing technique etc.… However, even with all these events that are meant to raise awareness, none have succeeded in reaching that goal. 

The current attitude towards mental health is mainly focused on the monopolization of pain and the justification of human emotions. On the world wide web, no one says that they’re nervous anymore, but rather that their anxiety is acting up. No one says that they’re sad, but instead they use the term ‘depressed’. Often, these are the two main focuses of a discussion about mental health, where other disorders are completely disregarded such as: schizophrenia, dementia, psychosis, borderline personality disorder, and many more. Even when it comes to these two disorders, strict guidelines that entail what can and can’t be talked about are enforced. You can say that you’re suffering without going into details. You are not allowed to have symptoms if you have no diagnosis. With the spread of social media and its reach, we witness a new phenomenon characterized by specific behavior. People currently utilize mental health to appeal to the masses or to use it as an excuse for bad behavior. This type of policing creates a precedent that allows people to take advantage of the emphasis placed on being kind, and it permits a negative association to be made between awful actions and mental illnesses. This can lead to it being stigmatized even further. Of course, many who suffer from such illnesses may choose to cope with humor, but those that don’t and still partake in the making of these jokes encourage an entire viewership to also join in, prompting the air surrounding the topic to change from serious to humorous.

There’s also the flip side of it- the justification of any and all feelings one might experience due to a disorder. Simple mistakes – and by simple, I mean legal – aren’t allowed anymore without being prefaced by a disorder. “My anxiety made me react in a way that I now know and see isn’t okay.” “I was depressed at the time I wrote that comment and was lashing out. I didn’t care about who I hurt.” Surely, we can’t say that these events don’t occur in real life and that they should not be treated with the seriousness they deserve. The issue is the lack of proper respect afforded when the only reason one brings up said problems is to use it as justification and gain sympathy instead of recognizing that apologizing and working to better themselves is the actual solution. It’s a form of manipulation to support the use of mental health as an excuse, when in reality it serves as a reasoning tool rather than a get out of jail free card. Even if a person is physically or cognitively ill, they are still human and deserve to be treated as such, with accountability actually existing. Moreover, this type of identification with these two recesses promotes the other side to be put under scrutiny. There have been many examples- a recent one is the David Dobrik scandal. To justify repulsive conduct and lack of proper security measures, mental health was cited and the victims of the situation at hand were then accused by commentators of causing distress by coming forward with their story.

Mishandling this topic can and does have dire consequences. Unless the multitude of information being spread across the internet and by word of mouth is verified by a trained and credited psychologist, it could lead to harm. There are a lot of people turning to social media to diagnose themselves and seek help, especially given the pandemic over the last 2 years. An example of the harm that could befall a person is the latter consuming antidepressants or other over-the-counter medication without a prescription. This could lead a person to develop other mental illnesses. Psychology is still a fairly new science and a luxury that many people cannot afford due to the current rise of prices worldwide. That’s why it is important to keep in mind the harmful impacts social media can have on subjects as sensitive and intricate as this. People should realize the necessity of having credible information available to the public.

Edited by Lana Barakeh

Copy edited by Thea Daou