Dear people with Depression,

by SakuramochiWednesday, May 10, 20170 Comments
Dear people with Depression,

WHO estimates more than 300 million people are currently living with depression, with an increase of over 18% between 2005-2015. Their quality of life is poor because of lack of support, wrapped by stigma and lack of access to health care.

Depression has a strong relationship with health problems. Depression makes people lose energy, lack of appetite, difficulty / lack of sleep, anxiety, diminished concentration, difficult decision-making, insecurity, feeling worthless, feeling guilty or hopeless, and thinking to harm themselves or commit suicide. Depression triggered a 50% suicide attempts (American Association of Suicidology, 2014).

These signs are increasingly being found in social media, where most people pour out their hearts. Social media is a tool to exploit ourselves without feeling a deep connection with the other person. The social structures formed with the aid of social media become widespread, scattered, open, with choices to provide the scope of secretive and rigorous activity. Among various platforms, MarketingProfs Daily Fix (2013) crowned Facebook as a home for disruptive social media behaviors. Have you seen people posting these things on Facebook?

  1. Vaguebooking: an ambiguous post, which causes people to ask, "what's wrong?"
  2. Humble brag: tells people how great your  life
  3. Too many Hastags
  4. Emoticons example
  5. Auto-DMs: automatic messages on twitter when following a new account.
  6. Capital letters:ARE YOU MAD?
  7. Oversharing: expose life details.
  8. Viral Facebook Posts: posts intended to get people to share them, for example "share this if you love your mom ..."

Disruptive social media behavior is a reflection of the mental state of the user. For example, in the study of Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia it was shown that over sharing behavior is done by lonely facebook users. Jean M. Twengwe (2013) argues that social media builds superficial and weak relationships, increasing focus on oneself (including narcissism), and can cause health problems for some people.

This self-focus we can identify with the amount of personal information shared, irrespective of whether or not the response was made. The more information you share, the greater the effect of oversharing on others. This behavior indicates a low empathy for other users who are forced to read information about themselves, especially if the content of the notification / status is negative (including hate speech). Reading it alone can affect mental states. I am not excessive. Imagine if reading a negative status every day, won’t it hurt yourself? Cursing flowers can be withered, Water given negative words will form a bad molecule. Imagine what would happen to human body.

Depressed people use social media as a last resort to draw people's attention to their suffering. We do understand that it happens because they can not access help in their immediate environment. No friend to talk to, look in his eyes and comprehend their feelings. They were too busy picking up the wound and writing feelings instead of searching the number of professional help contacts (psychologists or psychiatrists).
As someone who keeps reading depressing stuffs on social media, I have to say I’m not superman (woman). I keep 2 rules when dealing with depressive people.

First, I do not push myself. Mental problems are very sensitive. Did you know that not everyone likes to be asked, "Are you okay?" The question was more like a small talk and did not reduce the burden of depressed people. Do not act knowledgeable and do not feel responsible for their feelings. It’s better to give references to professional help than to make things worse.

Second, securing myself first. In the safety instructions on airplanes, we are reminded to "secure yourself before assisting others." We must make sure we are safe before we can save others. So, when social media posts threatens your mental health, stay away. Close Facebook, delete post, mute negative user. Do not let their depression caught you.

Dear people with Depression,
Just as you are entitled to feel your depression, we also have the right to distance ourselves from contagion. As Jina Kim once wrote: "Depression is an illness that vacuums up human energy and hope. But, beware. When you know a friend or family member who's depressed, and you're trying to help him or her, you may feel the impact of the disease, too. It can affect you in profound ways. That's why it's important that, as you render emotional support, you remain mentally and physically healthy. "

So please forgive us if we do not respond. Forgive if we close or delete your depressive posts. Sorry if we can not reach out right now, we are also struggling to stay sane.


Reference:
  • American Association of Suicidology.2014. Depression and Suicide Risk, https://www.suicidology.org/portals/14/docs/resources/factsheets/2011/depressionsuicide2014.pdf, diakses 10 Mei 2017
  • Kim, Jina.,M.P.H.(2008, Nov). Is Depression Contagious? Vibrant Life, 24,11
  • Twenge, J. M. (2013). Does online social media lead to social connection or social disconnection. Journal of College and Character, 14(1), 11-20. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2013-0003

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