Karma Police

I mentioned it on the 100 board before but I dealt with depression too and attended therapy for a year which helped me a lot.

A lot of people are scared to go to therapy because of how society views mental health and needing help to deal with your struggles. There are a lot of people who think it's weak and it's why a lot of people choose not to seek help.

Leelith

I have like everything. Depression, Anxiety, Social Anxiety.

Steph26

Oh, I think everyone should go to counseling once a year, at least. So much weight on everyone's shoulders.

The thing is that research shows the strong families aren't the ones who never seek counseling; they're the ones who will seek help when needed. It doesn't mean if you don't seek help, you aren't strong; it just means seeking help isn't a weakness, it's a strength.

Leelith

Being able to say to yourself that you need help, makes you so much stronger then living alone in your own mind.

Steph26

Lee, you are so mature. I didn't get any of this until I was older.

Leelith

I've been told that a lot.

Being able to admit your problems is the first step to making them go away or lessen. Dealing with it by yourself will only make it that much worse. And no one wants that.

Karma Police

Lee, you are very mature.

Realizing you need help shows strength. It took me a long time to finally go to therapy.

THIS x 1000. It irritates me how people think people who suffer from depression are just lazy? People think that depression = lying in bed and watching tv once in a blue moon. It's just frustrating that people refuse to acknowledge that mental health is just as important and that they shouldn't dismiss somebody's struggles.

Damocles

Thanks for this thread! This is a great idea.

Leelith

Mental health is a silent killer. You can see if someone broke their arm or have a disease. You can not tell someone has problems in their own skin. It makes it harder for people to understand. Unless you have gone through it yourself, it is hard to understand
But it still deserves the same respect that any other problem would.

Steph26

It's incredibly sad. I think something my generation didn't have to deal with but your generation does, Lee, is the ridiculous cyber bullying. You can't change schools and get away from it; it follows you. If I remember correctly, Texas is trying to enact laws that would land you in jail for it. Too many kids around here have committed suicide because of cyber bullying. One kid just down the road was pulled out of school and put in a private school, but it did nothing. They kept bullying him, and he ended up committing suicide. Makes me so upset in a lot of different ways!

Leelith

Cyber bullying is terrible. That is why I usually stay off of social media. You are right. You can not escape it. You can move states when he people can still follow you. You sided to be able to move school an be done with it. Now there is almost no one to stop it by yourself. Some cases you have to go to an autheotity figure. Bullys do not listen to you. But of they are said they will go to jail for it. They might think again.

Karma Police

Cyber bullying is awful. People don't realize how damaging words can be and think they are not harming anybody.

I was a teen in the 90s/early 2000s. It was so different back then. The Internet can be an amazing tool, I've found out a lot about certain topics that are not well covered here but it also has a dark side and it's just too easy to get access to people and harass and bully them.

Leelith

It is so terrible. You can be bullied by anyone from anywhere. The internet is blessing and a curse. It can be used to contact people and places you would have never expected to; like you guys. But it could also be used to hurt and demean people in ways that aren't as often done in real life. It's just the way people use it. There's always going to be bad people after so they're going to abuse it.

Steph26

I sometimes feel like people forget it's real people behind the screen name. That and it's like you have Internet tough guys. People need to be kind; kindness is good. Why do people think it's okay to be mean?

Leelith

Because they are arrogant. Just because you can not see their faces, does not mean it still can hurt them.