This blog post is due at 8AM, I'm so depressed!

Upon flipping through my binder full of Peer Group activities, I found a discussion-based activity about emotions. The purpose of the activity was to get kids to share stories and experiences about different subject matters. Different emotions were written on index cards and put into a hat. Then, the kids were to draw a card and share a story about it. The cards had different emotions written on them--embarrassed, excited, nervous, happy...depressed. Depressed?!

Yes the Peer Group binder was last updated over 20 years ago, but the vernacular use of "depressed" and "depression" meaning "sadness" has not gone away.

"Ugh, Lassie makes me so depressed!"
"There's school tomorrow, how depressing is that?"
"My English blog is due tomorrow and I've barely started. I'm so depressed."

Much of the current teen culture has to do with this vision of a "glamorized sadness". From Perks of Being a Wallflower to John Green books, sadness has become a bizarre thematic trend. True, I love Sylvia Plath as much as the next person, but it becomes an issue when sadness is idealized. Social Media sites, particularly Tumblr, only further these images of beautiful tragedy. Last year, I was struck by this article by The Atlantic. The article details how dangerous the casual use of "depression" on social media sites like Tumblr can be. And although such social media sites can just as easily be a source of art and humor, the flood of not-so-healthy images are equally as prevalent. The Atlantic discusses how often social media sites propagate the "depression gives me depth" and the "it's my issue, you wouldn't understand" mentalities.

The problem with the glamorization of depression is that it delegitimizes a fairly common issue. 7% of the US population between ages 18 to 45 deal with depression, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Depression should be talked about, but not in a way that encourages a constant state of sadness. There is also an important difference between a normal response of sadness and a depressive episode. (A depressive episode is defined as depressive symptoms for at least two weeks.) The truth is, depression isn't a cool trend but a legitimate condition, and it needs to start being treated as one. Although I personally disagree with the article's use of the word "wannabe depressed", (because in reality no one genuinely wants to be depressed), there clearly is a unhealthy community created around the glamorization of sadness and depression. If one is dealing with depression and needs a community to talk about it, there are many healthy means to do so, from therapy to support groups to engaging in discussions on the websites of TWLOHA and other such websites.

Side note: I was relieved to see the following message when I typed in "depression" into the search bar in Tumblr, a perfect example of a healthy way to express support for depression in a community.