The article that says,”10 signs your Mental Illness is Made up for Attention”.

“ Imperfect understanding is often more dangerous than ignorance.”
— J.K. Rowling

Since I go through a lot of articles about mental illness because of my own illness, and now Hope is Good, I come across many that make me angry, horrified, or simply sad. This particular article though, this one, I had to talk about.

Here’s a link to the article- https://anongalactic.com/10-signs-your-mental-illness-is-made-up-for-attention/
It says,”10 signs your Mental Illness is Made up for Attention”, and it is written by Malcom, who seems to me, is clearly more educated about mental illness than people going through mental illness.

For everyone out there who either understands, or is suffering from mental illness, if the title of the article is already making you angry, wait till I discuss the points written by Malcom individually.

It starts by saying — In the age of the internet, more and more teenagers are looking to gain popularity, and it’s easy thesedays. Simply show cleavage on instagram or pretend you’re a pansexual with depression and anxiety even though you don’t know what that means. It’s good to point out these idiots as they make a mockery of real mental illnesses that people have to go through everyday. These are the obvious signs that, even if you do struggle with some anxiety/depression/whatever, you are exaggerating a decent part of it for all the attention (and the excuses) that it provides you.
If you see someone acting like this, please call them out.

Dear Malcom, are you somehow trying to be an advocate for people with mental illness by calling out those who are “faking it”? Or are you trying to infuriate the many fighters who are brave enough to put their stories out there, to embrace their illness and get better? What is the point here, because you seem to clearly have a beef with people like us.

1. Your definitions of illness change all the time. One day, depression means you can’t get out of bed or tie your shoes or pay bills. The next, it means you want to stay home and watch movies. The next, it’s not that serious. Your definitions change all the time, depending on context and how “sick” you really want to look.

Again, this coming from a person with BPAD, anxiety, clinical depression and PTSD, should be clear to you that if someone has depression they don’t change the definitions of depression all the time. There are bad days, then there are very bad days. There are days when it is impossible to get out of bed, move, or do the things one would do normally. And the very next day could be a little better and you can watch a movie. And yes, the next day, maybe you can possibly go out for a coffee. But NOONE with clinical depression and anxiety will want to “Look” depressed and sick. Looking depressed is not a thing.

2. You are constantly sharing shit about it on social media. Every time someone writes a #powerful #essay on whatever website about their struggle with upper-middle-class anxiety, you share it. You share “How to date someone with ____.” You share “7 things only people with OCD know.” It’s your whole identity, and you’re constantly reminding people that you are sick and brave and in a permanent struggle against the world.

Yes, I used to share “shit about it” on social media. Then I even started a campaign. I write #powerful #essays almost everyday. And what exactly is “upper-middle-class anxiety”? If we know what it is like to have mental illness and we are aware of it, isn’t it our duty to share it with the world? Not just my own illness, but all the others too. What is wrong with that? Is it hurting someone? Or is it educating others too.

3. You list it in your bios. If your bio announces from the get-go that you have depression — before you even mention, I don’t know, a job or a hobby or an accomplishment, you need help. And not in the “Lexapro” department, in the “you have nothing interesting to say about yourself besides a disorder” department.

I, personally, have not come across many Indians who list their mental illness in their bios. But when I go through articles, it is certainly helpful to know that, Okay, this person will have the power to understand what I am going through, since they have an illness. It is not because they have no other hobbies or accomplishments. It is because they have embraced their illness and are bold enough to reveal it from the get go. And I think that is extremely brave.

4. You use it to be an asshole to other people. If you don’t call someone back, it’s not because phones give you anxiety. It’s because you’re an inconsiderate asshole. If you don’t show up to a friend’s birthday party, it’s not because you are bad in social situations. It’s because you’re an inconsiderate asshole. If you take your stress out on your significant other constantly for no reason, it’s not because you’re depressed. It’s because you’re an inconsiderate asshole. Mental illness (although convenient) is not a catch-all reason to treat people like shit.

This point makes me feel like Malcom had a really bad encounter with a person who has mental illness. Because let me assure, if a person with depression, anxiety, or any other illness doesn’t take your call, or text you back, or don’t show up at your party- it’s because they really are sick. Noone would behave like that on purpose. It is hard to deal with a friend who has mental illness, but if you’re nice enough to understand then you’ll know they are not an “inconsiderate asshole”. And if someone is skipping your calls and your parties, then, Malcom, maybe because You are the inconsiderate asshole to stamp all mentally ill people that.
Secondly, stress out your significant other? Let this be made clear that, a lot of people who struggle with mental illness, also have good relationships, are happily married, leading almost normal lives. And that’s because there is tremendous amount of understanding between them.
And maybe, that didn’t happen to you because you are an inconsiderate asshole.

5. When it’s convenient, your illness takes a back seat. Unless something really fun is coming up and you manage to get it together, or you want to impress a date by pretending that you’re really active and outgoing and happy! Then you’re fine.

People with mental illness are generally always anxious as to how to make others see them normally. So, trying to impress a date or even another person, that reflects more on how our society has made us look than on us. Because if society didn’t have people like you, forcing us to fake our real selves then trust, that we would never pretend.

6. You think it’s “controversial” to talk about. If you think it’s still a “controversial” thing to announce to your Facebook friends that you struggle with bouts of anxiety, you’re either living under a rock or looking to be a martyr. It’s not controversial anymore. Everyone is open about their struggles with mental illness, etc. If you need to announce it, fine, but don’t pretend like you’re being brave by saying you’re sad sometimes.

“Pretend like you’re being brave by saying you’re sad sometimes.” I don’t even want to pretend like this is a point worth considering. Mental illness is not being sad sometimes. And then and there the point ends. If someone is courageous enough to open up about their ailment on Facebook, then who are they hurting? You’d never say this to someone who opens up about something as life threatening as cancer. And depression kills more people than cancer.

7. Even though your relationships have clear patterns, you don’t accept that they might be your fault. It’s never you! It’s always your string of completely unique exes who all just happened to be terrible people and just couldn’t accommodate your #illness. Ugh. Next time, you’ll date someone who “gets” you.

Ah, here we go. Now I am perfectly sure that the author had a pretty bad break up with someone who had mental illness, because he was an inconsiderate asshole. And I will come to that conclusion all by myself since Malcom took his time to label us all into one category. So, at this point, are you trying to say that normal people doesn’t have a string of exes because it’s never their fault. Is it just us, with the mental illness?

8. You constantly post baiting things so that people will ask what’s wrong. “It’s been a bad day. :(” “Not feeling good.” “Ugh, I can’t even.” Yeah, you’re posting those statuses because you want people to ask how you are, and you want to vent about it. But everyone has problems, and using the “feel sorry for me” card over and over again is incredibly irritating for everyone around you.

I think you got us, mentally ill people, confused with teenagers or real attention mongers. Yes, I know those people too, and I, too, believe they are using the “feel sorry for me” card. But as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody, who really cares. But coming back to the point where you linked every person with mental illness to this point- Noone with a real mental illness would like to get that kind of attention. If anything, we tend to Not go around talking about our bad days. Instead we just curl up in a ball and battle alone with our misery. Which you’d know, if you really knew someone who has a real illness.

9. You’re not really trying to get better. Maybe you take medication. Maybe you’re in therapy. But when it comes to the behavior that you’re doing over and again, you’re not interested in doing the hard work that is required to overcome mentally ill behaviors. You’re interested in talking about it, and identifying as a person who has ____, but you’re not interested in being better. Because that’s no fun.

So, tell me here, what am I missing. Since I am trying to get better, I thought the universally known medication and therapy, and talking about it is helping me get better. And to be truthful, it is. What am I missing here, then? What is this “hard work” that is required to overcome mentally ill behaviours? Because I always think, taking medication every day and night, so that we can be borderline normal and presentable to society, is hard enough work.
We are not trying to get better because it’s no fun being not depressed?

10. AND FINALLY pansexuals, demisexuals and the other special snowflakes of the LGBT community. Although sexuality is not a mental illness these people who have to be special snowflakes need to be called out more. It’s demeaning to people who struggle with their sexuality as it makes it seem like some kind of joke. You’re either straight, bi, gay or asexual in some cases. There is no need to make up your own label.

Oh my God, I don’t even know where this came from. How did you mix all of this together? “You’re either straight, bi, gay or asexual in some cases. There is no need to make up your own label.” And who gave you the authority to just make up your own label and that’s it? You are not only demeaning the mentally ill people, you now go on to talk about the LGBT community?

And finally, he goes on to say- Mental illness is serious, if you have to pretend to be mentally ill to get “likes” you are just an idiot. People like these take the stigma away from mental illnesses and make it seem trivial.

Okay, so after all these points you made about how mentally ill people fake their illnesses by putting it on social media, their bio, or Facebook updates, you are now concerned about how serious mental illness is. If this is some kind of reverse-psychology-spreading-awareness article, I did not understand it. And it makes me feel worse when I read the comments that validate this article, I remember that I know people like this in real life. People like the author of this article.

The people who say someone with serious mental illness is faking it. They are doing it for attention. Or they are privileged enough to be depressed. I have actually heard these things, that makes me sad. Mental illness doesn’t target a certain age group, or the privileged.
Every person, in every city, or country, at any given point, can have mental illness. There’s no discrimination there. It is as real as any other severe disease, and anybody can be affected by it.
Taking the stigma away from mental illnesses is the whole point. We want to be stigma free. There is no shame in having a mental illness. The point being that it is the same as any physical illness.

Living with a mental illness is hard enough, why make it worse for people?

I want to ask this person,”Do you also write that people with cancer update their Facebook to get likes and attention? Or is it just mentally ill people.”

Who hurt you, man?