I hate how some people think mental health conditions like BP, OCD, etc. are "trendy"

Sorry if this rant comes across as "mean," but I am absolutely sick of hearing about people on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. saying stuff like, "let's talk about mental health," then start overexaggerating and saying how "bad" they have it because they want to "compete" with other people. They also say stupid things like, "I hAve OcD bEcaUsE I LiKe To sTaY oRgaNiZEd!!! I HaVe To KeEp mY PeNciLs iN a StRaiGhT LiNe!!! tHaT MeANs I oBViOuSLy hAvE OCD. I aM uNDiaGnOSeD, tHoUgh!!! LeT'S tALk aBoUt MeNtaL HeALtH!!!!" Similar stuff can be said about BP, ADHD, etc., where people say stuff like, "I hAvE biPOLaR bECaUsE mY MOoD fLiP fLoPs BaCk aND fOrTH eVeRY SecOND. LeT'S tALk aBoUt MeNtaL HeALtH."

Sure, a portion of these people do legitimately have mental health conditions, but the attention wh*re nature of some people just really grinds my gears. People want to talk about how important mental health is, which is FANTASTIC and I 100% agree it's important, but a good chunk of those people seem to think that mental health is "trendy" now. Or they want to make people feel bad for them. I find this behavior sickening. It's like 90% of these people have a hidden agenda.

I am glad that mental health is getting talked about more, but some of this stuff is one sick joke.

Hi bluebicycle. I am not a Twitter, Facebook, or even frequent YouTube user, but I notice a little bit of what you describe on Reddit.com, where I mostly go just for their cooking subreddit. I will say that Reddit.com has some bipolar subreddits that weed out those who do not have serious (or legitimate) diagnoses, but there are still some who are a bit less "in the know" everywhere. I try to avoid such posts or even TV shows that I feel misrepresent illnesses. Ultimately, a lot of it is just plain entertainment. Sad, but true. Or in some peoples' defenses, they may actually be struggling in some way or another in life, and just want to feel part of some group. They may actually need some support, even if they don't have bona fide serious mental illness or at least the one their claiming to have. I bet you've even seen people here, at times, that might fit that category. Not really any of the regulars, but short-term posters, at the least.

I agree that mental illness is important to talk about. I am sad that some who talk about it have very wrong notions about it, and it's hard to really change that. I remember not that long after my youngest nephew lost his life to bipolar seeing a blogger "Talk about Suicide". They were of the crew that thinks suicide is a sin. It's terrible to read that. There are a lot of closed and misled minds out there. A lot of people consume information only from one or two skewed sources. No comparisons. No looking at things from different perspectives. No exploration beyond what's put right in front of them.

I know what I have gone through, and have a good inkling what many others with mental illness have gone through. I'm glad that I, and many others, do get proper treatment and support. That's better than in the past. I do expect wider knowledge to improve in the future. It surely won't be complete knowledge.

I dislike this too. And it can be sickening. In fact I have spent too much time offering genuine support to some who may fit that criteria (not anyone here...)

I also think it’s good that mental health is being talked about more. Although in this forest there is a tendency to expect a cure after 6 sessions. . Whatever

I have been had by a few pulling sick jokes on me over time. (not anyone here....)


I have not found you to be mean, blue.

And I wonder if people have pulled tricks on me as I am not mean

It’s a sad part of “human nature” for some. I think they sometimes fit a certain dx I will not go into....

(Not anyone here)

I think people do it for attention sometimes or an excuse for not having things done in life. And it makes them feel important.

I don’t understand why someone who doesn’t have actual diagnosis would claim that they do but I think the reasons above are why.

“I have anxiety“ sometimes means they get nervous at times like everyone else, “I have OCD” sometimes means I like my house clean-so do I and no I don’t have OCD, “I have PTSD” could mean 100 different things etc etc

I agree that it’s sickening but there is nothing you can do. I ignore it

There are people who like to exaggerate or fake physical illnesses too, not just mental. Attention seeking and getting out of things. We have somebody at work who when confronted about work not being done, claimed she had cancer and saying she’ll go on medical leave. She later denied she ever said it and claimed she said something else, we aren’t deaf though and it was a group of us and she was causing us problems with her work not being done.

She did it two years in a row. Both times when annual report and date analysis was due. Go figure

These people are lost. I suppose they are perhaps attracted to the artistic success/scientific success aspects of bipolar disorder. Van Gogh/ David Foster Wallace/etc. But I don't think most of them wouold last an hour in the throes of a psychotic or depressed episode. They are looking for the glamour, but missing the tragedy and anguish we all suffer with. They wouldn't make it an hour. Spend some time on this board. Are we glamorous?

I think we're all a little glamorous But the illness definitely sucks!

It was only a few weeks ago my T and I had a chat about people using diagnostic terms for things that do not fit the diagnosis. So many people use the word 'depressed' when they are really just sad, or even grieving. Sadness is not clinical depression. My T is a senior professor of social work at a local university. Due to Covid-19 he is in many virtual meetings that bring up the mental health of the students. The other professors were shocked that he had little sympathy for normally mentally healthy students anxieties due to Covid. He rejects that most need assignment extensions because of the inconvenience and changes to life and the relatively mild anxiety it brings. He finds it insulting to people like us, who suffer from diagnosed serious mental health issues, are lumped in the same basket as the healthy people who are simply struggling to adjust to self-isolation. It was an interesting discussion that helped me see just how passionately he stands up for the rights of the mentally ill. He thinks people pathologise normal emotions. Like when people say how depressed they are when they are just sad and still very functional.

Anyway, yeh, it annoys me too. When relatively healthy people think their experiences of emotions in the normal range are example of what a mentally ill person experiences peoples perception of those who have mental illness is warped. They must think we are weak to be so crippled. My pdoc told me that in a meeting he and his colleges agreed that they were not sure they would be able to survive what a lot of us go through. He has had PTSD in the past but recognises that long-term severe mental illness is only for the bravest(and fortunate enough to have support) to survive. I think most average well people are weak and would fall apart and give up after a week of what I endured for decades. Sadly, only those who have been there, or walked with those suffering closely, understand the difference between a normal human experience and true mental illness.

it makes me nuts especially when celebs or influencers get involved.

Maybe..... There is an uncategorized mental health condition for those who seek attention by self diagnosing themselves with mental health conditions. The behavior seems off, does it not? It is delusional.

I was feeling a little bitter when, in the early days of Covid lock down, the media kept talking about their support for everyone’s mental health from having to go through the hardship of the temporary halt to their normal lives. I had no moral support with all I went through on my own, mostly.* I did have people here, some family and friends, somewhat. But- I certainly never had Savannah Guthrie telling me don’t worry, be happy, lol.