We the Editors of Shorewood Ripples recognize the weight of mental health and also the common problems that come with trying to cope with it, and we wish to explore these issues.

Social media reflects and magnifies people’s mental health states. Going on social media, we wade through vents, rants, pictures of people crying and talking about their poor mental health, and more. It is a breeding grounds for destructive humor; self-deprecating remarks and jokes about suicide and depression abound. 

It is important to consider that while posting such content allows people to express their feelings, it can be destructive to the poster and the viewers of the posts. People sometimes make jokes out of their serious issues as a way to cry out for help, but they often do not receive the help they need since it can be difficult for others to tell if they can take the jokes seriously or not. These jokes are so prevalent that they delegitimize people’s problems as well as the general issue itself. And if everyone vents about their mental health online, it can make people think that their problems aren’t valid since other people have it worse or because “everyone else feels this way.” 

Mental health issues have become so trivialized that they have become an aesthetic trend, such as the “Sad boi hours” trend and the various Tik Tok memes which essentially boil down to “I’m depressed, unstable and it’s hilarious.” Trends always have bandwagoners, so it’s highly likely that some of these mental health venters are just depression romantics or are just trying to fit in, which is problematic. And romanticizing mental illness can be dangerous.

Of course, people shouldn’t be banned from sharing their thoughts and feelings online. But we have to ask ourselves before we post, especially when the post involves mental health, what we want to accomplish with the post. From there, we must honestly consider if the act of posting is worth it. Are we trying to find help? If so, posting will likely be less effective than confiding in someone close and/or seeking professional guidance. Though that is easier said than done, if we find ourselves constantly struggling to cope with our mental health in a healthy way and always turning to social media, this is an option that we must seriously consider. Jokes and venting will not solve the problem unless someone reaches out and recommends solutions – often professional help – so though it may be hard to take the first step, opting to seek help right away solves problems faster.

It is important to normalize seeking help when one has a serious problem, but we don’t want to encourage mental illnesses as a good thing, or make the person who says “I am depressed” a paragon of emotional depth. We want to normalize that help is good rather than standardizing that feeling bad all the time is good. The normalization of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety is a good thing – it’s important in decreasing the stigma surrounding them. However, a stigma against therapy remains, and sometimes these online interactions can bely the seriousness of these issues. If people think that all or most people feel as they do, they may not realize the seriousness of their particular problem or seek professional help for it.

We welcome the arrival of professional therapists to Shorewood. Professional help is often under sought, and we hope that this grant will make mental healthcare more accessible to students. 

There are positive mental health messages on social media as well. However, even those have lost meaning. We always see the phrase “you are not alone” online but we have never felt more alone as a society; the soaring mental health statistics can attest to that. “You are loved” is another well-meaning but ultimately impersonal message. These phrases have become cliches and people seem to feel that they have to say them, which furthers the phrases’ devaluation. If everyone says these phrases to each other, especially “you are loved” in its unconvincing, passive voice glory, they can make people feel less and less like they are true. 

Once taboo, mental health is now more of an acceptable topic to explore. That’s a good thing. But the fact that mental health isn’t considered shameful doesn’t mean it is healthy. We need to seriously consider the impact that the media we consume has on us, and vice versa, in order to be able to identify when it’s time to seek help.