Are you also bothered by this? (could also fall under self harm idk)

[Hot Liquid Neon]

I always get super annoyed, upset, pissed off etc when people throw around depression/mental illness and self harm so lightly, often making jokes about it or just calling someone bipolar or crazy without any real knowledge of what it means?

Does it bother anyone else? How do you guys handle it?

[LittleFish]

Oh trust me, it bothers a lot of people. This is coming from a clinically depressed self-harmer, so of course it offends me, but I know what you mean. It's ignorant, and it's stupid. As for how to handle it, well, the only sensible way to handle it is either try to educate them and give them a better understanding, request that they stop, or move on and accept that they're not going to change. Don't think there's much else you can do.

[LoveFever]

OMG YES.
It bothers me so much. I get called 'crazy' all the time from people who have no idea what the word actually means.
I'm also getting quite sick of people saying they're 'depressed' because they had a bad day or something.

[Commiseration]

Just yesterday a guy said a cutting joke to me. I just stared at him like "really?" He was 28 years old, and making insensitive jokes like that. Basically I ignored him and didn't even aknowledge his comment with a response. It's not worth the trouble dealing with ignorance. So you can either speak up and tell them how it makes you feel, or sometimes I believe silence speaks louder than words.

[Hot Liquid Neon]

yeah. Like, I am a clinically depressed/bipolar II self harmer and I have been fighting with myself lately trying not to SH and all of that. I have been called crazy so many times and "emo"- which pisses me off the most and so many people make cutting jokes and talk about people who do it so insensitively (this happened to me today about someone else, I basically just sat there and bit my tongue because it bothered me that much). I also defended a friend of mine who is going through a hard time and two people I know called her crazy and I kind of freaked out on them. It just sucks because its because of things like that that have made me stop taking my medication and going to therapy and just reaching out for any kind of help in general. It's kind of like "well what if you knew about me? Does your opinion on everything change just because you know me, or do I all of a sudden get put into this same category?"

[In The Arms of an Angel]

It bothers me when its used in a mean, extremely insensitive way yet if my friends were to make an offhand type of comment such as "well i'm gonna go slit my wrists now" or "time to go jump off the bridge" it doesn't bother me and I tend to make these types of comments myself. However, I think the only reason that it doesn't bother me is because I know that they know about my issues with sh and suicidal thoughts and they don't truly mean it in a way to upset me but rather in an "I give up, this is hopeless, f*ck it" kind of way. The comments that really do upset me however are ones where the person clearly doesn't understand that these things are serious issues and will say things like "maybe you should just go and die" thats when I become angered by it. Sorry if this offends anyone =/

[Thirteen]

Ugh, this pisses me off so much.
I'm Unofficially Bipolar (No diagnosis, parents don't believe in Mental Illness), and well, I have symptoms of a couple other things too. I self-harm, have been doing such in various ways for over a decade. I'm not right, I'm very messed up.

I hate when people cry "Bipolar" when someone goes from sad to happy (as human emotions naturally do!), because they don't understand it.
I hate when people fake mental illnesses, whether its because they want the world to focus on them (usually due to being spoiled brats), or to look "edgy" or whatthefuckever.
I hate when people try to make it look like they cut for attention, i.e. a scratch (self-inflicted or from a pet), that'll heal up in a day or two, for the sheer image of it.
And I hate when people claim mental health issues, DESPITE HAVING NO CLUE what they're talking about, like claiming to have a mental illness with NO SYMPTOMS, or claiming to have two mental illnesses that CONTRADICT ONE ANOTHER.

My sister claimed the one day how her ex was "Bipolar" because he was an angry drunk/druggie. And the other night, my friend (who is also my ex) made a joke about cutters being emo. Those hurt me.

But then, I've known people IN REAL LIFE to claim they have mental illnesses they don't have.
- My friend tried to claim she had Depression and Bipolar, which contradict one another, and she has no clue what Mania is!
- My other friend claimed to have Manic Depression and Bipolar, which is the SAME THING, and (once again) had no clue what Mania is.
- Another friend claimed Bipolar, despite never having Mania, and when I explained to him how it was impossible, he admitted he thought Bipolar was Depressed to Angry moodswings mostly.
- Another friend says she has Bipolar, and swears she had a Manic moment, but she's on antidepressants (which would most likely make her ALWAYS Manic) and her "Mania" was *coincidentally* (most likely CAUSED BY) drinking abnormal amounts of caffeine, which can cause Caffeine Intoxication, since it only lasted her a couple days til she stopped drinking caffeine (I KNOW from personal experience that Caffeine Intoxication can be very similar to Mania).
- A fellow I know mentioned on his Facebook about "Being insane" and making Charlie Manson look sane, and I asked him if it was a line from a song, he said "No I'm scitzo", claiming to be fucked up. Psssht, he has no clue about anything further than a typical teenager with sad days.

Point is, this shit happens, and it's annoying. But, there is not really much that can be done. Just got to try and educate people, or ignore them, I guess.

[Lost_InTheStars]

So much. When people are like, my teachers so bipolar. Or a freind. People use it in so many ways. Today in my journalism class a girl called the article we read bipolar. I'm not bipolar, but my dad is and it has a huge affect on my life, and it's really really really not funny. I'm a clinicaly depressed self harmer too, and people are always saying how depressed they are after a bad day, and I'm thinking you dont even understand what that means. Depresion is so far beyond being upset. And I cant stand it when people joke about cutting either (no one knows i SH). And the worst is when people talk about other people who cut, and how weird they are or they're just looking for attenintion. People just really don't understand it and it's hard.

[Hot Liquid Neon]

Another thing that really really annoys me is the whole "well they cut for attention so its not serious". I mean, obviously if someone is going to such an extent to hurt themselves for attention or even just to fit in or look cool, there is a major issue there.

[Thirteen]

Originally Posted by Hot Liquid Neon

Another thing that really really annoys me is the whole "well they cut for attention so its not serious". I mean, obviously if someone is going to such an extent to hurt themselves for attention or even just to fit in or look cool, there is a major issue there.

Not really, considering that'd be the exact same as saying that getting a piercing or tattoo (which both hurt, and result in a particular look) for a certain look is a "major issue".

Trust me, if you knew the one fellow I went to high school with, who'd scratch himself for attention, you'd agree. Since he stopped trying to be "Goth", hes no longer scratching himself for attention. It was entirely an image thing, trust me.

[♥ Choir. ♥]

Yes. When I hear people make jokes about it I want to scream at them. When I hear them toss those jokes around, so much I just want to roll up my sleeves and scream at them "LOOK AT MY SCARS! IT ISN'T FUNNY!" I'm the 'perfect' girl for my grade. I have everything in place. Perfect grades, perfect family, perfect everything. I'm just that hated, smart-ass girl who is too freaken proud to give a damn. They would never expect to see scars on my arms.
I can't react. I stand there, and I'm forced to laugh even when every part of me is screaming and telling me to shut the heck up. I have to stand there and hate myself because that's what I have to give out in order for people to not ask questions.

[Agoraphobia♥]

It does annoy me, like I had a friend who would always say well I'm gonna go cut my wrists now, whenever she would have to leave or if something sad happened. I so badly wanted to show her the scars on my arms but then one time she said, "I only say that, not because I'm emo, but because I think the whole emo thing is stupid." We aren't friends anymore, and people don't understand that even though someone cuts it doesn't make them "emo" and that self-harm, depression, and other mental illnesses are nothing to joke about because I've been through a lot of it.

[JessKilljoy]

Nothing annoys me more than when peoplecall themselves depressed because they've had a bad day, or they go on about how bad their life is because of one simple thing, oh and also self harming jokes there just plain sick. I've had people claim they know my disorder better than they do, when they don't even understand the bases of it. theres nothing more annoying and offensive.

[Life17]

OMG I can relate one day in my psyc class we had a discussion on ppl who are bipolar, major depressive, anxiety problems,etc. I came out of that class wondering why are my classmates simple minded. I heard things like depressed ppl get on my nervous i wish i could slap some life into them, girls only cut to keep friends around, your stupid if you want to take away your own life,etc. I sat through it all and thought my classmates are judging me before they know me. Its life you cant do anything about it but voice your opinion.

[~CourageousSurvivor~]

Yes, it does. When I was younger it bugged me a lot more because it seemed like there was a lot of intolerance and it scared me into thinking no one would ever accept me friend wise. Now that I have friends who know a bit about my past and they do not judge me it is easier to handle/tolerate because I know not ALL people are so close minded.

I hate it though because I think it keeps depression in the dark and does not allow people to really deal with it. There are a number of people I know who do not deal with their depressio because they are ashamed and worried how other people will view them if they are 'found out'. I hope with time tolerance for mental illness will grow.

[Stephanie]

I guessed it bothered me when I was ill, but that was when I couldn't see the funny side to anything. I think that lightening up and managing to laugh and joke about depression/self harm helped much more than therapy would. I don't however, appreciate it when people call themselves 'depressed' or medically ill when they're not.

[Brandon]

I take self-harm lightly because self-harm is a personal choice. I don't have any personal experience with self-harm, nor do I understand all there is to know, but it still boggles down to a personal choice. And why someone would choose to hurt themselves I find humorous. As far as depression goes, depression is depression -- you're still not obligated to attempt suicide, and you're not "going to be depressed forever." It's okay to be depressed, that is rational, because depression is a "mental illness", but suicide, like self-harm, is a personal choice. I've been depressed and know what it feels like, and all the things that I've said about my life I laugh at now because it was just really pathetic and ignorant.

People make fun of me of growing bald, even if they're joking about it, it doesn't really bother me -- even if they don't know what it's like to be growing bald. I laugh with them because I can't do much about it...might as well laugh about it and enjoy it while it lasts.

[j e s s i e]

"Crazy" doesn't bother me nor do many off-handed comments bother me like "oh, I'm going to go slit my wrists now." I am bothered by those who take mental illness lightly and claim they're "depressed" because their boyfriend of two weeks broke up with them. The tie between self-harm and emo culture is something that bothers me as well as claiming that people who self-harm do it for attention, which is ultimately sickening in the sense the people who struggle to cope every day with a serious problem are not taken seriously. I know I hesitate to speak about my self-harm to even the closest of friends because I'm afraid of that.

[JesusFreak]

It annoys me alittle bit. Lightly u know? like i wish u wouldnt say that. Just like when some kid gets hurt and they yell cutter i mean im not a cutter but i dont go and yell abou tthe people who are.

[Silverxy]

It definitely bothers me. Its the worst when adults do it though.
I was sitting in rehearsal for a show I'm doing, and I hear the director telling a group of the kids (supposed to be stereotyped as metal-heads, they're caricatures) to be doing something while another bit of action was going on, and he suggested pretending to cut. That made me upset.

[Boobies]

It doesn't bother me at all, if someone makes a joke and it's funny I'll laugh at it, heck I'll even tell it to other people of it's really good enough. More people need a sense of humour -_-

And when people talk about it lightly, oh well?...