Today's society places a ridiculous amount of importance on social media and what we see on our computer screens. Some of these short films you might have seen shared on Facebook. Some of them you may have never even heard of. Whatever the case may be, these productions have used thier position of power in our world today to spread a message. The messages vary from domestic violence, LGBTQ acceptance, self-love, the role of men in society to end the unfair treatment towards women and even the promotion of the furtherence of medical discovery in our country. Regardless of the message, each film advertises something that needs far more screen time than Victoria's Secret Fashion shows or Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Here are 14 of the best and most revolutionary short films to date:
Depression Doesn’t Have an Image.
“I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anybody else to feel like that.”— Robin Williams
This is a response to Let Your Friends Rant To You, Because Their Mental Health May Need It.
Depression doesn’t have an image.
It can look like anything on anyone. It can be the strongest person you know who always radiates positivity and the one to make others feel included.
Unfortunately, despite its prevalence, depression is often misunderstood, and many people still hold onto outdated and stigmatizing beliefs about the illness. One of the most persistent myths surrounding depression is the idea that it has a specific image. This misconception can be harmful in several ways, and it's time to dispel it once and for all.
The idea that depression has a specific image can be harmful in several ways. First and foremost, it can make it difficult for people who are struggling with depression to recognize their symptoms and seek help. If someone doesn’t fit the stereotype of a depressed person, they may not realize that what they’re experiencing is a mental health condition, and may be reluctant to reach out for support.
The notion that depression has a particular image is rooted in the idea that people who are depressed will look and act a certain way. They’ll be sad and lethargic, have trouble sleeping and eating, and generally appear disheveled and withdrawn. While it's true that these are some common symptoms of depression, they are by no means universal. Depression can manifest in a wide range of ways, and people with the condition may present with a variety of symptoms.
For example, some people with depression may experience agitation or restlessness rather than lethargy. They may have trouble concentrating or making decisions, experience physical symptoms like headaches or stomach aches, or engage in risky or self-destructive behaviors. Some people with depression may be able to function relatively well in their daily lives, despite feeling profound emotional pain.
It's important to recognize that depression can affect anyone, regardless of their age, gender, race, or socioeconomic status. It's a myth that only certain types of people are susceptible to depression, or that depression only affects people who have experienced trauma or significant life stressors. Depression is a complex condition with a variety of contributing factors, and it's not possible to predict who will develop it based on external factors alone.
The belief that depression has a specific image can lead to stigma and discrimination. People who don’t fit the stereotype of a depressed person may be judged or dismissed by others, which can make them feel even more isolated and alone. The stereotype of the depressed person can perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes, as depression is often associated with women and seen as a sign of weakness or emotional instability.
So what can we do to combat the myth that depression has a specific image? The first step is to educate ourselves and others about the diversity of experiences that can be associated with depression. We need to recognize that depression can present in a wide range of ways and affect people from all walks of life. By challenging the idea that there's a specific image associated with depression, we can create a more inclusive and supportive society that's better equipped to help those who are struggling with their mental health.
Additionally, we need to be mindful of the language we use when talking about depression. Instead of relying on stereotypes or stigmatizing language, we should strive to be more inclusive and empathetic. We should recognize that depression is a complex condition that affects people in different ways, and avoid making assumptions or judgments based on external factors.
By challenging the myth that depression has a specific look, we can create a more inclusive and supportive society that's better equipped to help those who are struggling with their mental health.
There is another quote by Robin Williams that always stuck with me, and to which I will leave to be stuck with you: “All it takes is a beautiful fake smile to hide an injured soul and they will never notice how broken you really are.”
How I Challenge My Depression & Make My Own Happiness
Happiness is always a work in progress, and so am I.
The Oxford University Press' Living Dictionary defines depression as "a mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep."
I'd, personally, like to thank the staff at Oxford University Press for their psychiatric definition that was actually more detailed than I expected.
From the BCBS 2018 Report "Major Depression: The Impact on Overall Health."https://www.bcbs.com/the-health-of-america/reports...
Unfortunately, I don't think that one definition can be exactly the same for every single person that has been diagnosed with depression. For myself, I actually do not have trouble sleeping. Instead, I sleep too much.
Lack of energy used to be a problem for me with depression. I have, slowly over time, learned to channel my depression from 'laying around' into 'go for a run'. I choose to be around people less though. I keep to myself more. I don't communicate as well, or often, with family or friends that I would typically speak to on a regular basis. When I do speak to people, it is short, simple, and to the point.
I definitely have a problem with my appetite when I am depressed. I have gone through stages where I have lost weight and gained weight while depressed. I am beginning to see when and where the differences lie. I lost approximately 30 pounds within 2 months when my ex-husband first left me in 2012.
Granted, I needed to lose weight, but that was not ideal. I stayed at that ideal weight for about 1.5 years and then slowly began gaining the weight back. I have had other times since then where I have been depressed but over-eaten and put on an excess amount of weight.
Most recently, when I had family members in the hospital, I began losing weight dramatically again. Not quite as dramatically as in 2012, but maybe close to 20 pounds lost over 4-6 months. I had already started a weight loss plan with my doctor a couple of months earlier, but I don't think I would have lost that weight as quickly if the health scares had happened with my family members.
The health scares made me constantly sad and I couldn't bear to think about my own health when I had family members whose health was at risk almost 24/7. I felt so selfish.
Stress and depression can go hand-in-hand as well. While being depressed about health scares, I have also had a lot put on my plate at work. I would feel like I couldn't stop for 5 minutes at work to eat something because I was so stressed about all of the extra things that I was doing and not being given the extra time that I needed to do those things.
I will admit that I have needed to lose weight for a while now. My doctor is working with me closely to help me get to my goal weight. This includes paying closer attention to what I am eating and my portions as well as slowly increasing my exercise regime. Finally, it includes adding a prescription weight loss medication to help curb my appetite.
However, there have been times when I have barely had to take this medication. During a bout of depression in 2017, I was so stressed and nauseous that I didn't need to worry about taking my medication. I lost 6 pounds alone just by constantly feeling sick 24/7 for about a week. It was so frustrating, and I knew I was doing it to myself, but I also felt like I couldn't do anything to change it.
As soon as I started thinking about why I was feeling that way in order to find a way to push forward, the sickness set in even harder than it did before.
#MentalHealthMattersmedia1.giphy.com
The trouble with depression is having the strength to see it. Realizing that depression and anxiety have become a part of your daily life and now trying to find a way to live with it and work through it. Many people choose different ways to manage their depression such as medication, therapy, meditation, etc. All of which are good ideas.
There are so many options and things that you can do on a daily basis to help yourself. I chose medication for a while until I realized how to manage on my own without it. I also saw a therapist and a psychiatrist to help manage my thoughts and how to handle myself.
I will quickly plug that I believe that therapy is amazing for anyone and everyone. You do not have to be depressed or going through anything to see a therapist. I saw a therapist a few times just to be able to talk to someone other than my friends about my problems and get an outsider's point of view on topics and how to handle situations. It is very cathartic to be able to speak with someone who has no reason whatsoever to judge you and only wants to offer help and advice.
Going to therapy or seeing a psychiatrist are good places to start with depression. Speaking with a professional and being put on medications to get you to a good, steady point, and then working your way up and out from there. Once you are stable, then you can find things you enjoy in your daily life that will help to take your mind off of your depression or distract you from it long enough to calm you down.
I began to go jogging or exercising and listened to upbeat and motivating music while I did so. This helped energize me and give me a more positive outlook on life. Afterward, even though I was tired, I was ready to keep going and do more things or try new things. I then tried meditation on my rest days, then soon I was using meditation on an almost daily basis because I realized that it helped keep my temper at bay. The time I spent meditating helped me to realize that there was so much more detail to every situation and my reaction did not need to come so quickly.
Once you find one or two things that help build you up, then you can branch out and continue to try new things all while, possibly, weaning yourself off of medication (with your doctor's recommendation).
I tried a few different medications over a few years. After a while, I felt like I was stable enough to come off of all medications. I was also tired of spending so much time at doctor's offices and psychiatrist appointments that I felt like I was missing out on life. I decided to talk to my doctor about going off of medication, and since I had worked so hard to build myself up over the years, coming off of medication was, almost, a breeze.
There are always going to be times, as a person with depression and anxiety, that you question everything that you do. Coming off of medication was one of those things for myself. I worried that I would let myself go and become the person I was during my separation again. It was the scariest thought. It was also a thought that pushed me to keep myself up and moving on a daily basis.
Now, I am off of all my depression medications. I have been exercising more, trying to eat healthier, focusing on positive thoughts, and losing weight the right way. I have tried new kinds of crafts and artsy things. I have explored new areas in my neighborhood. I have traveled to new places, and sometimes alone. I have made new friends. I have dated. I have tried listening to all kinds of new music. I have gone to a few pretty cool concerts. I have gone to some fairs and craft shows.
There are so many things to do and opportunities to take advantage of in life. Depression puts a pretty big damper on those things. Getting through the forbidden forest that is depression and making your way out of it is so very hard; however, it is worth it in the end when you have learned so many things about yourself. Not just about new things that you like to do, but things like what triggers your depression or how to calm yourself down from an anxiety attack.
I am in no way trying to make light of depression because I truly understand that anchor that can weigh a person down. I still battle with depression and anxiety myself. I just try to look at it more positively than I used to, otherwise, it would eat me alive... again.
I am still constantly fighting for my own version of happiness. Depression is not an easy fix, mind you. Happiness is always a work in progress, and so am I.
Poetry On Odyssey: Allow Introspection To Grow You Internally
Allow introspection to become a daily practice.
I heard God say
that introspection
is a gift.
It is wrapped in a bow,
with holes
from His hands.
It carries self-awareness
and stars that breathe
light into the night.
The fall leaves
fall off of trees
to communicate
to self that it is time
to weed out the fear
and anxiety.
The summer sun answers
prayers that our hearts
only hear through tears
and self-focus.
God wants introspection
to heal what affects us
outwardly.
God wants introspection
that grows our internal.
God wants introspection
because it creates an awareness
of who we are becoming.
Live, breathe, and submit
to introspection. Let it grow
a deeper connection
to the air in heaven.
Stop Making Instagram Your Only Outlet For Social Activism
Instagram is a great place to spread awareness, but stop confusing your desire for clout with your desire to save the world.
Instagram is, without a doubt, one of my guiltiest pleasures. I often find myself spending way too much time on social media, caught up in the world of likes, filters, and hashtags.
On the daily, I scroll through hundreds of selfies, beach pictures, happy birthday posts, and the occasional dog pictures. I am all for posting whatever you want on your Instagram account and personally hate the so-called "rules" that govern how we use social media.
Just as the use of Instagram and other forms of social media keeps growing, so has our generation's awareness of social issues. Everywhere I go, I get reminded of the issues our world is facing. Whether it be plastic, global warming, poverty, animal rights, etc., it is clear that our generation wants to see a change.
Even though this is amazing, recently I've noticed that so many people my age are confusing the true desire to spread social awareness with the desire to make their Instagram account look better.
A few months ago on Earth Day, my Instagram feed was flooded with pictures of nature. Almost all of these pictures were of girls at the beach, or hiking with their friends, or even taken from the window of an airplane.
While the idea of posting about how much you love the Earth and want to save it is a harmless idea, it does nothing to actually save the planet.
I fully support posting a picture of yourself at the beach, and showing off your confidence, but don't post it on Earth Day, pretending it's the ocean behind you that you care about.
If you really want to save the Earth and make a difference, posting a yearly Earth Day picture of yourself is not the way to do it. Wanting likes and clout on social media is a part of how today's generation values themselves and each other, but thinking that this is actually promoting any form of social justice is plain wrong.
More recently, videos of baby calves being taken away from their mothers (highlighting the truth behind the dairy industry) have been flooding my social media feed. These videos are heartbreaking, and I am sure that the people posting them truly think they are horrific as well.
Posting this type of content is a great way to spread initial awareness, but don't let it be your only outlet for promoting justice for the things you care about.
Social media keeps our world extremely interconnected, and without it, awareness of many of the problems our world is facing wouldn't reach nearly as far as it does.
I'm not saying that using Instagram to spread awareness is a bad idea, I'm just saying that it shouldn't be your only outlet for doing so.
If you hate how much plastic our world consumes, go around to local stores and restaurants and ask them to cut their use of plastic.
If you hate how the dairy industry treats cows, become a vegan.
Promoting awareness while not actually doing anything to change the issues at hand is useless.
Our generation is so strong and powerful, and we all need to stop hiding behind our desire for Instagram likes and start actually changing the things we care about.
September Is Suicide Prevention Month, So Here's A Reminder To Check Up On Your Friends
Remember that even your strongest friends struggle sometimes. Check up on them and know about the signs of someone who is struggling mentally.
September is widely known as Suicide Prevention Month. While mental health and suicidal ideation are becoming more talked about, it is still a huge issue in our society. There are signs and statistics that can help identify someone who may be struggling or more likely to struggle with their mental health.
Suicidal thoughts are highest in young adults who are in the age range 18-25. The rate of suicide is highest in middle-aged white men, which are three times more likely to commit suicide than women. White males accounted for 69.38% of 47,511 suicide deaths in 2019.
In 2019 there were 1.38 million suicide attempts, and suicide ended up being the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. Suicide and suicide attempts continue to rise, and due to the recent pandemic, there has been a jump in these rates. The isolation and personal struggles that this pandemic has created caused what is considered a 'perfect storm' for mental health disorders, including suicide.
Real Depression Project / Instagram
There are signs and factors that increase the likelihood that a person might be struggling. Suicide is usually more prevalent in people who already have pre-existing mental disorders such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, and certain personality disorders. If there has been a family history of suicide, this also increases the chance that a person may have suicidal ideation.
A person who has had a life-altering event such as job loss, financial issues, or family/relationship problems is more likely to be at risk for suicidal tendencies. Past traumas also can affect a person long-term and can also cause them to be more likely to struggle with thoughts of suicide.
Sometimes there are warning signs that a person might exhibit if they are considering suicide. One of these signs is that they discuss it or they mention it on a regular basis and they are already having troubles in their life. Another sign is if they discuss that they feel like they have no reason to live, they feel hopeless, or like there is no reason for them to be alive.
A person's mood can also be very telling if they are struggling. Warning signs can include having extreme mood swings, showing rage and anger more often, or constantly being anxious and withdrawn. Usually, a person struggling will start sleeping more, acting reckless, or increase their drug and alcohol usage.
If you think someone close to you is struggling with their mental health and might be considering suicide or harming themselves, there are ways you can help them. The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is always available at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) to for either calls or texts and is completely free.
There are also trained crisis counselors on a Crisis Text Line that is also free and available 24/7. To access this, just text TALK to 741741. In addition, you are always able to take a person to a medical center such as the ER or mental health services to talk and be protected by medical professionals.
If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline — 1-800-273-8255