Like, this is like the most depressing person ever

[Scottwax]

Originally Posted by TortoiseAWD

I'm so totally, like, not a poser.

That was one of the funniest South Park episodes ever! Butter's comment at the end about goth kids....priceless!!!!

[mtwedt]

I'm not familiar with"emo" and know only a limited amount about Goth culture. I have yet to watch an episode of "Southpark". I didn't realize that knowing these things confers the ability to interpret someone's behavior as playacting instantaneously with a 100% confidence in their judgement. I have only seen young people like this girl who exhibited these kinds of behaviors after their failed suicide attempts brought them to critical care units. I have yet to use the strategy denigration and humiliation to deal with someone's emotional confusion and pain.....that they are not allowed their feelings, problems and sense of inadequacy because there are so many people in the world who "really" suffer and hurt.....I and my colleagues in nursing and medicine have always defined that sort of thing as patient abuse and completely unethical but we could be wrong I suppose. This has been an interesting thread. Some see this girl as playacitng and attention geting, where I only saw a girl who was over-reacting, excessively introspective with probable low self esteem and depression in need of some counselling and possibly anti-depressants. It just goes to show how widely people's perception of something can vary.

[mtwedt]

Originally Posted by GSRstilez

mtw: Didn't mean to offend you. Like Scottwax, I was going along with the emo thing.

Sean......I was not offended, just suprised by people's perceptions and judgements of this video......Mary T

[Spilchy]

I got a chuckle out of the "poser" comment she made since it made think, like Scottwax, about the South Park episode.

There is a culture among the youth that adhere to this Goth mentality and express it through dress and depressing visions / conversations. I think they're mainly just another clique that teenagers fall into for acceptance or rebellion.

This girl seemed to fit that mold.

If she genuinely is suffering from clinical depression or possible mental illness, then I hope she gets help. I certainly wouldn't make fun of someone with that diagnosed condition. Mental illness in this country doesn't get the attention it deserves and people are not very educated on the subject, hence some pretty rotten comments people can make which only highlights their own ignorance and foolishness to those who know.

I speak with certain level of authority on the subject as my aunt is a diagosed paranoid schizophrenic with depression and severe OCD. She has lived with this for 35 years in a group home, heavily medicated spending her days in a mentally tortured existence unable to control her own mind and completely unable to cope with or perform some of life's most basic tasks. It's an absolute shame to watch, but my family chips in to do what we can and my mother in her retirement is volunteering to work to raise awareness of mental illness in New Jersey.

But regarding this girl, I hope she is just one of those typical whiny goth kids that we're getting a good laugh at. It's the poser comment / South Park episode connection that makes it funny. I hope we're right or else it is pretty lame that we'll be getting a laugh at someone's misfortune.

[Scottwax]

Originally Posted by mtwedt

Sean......I was not offended, just suprised by people's perceptions and judgements of this video......Mary T

Before the internet, I would have thought that girl was severely emotionally disturbed. Now that I know about the goth/emo stuff, I now believe otherwise.

True mental illness is a big deal (a girl my boys know killed herself a couple weeks ago after she stopped taking her medication for her bi-polar condition) but this girl fits the emo trend to a T.

[mtwedt]

Originally Posted by Scottwax

Before the internet, I would have thought that girl was severely emotionally disturbed. Now that I know about the goth/emo stuff, I now believe otherwise.

True mental illness is a big deal (a girl my boys know killed herself a couple weeks ago after she stopped taking her medication for her bi-polar condition) but this girl fits the emo trend to a T.

Scott......An interesting observation about the internet. My assessment of that girl was based solely on my experience as a clinician, seeing people one on one and being able to interact with them. But as you pointed out, the internet provides tremendous amounts of info for people to use, allowing them to interpret their world much more broadly. There seems to be a concensus that this girl fits the Goth/Emo "mold". I have an ingrained professional resistance to assessing people, their needs, problems, behaviors..etc into molds because you cannot effectively treat anybody by using them. I have to treat individuals, scrupulously trying to eliminate imposing my own personal values and beliefs into that effort as much as possible. This was hammered into me in Nursing school and is something reviewed constantly in Ethics rounds on patient care. I have found this thread useful in seeing what other peoples' frames of reference are.....stuff like this is always valuable in my work. A word of caution about "true mental illness".....any emotional, mental or perceptual issues that impede a person's ability to live a quality of life as defined by that person is a mental health issue for that person even though others around them may not see it as such. As for your sons and the death of their aquaintance....I am sorry. It must be a hard experience for them....Mary T

[Scottwax]

Mary-my sister has the same sensitivity towards mental illness as you do as she is a clinical psychologist. I really have to watch any jokes I may make around her. Guess it is just part of the business and knowing how devastating mental illness can be.

Thank-you for your kind words about my son's friend. The parents though....I can't imagine what they are going through. The young lady killed herself while talking to her Mom on the phone. Just a real sad situation all around.

[mtwedt]

Originally Posted by Scottwax

Mary-my sister has the same sensitivity towards mental illness as you do as she is a clinical psychologist. I really have to watch any jokes I may make around her. Guess it is just part of the business and knowing how devastating mental illness can be.

Thank-you for your kind words about my son's friend. The parents though....I can't imagine what they are going through. The young lady killed herself while talking to her Mom on the phone. Just a real sad situation all around.

Dear God in heaven....she ended her life while on the phone to her mother.....I'm a mother....I can't even begin to imagine what her parents are going through.....I found it neraly impossible to keep doing heart surgery on kids after my daughter was born, because I over-identified with the parents. What a tragedy. My heart and prayers go out to them.