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Let me start off by saying I will not to focus on the intricacies of the various youth subcultures as they are basically all the same with different clothes. The LAST thing I would like to see in my thread is an argument over the differences between a "scene" and an "emo" kid. However, to properly address the topic of mental illness reaching "vogue" status, I may need to reference the aforementioned youth subcultures. Allow me to reiterate: This is not a thread about Emo subculture, so the specifics of it need not to be discussed or debated. Also, keep in mind this trend was not created by (contemporary) Emos, it prevails in other subcultures as well. Please do not limit discussion of the culture of depression and mental illness to one faction of people and thank you in advance.

Now that my disclaimer is complete, on to the meat and potatos.

In recent years, about the last 6 or so, there has been a major trend in people claiming to be mentally ill. By "claiming to be mentally ill" I mean they brag about doctor visits, showcase their self inflicted cuts (which typically are no more than minor scratches) like trophies, and compare depression medications. It actually could be argued that their attention-seeking behavior classifies them as mentally ill, but the "subculture" goes beyond that.

When a subculture forms, it creates an entire rationale and way of life. This particular way of life is damaging not only to those who participate in the subculture, but to those who in may be emulating. In this case, the subculture is emulating the legitimately mentally ill. It damages the participants for two main reasons: By acting as and believing one is chronically depressed, one can become depressed (although probably not chronically) and secondly, being prescribed medicine for depression when one does not actually need them can be very detrimental to the balance of chemicals in the brain. Sadly, most doctors will prescribe antidepressants as though they're selling penny candies.

It damages those who actually ARE mentally ill far more as they are now either taken even less seriously or more likely to question whether or not they are mentally ill. For example, I am Bipolar, but I was unwilling to admit I was since it's a relatively rare disease and I knew far too many people who claimed they were. Also, most doctors assumed I was just another depressed teen in high school, so they prescribed me antidepressants, which makes Bipolar disorder worse. I suffered for several years until I was finally put on the correct medication. Perhaps I simply saw bad doctors, but I do not think the depressed subculture helped.

I would like to know what you think of this recent phenomenon. Are we getting more depressed because lifestyles have changed or because more of us are faking it? It goes without saying that the "emo" movement (especially this most recent wave of emo) has fed this trend quite a bit, but could it be the hype that's getting to us? Pharmaceutical companies don't let us forget that they have a pill for every ailment; if we happen to be a bit down one day and then see a commercial for Zoloft, we may blow our blues out of proportion.

Also, let us not forget that our generation is far less active and willing explore the outdoors than the past few, which could give us a lot more time to create drama. Maybe those with "pseudo depression" are simply bored.

I have a huge array of them, but I don't go around bragging about them... o.o ADHD, OCD... it's like a ******** alphabet soup in my head. I get along fine though if I concentrate on remaining rational. On the occasion that I lose focus, I start rambling and s**t; it's hilarious.

I have a crap load of problems, mental and physical. At least half of them, most people haven't heard of. Asperger's, Hashimoto's Hypothyroidism, depression, etc. Try explaining how you got post traumatic stress syndrome with non-specific cause when you'r in high school surrounded by emos. It infuriates me that I have less credance because others lie, fake, and exaggerate. True, some emos have depression, although more of them have attention problems. Attention whoring is a legitimate problem, but when it is so confused with other problems, it makes mine seem less serious.

Note, when I say emo, I mean any person faking mental illness or what have you.

Yeah! I was valedictorian, but I qualify for special ed. People look at me and think, 'Oh, little miss perfect, she can't have any problems since she's so smart and has such stellar grades,' so they just hate me and ignore my problems. Many teachers don't believe that I have special needs because I do well in class, and students just hate me because I'm smarter than them.

He actually forced the school to give him an aid at one point-he brought in notes from his shrink to get one. This really pissed off a lot of people (especially when he used it to get a lot of aids in trouble, as they were giving students answers on tests), because they tried to claim that he was too smart for an aid. BEcause apparently, intelligence is a marker for whether or not you have mental disorders.

Sometimes intelligence and mental illness correlate. Although correlation does not equal causation the phrase "there's a thin line between genius and insanity" does stem from somewhere.

Oddly enough, your friend probably had a disorder all in its own, possibly Borderline personality.

I think the next trend should be loving and accepting youself for who you are and doing your best to keep mentally and physically healthy. One can dream...

Agreed. Although some mental illnesses tend to go along with certain types of intelligence, that doesn't mean everyone with schizophrenia is a math whiz or that agoraphobics are inherently good writers.

In my experience with pysch wards (I don't mean that to be snarky, it's just true) I could say the same thing. In the particular ward I stayed in they seemed to be the sort who were far below average along with being severely mentally ill. Although there was one autistic boy who was as you described your friend; difficult to talk to yet very interesting.