A/N I may get a bit political on here apart from fandom rants but this is extremely important and frustrating so here I go.
Ok as many of you know, a plane crashed last week into the French Alps and killed everyone on board, which was 150 people. It was the same day or the day before Zayn left 1D (not that the two compare and if a 1d fan reads this I am so sorry for bringing that up just wanted to give a time frame). The airline was of Germanwings and was Flight 9525.
Now if you watch the news at all, you know that they are blaming the copilot on board saying he purposely crashed the plane and they're investigating as to why he would do that, as the families of the victims want answers. Investigators came back with that the copilot, Andreas Lubitz, has (now had) depression and was suicidal and doctors had told him he was unfit to work and he had lied to them saying he was on leave, and obviously wasn't. Now obviously what he did was absolutely wrong. He killed 149 people. That is 149 families who lost someone they loved. That's more people than several school shootings COMBINED.
HOWEVER...
What does him having depression and being suicidal have to do with anything???? Do people not know the defintion of depression and suicidal??
Depression: A mood disorder causing a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.
Suicidal: Having the tendency to want to kill yourself.
Did you catch that?
Kill YOURSELF.
NOT OTHER PEOPLE.
JUST YOU.
People are not helping with the mental health stigma by consistently using Lubitz's depression and suicidal thoughts as the reasons why he downed the plane on purpose. You're making more people think we are all crazy freaks. Read the definition of depression and being suicidal, because what I provided wasn't my words. I looked it up because I didn't just wanna explain it my way. I wanted a professional defintion.
Lubitz downing that plane had nothing to do with his depression and suicidal thoughts. Suicidal means you just wanna kill YOURSELF. Wanting to bring other people with you and kill them as well is HOMICIDAL. MASSIVE difference.
I have depression and I'm suicidal and my mom has depression and struggles with suicidal thoughts (she is a lot better than she was in the past) and NEITHER of us would EVER think to do what Lubitz did. Why? BECAUSE DEPRESSION AND SUICIDAL THOUGHTS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH KILLING 149 PEOPLE BESIDES YOUR OWN SELF!! Lubitz being suicidal would have just meant on his own he would have killed himself. Lubitz being HOMICIDAL would make him kill other people, possibly along with himself, which is what happened.
Yes he had depression. Yes he was suicidal. But that is not what made him down the plane. He clearly had many psychological issues and whatever the others are THOSE are the reason he downed the plane. NOT depression and NOT suicide. And the fact that everyone told him not to work is ridiculous (not in his case necessariy because obviously he had psychotic issues and those make sense). So because someone has depression and isn't suicidal they can't work?? Yea he is on a plane but again those would not make him do what he did. His other clearly psychotic issues are what brought him to do that.
I shouldn't be told to step down from a job because of my mental health issues that I was born with, cannot control having, and will die with as their is no cure. Only treatment. That's ridiculous. When will the mental health stigma stop?? I'm so sick of feeling like less of a person because everyone sees people like me that way and treats people like me that way. If you don't have a mental illness and therefore do not understand how we feel, PLEASE be careful about what you say to those that do and just what you say in general about mental illness. Be careful when giving advice as it is hard to give advice when you don't understand something. Don't tell them they're stubborn or frustrating. Don't change the subject randomly that will make them feel worse like you don't care. Don't drop the subject if they are hesitant to talk to you. They have trust issues and want to know you care and the last thing they want is for you to give up.
I know this stigma will always be there, but can't we make SOME progress??? ANY progress???
I just want to not feel so ashamed about my many mental health issues to the point where I feel such a weight on my shoulders because I'm hiding this huge secret from my best friend in real life and I don't tell people even half of how I feel because I'm sure they don't care and I'd just frustate them. Seeing people on the news portray people like me as psychotic freaks is not helping me not feel ashamed and alone.
Get educated people. Think before you speak and learn your mental illnesses and what they are and mean before you make snap judgments.
K bye.