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Comment by mattarm | Hacker News Reader

I see people more and more putting their not so neurotypical issues front and center, especially among the young. I see this among my own children and their friends. Saying with a light tone "and then I had a full blown panic attack" or "I didn't want to go because I was depressed." I suspect this is just part of a greater acceptance of mental health issues in society in general, but I'm not sure they realize the weight these terms can have for some people, or that they can come off as making light of something that is quite serious for many people.

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I think it's another area where we have fallen into using overly strong descriptive words, a la the comedy bit about the deployment of the word "awesome" to mean "good" or "ok" or "fine" versus "inspiring awe."

If you have a moment of panic when you are late and can't find your keys, it becomes a "panic attack" when the story is related.

Just another channel to oversaturate.

Yeah, there also a verbal oneupmanship going on it seems. Or just an absurd exaggeration for attention. People even use the word rape in the context of experiencing a minor setback. And on top of that you have this recent fad of adding "literally" in front of this kind of thing. So "damn, I lost" is now "damnit bro, I literally got raped right there!"

Many of the people using these are clinically diagnosed with depression, anxiety, etc.

They may be making light of it, but it's not unserious for them - they're just open about their struggles.

I would still be very curious how this openess becomes a negative feedback cycle.

I have big sleeping issues, have/had depression and a neurological issue with my nerves.

But while I'm very aware of those issues, I'm not reflecting on them in public nur do I center my daily life around them.

I do talk about it sometimes but only in short amounts. Enough that people might tell me they have the same issue (family -> genetics) or they have a better understanding why I might just have concentration issues at the moment.

The author made it very obvious if not front and center that she/it doesn't feel part of a biological gender role and redefined that.

I'm wondering why my life still doesn't rotate around things I can't really change while for others it's a fundamental part of their life/how they express themselves.

There is also a blog from someone similar where that person draws quite bad images of some character. The question would also be why others evaluate their own doing in a way that they wouldn't present medicare drawing skills on the internet vs. expressing yourself anyhow.

What if the self reflection is broken?

What if not giving any feedback to stuff like this holds their own development?

I have to say I find it easier to focus on the technical things but I do get triggered by those things as well.

It's hard to determine if that person is okay or not.

There was also someone at a save space who got crazy aggressive and said that if person x is doing y again they will hit her in the face.

Is that really the definition of save space were you give a person which such crazy aggression issues space or would you expect that person to get professional help?

Being open to whom? To the internet? Why?

And now shouldn't the internet also be a save space for everyone else?

Agreed. I also believe that many of them are attempting complex diagnoses with zero training.

Perhaps. Most of these diagnoses are done by a doctor or a therapist asking you to fill out a questionnaire (written or verbal) and then just summing up the points. You can do this online yourself.

That's only slightly less training that psychiatrists and their ilk.

> ... I suspect this is just part of a greater acceptance of mental health issues in society in general, ...

This is how I see it too.

Baby Boomers and Gen X had quite a different view of psychological issues and it had a detrimental effect on population at large. Now that a lot of the taboos surrounding it are broken, later generations are emphasising them by exaggeration.

I don't see it as an issue at all. I see it as the pendulum swinging back with more force than it was pushed.

oh snap Gen-X, it's no longer just the boomers getting blamed for all of societies ills!

Show me on the doll where the mean generation touched you.

gestures towards the part of the millennial doll that killed the mcwrap

Valid point. I have never worded that myself as a father of two children, but I think you are spot on mate.

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