Talking About Mental Health Isn't Enough – We Have to Send the Right Message

For anyone unaware of who Danielle Mansutti is, she is a semi-popular Youtuber with 1.4 million subscribers. A few years ago, I loved her videos because she came across as genuine and relatable. However in the past few years, she has made some controversial videos and remarks towards mental health.

She claims she is trying to help people dealing with mental health issues, but myself and others are getting quite distressed by her words. She recently filmed a video about suicide and depression giving advice about depression. Her thoughts on how to deal with depression was, and I quote, “Punch it in the face and tell it to go away. We need to learn to laugh at our depression.” I don’t doubt she had good intentions and other parts of her video sent a positive message. However, to me, the idea that we have to act like we can just punch depression in the face and continue living our lives as “normal” is insulting.

 

I wish people on social media understood exactly what they were doing when talking about mental health. I love that it isn’t as taboo as it once was to talk about, but it’s still important that the right message gets across. Depression is not something you can punch in the face. It’s not something everyone can laugh at. Please don’t act like it is. It’s trivializing something so serious.

The messages we put out in the world affect more people than we realize and we need to ensure the right message is out there. Let’s erase the stigma of mental illness and make sure we spread the correct message.

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Screenshot via Danielle Mansutti