• Social Media

  NEGATIVE REPERCUSSIONS AS A RESULT OF SHARING EXPERIENCE WITH MENTAL ILLNESS PUBLICLY ONLINE? (SOCIAL MEDIA FOOTPRINT)

  Posted by AssociateOk3347 on May 20, 2023 at 1:45 pm

  tw: self harm, suicide.

  Hello!
  I volunteer for a local organization that are raising funds to open a mental health care centre in a rural area after the suicide of a young man.
  The centre is being opened by the mother of the young man (and her friend) who hopes to decrease the stigma and improve access to mental health care.
  I know the family and have assisted them in planning fundraisers and I now manage the Facebook page and have been thinking of content I can make with or for the leaders in anticipation of the mental health place opening.
  I suggested we make personal videos talking about our own lived experiences with mental illness, so that we can build trust with the potential future patients / clients of the clinic and start the conversation. The mother and her friend are going to be qualified in mental health so we want people to feel like they are talking to someone who knows how you feel. And some might assume they are just doing this for the man who passed and don’t have any personal experiences themselves.

  Since I run the social media page I offered to go first in posting a series of videos of the personal stories from those behind the organization.

  I’m just hesitant for some reason, because I know if I was going to be open and vulnerable on the internet I would want to do it properly.
  I would be talking about my journey with anxiety and depression as a teenager, and would touch on periods of self harm and passive suicidal ideation.
  I have only really told a select amount of people about my SH because the area I’m from is just so judgmental and holds so much stigma around mental illness.

  I also really want to stress that I don’t want this to be about me and I want to start a bit of a movement in creating more open conversations. I don’t want a pity party, I want people to say wow he is bad ass, he has been through a lot and has come out stronger, I want to be like him and be vulnerable.

  I guess what I want to know is; has anyone gone public with their mental health story and come to regret it? I am many years self harm free, but I know that once I put something on the internet it’s out there forever. I worry it could be flagged when people search up my name, or if I’m applying for a job in the future.
  Is there any one who has later gotten in to any sort of trouble for doing something like this?
  I understand and anticipate that some people will treat me differently and probably distance myself from me once they learn about my experience with depression, but I’m okay with that because the true friends will stay and never judged me.

  I have previously been transparent to my family and friends on social media, I guess even “coming out” about my experiences with chronic illness and neurodivergence. I have had people who went to the same school as me reach out and ask for guidance getting a diagnosis for so and so and it makes my heart so warm every time knowing me putting myself out there means I can help someone else with their struggles.

  Could this be a bad idea or can nothing but good come from it?

  AssociateOk3347 replied 11 months, 1 week ago 2 Members · 1 Reply
• 1 Reply

• 

  roryruedtheday

  Guest

  May 20, 2023 at 5:13 pm

  Hi! I work on the social media team of a local non-profit who provides free group therapy and is a suicide prevention org.

  Some of our LPC’s and LCDC’s have been open about their past experiences with substance abuse and suicide attempts.

  Some of us have spoken candidly with people at events about it and have posted interviews with local musicians and community members who speak about their experiences with mental illness.

  I don’t personally think that this is a bad idea, but you definitely want to make sure that everybody is following ethical guidelines and standards set for their profession, when sharing information publicly about their personal lives.

  For example, volunteers or people associated with the org may wish to share their stories, but any licensed professionals that are working with you may want to be a little bit more reserved.

  Also-keep in mind that once it’s out there on the Internet, it’s pretty much there forever, so be prepared to deal with anything that could come from that.

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