A video detailing the symptoms of ‘high functioning depression’ is coming under fire.
Created by Psych2Go, the video which is in the style of a cartoon, details the difference between someone suffering from ‘high functioning depression’ compared to clinical depression.
Although intended to be helpful, it has drawn harsh criticism from Reddit users who have described it as ‘f***ing bull***t’ and ‘pseudo-psych nonsense’.
Drawn out: Psych2Go has created a cartoon style video that lists the seven symptoms of ‘high functioning depression’
Tick tock: A feeling of wasting time is listed as a symptom of ‘high functioning depression’
Not enough: People who push themselves too much can often feel they aren’t doing enough
Big and small: According to the video, people who are suffering from high functioning depression will overthink everything
Posted on YouTube, the video begins by detailing what high functioning depression is, noting that many psychologists associate it with persistent depressive disorder, a ‘prolonged state of depression’.
The video then outlines the seven symptoms of high functioning depression, saying it ‘minimizes their interest in everything, including social events with friends and family’. It also says that although people with high functioning depression will socialize and go to school or work, when they’re finished with their responsibilities, they’ll ‘withdraw themselves’.
According to the video, the first sign is ‘time’. The video says that people with high functioning depression will frequently feel that they are wasting their time, even though they are getting daily tasks done.
Constant self-criticism is the second symptom according to the video. It says that because the person suffering from high functioning depression pushes themselves so much, they frequently feel they aren’t doing or achieving enough.
Overthinking is next on the list and the video says the high functioning depressive will overthink big and small things.
Fourth on the list is the feeling of being misunderstood. The video says that because high functioning depressives manage to hold down a job and pay their bills, they often feel like people don’t realize ‘how much anguish they’re going through’.
Next up, sadness is listed as another symptom, and the narrator says that although it’s normal to feel sad sometimes, those with high functioning depression will feel ‘sad or numb’ most of the time, even when ‘participating in fun activities’.
Unhealthy coping strategies are the next symptom in the video, suggesting that people who use drugs or alcohol to deal with stressful situations, or to help clear their minds, are high functioning depressives.
9-5: The video suggests that because so many people with high functioning depression have a job and responsibilities, people think they’re fine
It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to: Feelings of sadness at happy occasions are also a symptom
The drugs don’t work: Using alcohol or drugs to escape the realities of life is another symptom according to the video
Netflix and chill: Gaming or binge watching TV shows are the final symptom of high functioning depression according to the video
Finally, ‘excessive pastimes’ are listed as the concluding symptom of high functioning depression. The video says this includes gaming or binge-watching a TV series as this helps the person escape reality.
Although designed to be helpful and informative, the video which has now gone viral has been widely criticized.
Reddit user bjlmag wrote: ‘Psych grad here; it’s pseudo-psych nonsense no more valid than a horoscope or any other generalized, Barnum-style set of buzzphrases.’
While KHonsou said: ‘It’s like when someone coughs and gets a runny nose and say they probably got the flu.’
And Juicy_Brucesky added: ‘This is called being a human. You got clickbaited’.
Others seemed more disbelieving, suggesting the video was detailing real life and not symptoms of depression.
‘I don’t know what this video expects you to do on the average work night. I don’t know a single person that doesn’t spend a majority of their work nights at home doing at-home activities,’ wrote Soderfly.
A sentiment shared by MustardBucket: ‘It’s interesting that they call out “hobbies” as things that you may find less enjoyable, but then use Netflix and gaming as destructive habits. Video games and being a TV/film buff can be a hobby just as much as anything else. Kind of takes credibility away from the video…’
Reddit rant: People have been quick to denounce the video on Reddit
Stranger things: One Reddit user commented that all the symptoms sounded pretty normal
Blame game: Another commented that depression shouldn’t be treated in such a frippant way
Clickbait: One Reddit user accused the video of being clickbait
And SecDue wrote: ‘I wish people would stop coming up with buzzwords just to satisfy some perverse need to able to label themselves as mentally ill. Being mentally ill is not quirky, or cool, or fun. It is not something you feel like broadcasting on social media or joking about on Reddit. It’s a f***ing nightmare.
‘Depression is depression. It is completely all-consuming. Every day is agonizing. When you’re depressed, you know about it. You don’t need some cheerful f***ing YouTube video to recognize it.
‘So if you watched this and thought “Hey, wow, I’m depressed”, you are not depressed. Thank God for that. Own that. Be eternally grateful. If you are unhappy, make changes. Don’t mistake the general malaise that almost everyone experiences as depression.’
Psych2Go, the company behind the video, describes itself as ‘your weekly dose of fun and interesting psychology, creepy psychology, psychopaths, serial killers, pop psychology, political psychology’ on its YouTube page and says its videos contain ‘pretty much whatever you learn in school, but just in a way that you can apply and relate.’
Other videos on its YouTube page include ‘A Declassified Guide To Anxiety’, ‘5 Ways To Deal With A Breakup’ and ‘Why Is Laughter Contagious’.