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Dude claims depression ‘is a choice,’ gets dunked on hard

This is not how depression works.

Photo of Ana Valens

Ana Valens

Twitter users are universally criticizing one Twitter user who claims depression 'is a choice.'

To be clear: Depression is not a choice. Which is why a man who strongly believes people are choosing to be depressed is getting a proper Twitter smackdown.

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Twitter user AsawaeOfAsh is a 21-year-old man who posts philosophical musings like “don’t accept guidance from people who aren’t where you’d want to be” and “I resent the general population of fat people.” So it comes as no surprise that Asawae, not a medical professional, has plenty of opinions on depression. For one, he thinks “99 percent” of people with depression “choose to” be depressed. He also thinks people with depression actively decide to avoid the sun, eat junk food, kill time, and “don’t work towards goals.”

“Notice a pattern?” Asawae ends his cosmic-brain hot take. “Depression is stagnation. Stagnation is death.”

https://twitter.com/AsawaeOfAsh/status/1060702118598844416

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Asawae claims he has depression, and while that may be the case, he certainly doesn’t speak for everyone who has it. Sometimes depression is simply a chemical imbalance that needs to be corrected. Other times, it stems from life stress, traumatic experiences, or mourning a serious life change. Eating right or exercising regularly might be good ways to cope with depression, but if you’re in the depths of its darkness, you often can’t even get to that point. In fact, making depressed people feel bad about being depressed is probably the worst way to treat someone suffering from depression.

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It didn’t take long for people to come out and correct Asawae.

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https://twitter.com/GalaxxxC/status/1061755267703029760

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https://twitter.com/konekodreams/status/1061788904087580673

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https://twitter.com/disabilisaur/status/1061806986776506368

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Others shared their own stories about depression and pointed out how reality contradicts Asawae’s claims. Asawae is only feeding the stigma the depression isn’t real or can be “cured,” which doesn’t help sufferers.

https://twitter.com/natalie_eilbert/status/1061734176657993730

https://twitter.com/mamanic24/status/1061674812400123904

https://twitter.com/alapahi/status/1061751375061647360

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https://twitter.com/BlackDi36964418/status/1061122803724886016

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Some stressed that what Asawae is pointing to are the symptoms of depression, like overeating and holing up in your house.

https://twitter.com/redplant0/status/1061319255482785792

https://twitter.com/Grind2WinPoker/status/1061358831609896960

https://twitter.com/Iyamtebist/status/1061767133078663169

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Others just think Asawae should shut up.

https://twitter.com/SlayerzRose/status/1062005306497163264

https://twitter.com/Sae_Young_0/status/1061103964840738816

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https://twitter.com/EvanOutOfTen/status/1062012970929176576

https://twitter.com/BiggieSmollVevo/status/1062003622479826944

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In the meantime, if you deal with depression and want to learn how to cope with it, experts recommend seeking out help from a mental health professional. Alongside support from friends and family, it’s possible to ride it out—but you just can’t snap out of depression because you want to.

If you are a teen dealing with depression or other mental health issues, see PBS.org for a list of resources and organizations that can help you. If you are an adult, see Mental Health Resources.

 
The Daily Dot