Whenever someone struggling with depression searches their problems up on the internet, they are met with a plethora of opinions, voices, remedies, solutions and what not. I was no different. When I decided to look up my problem on the internet, I was first told that it was just a quarterly life crisis, something which was rising in its occurrence rate over the years. I was satisfied for a while but slowly I realised my problems went much deeper than that. After that the usual response was that it was just a phase, something I would get over or something that was genuinely so insignificant some people even told me that I had no right to feel what I did as it was being disrespectful to the people less fortunate than me.
The Internet Is Huge.
After all is said and done, what I learned is that there really are no right answers to be found on the internet. Everyone has different issues, different motivations, different reasons they are where they are and to think that a person could manage to solve all your problems with their own experiences is something that’s erroneous to believe. Agreed, you won’t manage to do it all alone, it is not under your control, but unless someone seems truly helpful by themselves, don’t expect help from them. Most people will give you their own two cents on your issues without ever asking what you went through and how you felt, some will try and talk to you, try to understand your situation, choose the best approach and then try and tackle your situation, but if it’s really bad, chances are that won’t help either. But in, most cases the latter approach is successful is solving the problems that you face.
What You Can Do.
The only thing I would suggest you not do; is to hide your depression or any other mental illness behind a mask. I agree that most people won’t understand your situation, will think you are crazy or something like that but the point is that you need to get better, and you need to do whatever it takes to get better. Don’t hide it behind a mask, don’t hide it behind a smile, just be open about it, to someone you trust, someone close to you, someone you think would have the answers. Talk. Speak out. Trust me, it helps.
It is easy to smile, it is much harder to be happy.
The Knight of Steel 
Thoughtfully written Arjun. True, most rely on Internet or other sources for our problems which often misleads us. And wearing a mask definitely will worsen the problem. Some day the mask has to be Unmasked..
I is for Its OK not to be OK. https://syncwithdeep.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/i-its-ok-to-not-be-okay-blogchattera2z-atozchallenge-atoz/
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Internet can be both a hero and a villain depending on how you use it. Thank you☺️
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Internet is good only to the extent of knowing the A B C’s of the thing. The knowledge here is very general in perspective and lacks depth. And for details its better to refer the experts. When it is something deeply affecting the life, its better to consult a real expert than the virtual one.
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That’s true. The internet also gave me access to opposing researches in the field os sociology and psychology. Something that is rarely done in textbooks. That helped me gain new perspectives and critical eye to various assumptions.
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The internet is a scary place- easy to get lost in the overload of information. Its not like google has answers to all of Pur life problems, if it did no one would be unhappy. I think the problem with talking out with many people is – everyone is out to give advice and you often realise much of it is BS and it leaves you with very little to take away. I may be wrong but this is my experience
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Everyone is willing to give advice but the thing is an advice doesn’t apply to every situation. We have to be willing to listen before we give someone advice
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True. Internet can offer you an array of solutions. But information overload can be toxic at times and can perplex you.
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Exactly. A solution doesn’t necessarily apply to all the problems.
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Internet is perhaps helpful if you use the right sources. I would be grateful to internet because it helped me connect with amazing websites during my hour of crisis. Today the patient group I run also uses the internet exhaustively. I loved the line that it is easy to smile but be happy.
https://trinalooksback.com/2018/04/10/indrani/
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While avoiding the Internet completely is probably impossible for most of us, it’s important to understand that going online should never replace the kind of social interaction that we all need to be fully human. Using the Internet to escape real-life problems such as bullying or poor grades can often lead to greater problems down the line. As more and more of our modern life is moving towards greater use of the Internet, we all need to recognize that it can be used in positive or negative ways. Much like any other potentially addictive activity, it’s important to do things in moderation.
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There are pros and cons to internet, it all depends on what and how you make use of it. I myself have many times refereed to many issues or questions and many times i had received very positive and good solutions too. But yes we need to know the limits before getting deceived.
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Internet helps for many things but again authenticity and user discretion is necessary. I have seen families getting separated due to internet, and many such stories. But yes, as you mentioned hiding or shying away might worsen the situation.
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Not all information on the net is authentic. If depressed the best solution is to go out meet people and talk your mind out for a while.
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That might be a solution for some mild and moderate cases. When it comes to talking out, convincing a sufferer to even vent out or talk is an herculean task in itself.
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“It is easy to smile, it is much harder to be happy.” Just loved this line. It is correct that internet can both solve or increase the problem. But one should not find a cure of depression on internet. Better talk to someone.
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The funny thing is I found amazing help online and that too on facebook. That was when I was willing to talk and I had zero expectations from everyone. If I had expected something else, I might have ended up disappointed and worse off.
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