Mental Health Users Experience Online Harassment
Multiple users on mental health subreddits are reporting negative experiences, including mockery and unhelpful responses from other users. This suggests a problem with the supportive environment intended for these communities, potentially discouraging vulnerable individuals from seeking help.
SOURCES (60)
“How dare you try to quiet a victim in their rage. This isnt about making sure you dont hurt other people's feelings. Fuck alllll the way off with that shit.”
“I can understand why but when I tried to be plain spoken - I got messages that I would be removed from this group by just mentioning the name somethingi. I asked about Texas because our governor took away Texans ability to receive Medicaid. Maybe it's better to be removed when you can't even have a normal conversation because you have mods that want to punish you for honesty, in the sub mentalhealth, no less.”
“Maybe include your country then, majority of users here is from the US. Or post in your countries sub”
“I have been approved as a poster for a few and one of them removed me for reasons unknown..? I am not sure why do I messaged them and they are just absolutely terrible to deal with. Reddit is good to get subs from but this shit is actually a nightmare to navigate 💔 submitted by /u/StatisticianBulky254 [link] [comments]”
“Our rules require supporting the OP. Do not introduce your personal perspectives in a way that invalidates or undermines the OP's experiences or struggles. Rule 1: Be respectful and supportive - All posts and comments on r/mentalhealth must be respectful and supportive. Do not insult, provoke, harass, or act disrespectfully; racist, discriminatory, or otherwise unsavory language is also not tolerated. Please ensure the comment you are leaving supports the person you are responding to and doe”
“Please be respectful, kind, and supportive. Do not insult, provoke, harass, or act disrespectfully; racist, discriminatory, or otherwise unsavory language is also not tolerated. Please ensure that your post or comment supports the person you are responding to and does not discourage or harm them. Please follow Reddiquette at all times. If you would like to chat with the moderators, send us a Modmail .”
“Have you messaged the moderators of both subreddits, to find out why you were banned and if it's possible to get the bans lifted? Ask if the bans are permanent.”
“Maybe don’t tell someone that they are crying for help. That comes off as offensive. These subreddits are for empathy not apathy.”
“As someone who used to be a hater before I got to a point where I legit couldn’t function without outside help it’s because they’re struggling too but alone. Some people I think are raised to just keep things concealed and when others start speaking about it it’s like “no fair I’m doing this alone for the sake of others.” Which ultimately becomes a lie (the doing it for others).”
I'm sorry you have to deal with unsupportive, ignorant people.
“This group has honestly been a lifesaver for me. The information I get here has been incredibly helpful. Even though I get trolled a lot. I guess that’s just part of being here. I love you all, though. Lol. So, I have three questions. Can you survive and eventually excel in BigLaw without top grades if you are willing to put in the work? Why do top grades matter so much when BigLaw firms are recruiting associates? Once you are actually working in BigLaw, do top grades have any bearing on how wel”
“being alone is better than being with people that don't respect you. They're not your friends.”
“In the past, r/MentalHealth allowed survey and research posts when pre-approved by the moderator team. Approvals were given only to academic research subject to ethics controls and that in some way directly aimed to advance mental health and well-being. All other research and survey posts have been and are prohibited. r/MentalHealth has discontinued research recruitment and survey posts. We did not see evidence that these posts resulted in participant recruitment, and moderating them required mo”
“Are there lots of people with this sort of mentality? (called out to someone just because of a bloody word, btw) submitted by /u/01twelve [link] [comments]”
“Hey, that person was probably an asshole, or a troll. Don't give them the benefit of succeeding in getting you down. You didn't do anything wrong, I don't even know where TF they could have been going with that, and I consider myself a feminist. I am sorry you are having such a hard time. You didn't deserve that kind of a reaction when you were reaching out for help.”
“I don't typically do the clapback thing but.... fucking clap clap. You will never be welcome in r/MentalHealth again.”
“For me it was never romanticized but I was always been around people who were mental health advocates, but then when I have an episode I get that same reaction you said and then say I’m making excuses like WHAT.”
“He’s giving you advice, I heavily suggest you take it. Either that, or stfu about growing bored of the people you like. There is a solution. We are highlighting it for you. But we cannot sign you up and put in your billing/insurance info for therapy. “I don’t need therapy” I thought the same. What a therapist can do is tell you when you’re acting irrational and when you are not, followed by an explanation of why and how you feel this way to help better understand yourself on a deeper level. They”
“Emotionally regulated people walk away from people that are hurting them. That seems like a totally foreign concept to you. You think it’s acceptable to lash out and hurt people based on how you feel, instead of just leaving situations that aren’t suitable for you. That’s why you are diagnosed with a personality disorder. It’s disgusting that you keep comparing it to race. A diagnosis that literally REQUIRES you to hurt people to be diagnosed is not the same as race, and it’s pretty disgusting t”
“BPD, NPD, ASPD... we are all stigmatized. We just want to live and be happy, just like everyone else.”
“I can compare it to racism. You hate me based on something I cannot change about myself. Lack of empathy does not mean that I will not decide to do something good. You might cry next to me because your dog or family member died, and I will feel awkward because you are crying, but I will tell you that I am sorry and that you will be OK. Things like that do happen. I always make sure to keep the people happy and say or do what is expected. And we are different than people with anger managment issu”
“you don’t need to have empathy to just not go out of your way to bash a whole group of people on the internet”
“Things are definitley not going well there 😭 I tried to block reddit/snapchat guy a few times but he begged me to stay. He told me he loved me. Like here's me telling him Id leave my husband for him and all of a sudden the I love you changes to there's too many obstacles and he cant make it work. Then he goes, lets just keep it as friends for a few days without the sexting so that I can lose interest in you then. Fucking brutal. And obvs just there for the sexting aspect, so dumb of me”
“i go for hyperspecific subs instead of like generalized ones like this esp bc its attracts too many people like specialized ones have an audience that can relate with your issue rather than hoping to god someone gets it here lol i’d be careful with suicide based subreddits tho bc they can be toxic (like how some self harm ones can be) googling your issues like “reddit ______” can help you find subs for them”
“I'm sick of groups hating on me cause I don't want to go along with their "once disabled always disabled" crab in a bucket nonsense. I want a place to find support while recovering, not someplace that tries to keep me down because they lost their way and lost their drive to get better. submitted by /u/lexiclysm [link] [comments]”
“Just coz I haven't told you the whole story or details doesn't mean it's not harrasment, Just so that you get an idea, Threatening to kill you, or threatening to go suicide coz of you, or beating you, none of this is "extra", it's just basic decency i would expect from any family”
“Read through the comments again. Several of them (aside from mine) refer to the hostility/negativity shown to OP.”
“Reddit is not a place for the soft-hearted or sensitive. Herd mentality rules. I’ve tried to stick to the subs that make me laugh, though I’m not always successful. But you’re not alone.”
“You guys are absolutely amazing and always provide thoughtful, genuine answers. But when you decide to “roast” someone, it can be lethal. Hahahaha! Thank you so much for all your feedback. Please go easy on this kid. submitted by /u/Every-Argument-7037 [link] [comments]”
“Oh come on. You cannot tell me that the undertone of this post was very "us vs them." I see so much shit on here that is in the same vein (pun intended) that it's hard to ignore.”
“some of these comments are so fucking invalidating and insulting. its annoying that so many people arent capable of showing empathy or considering others experiences unless they can directly relate. shows bad interpersonal skills imo. this isnt a debate about if its worse to be pretty or ugly. OPs experience is valid af and makes 1000% sense to me. Women especially are often treated as if their beauty is the only worthy thing about them, their opinions and personality and thoughts and skills and”
“Understood completely, I feel like icing him out has been my way of telling him tbh”
“No, they are raging at you because of the sense of competition on who has it worse. They say it. Chill. If you are not like them then no reason to no chill. Chill.”
“I don't know what is this guy's problem but he is quite annoying. He tags multiple people and just hates of fandoms. Does someone here also has seen this user before and failed victim to this stupid act? And what do y'all think? submitted by /u/ShelterBorn2531 [link] [comments]”
“Oh my gosh, tell me about it !! This always happens and a lot of the time it's about envy and intimidation, and it's sent me into a spiral trying to piece together information. I've even started to have dreams of certain people we are suspicious of making fun of myself and bf because of how observant we get about this, and admitting they're messing with us. It definitely is pathetic and can be annoying. I'd say if it starts to impact you a lot to hide the person. We don't”
“I'm sorry to hear this. This comment is very relatable as someone also in the social commentary sphere. I have had parasocial dynamics going on for a while, but that's not even the worst part, it's the threats and people making 5-10 accounts to try to mess around with me. This is because some of my videos are controversial but it was also from people who used to know myself and BF. I won't hesitate to hide people. They think they're humbling us.. it's stupid.”
“Sometimes they get angry because they were dealing with a traumatic incident. Police can be the same.”
“Of course. Just like you can ask someone to leave your home or your business. I don't remove comments just because someone disagrees with me. A little controversy is fine. But if someone is being rude (and I have a pretty thick skin) that gets removed. If someone is clearly trolling or shitposting, that gets removed.”
“It just depends how thick skin you have. If they upset you - ban, your mental health is more important than views. If you can ignore them or reply something neutral do this and move on.”
“100% block, ban, ignore. If you respond at all, it just leads to you feeling worse 100% of the time.”
“Im not a lady, but ive had to deal with people who didnt respect my wife properly. The best option is always to ban and delete comments. Do not interact with them at all. The faster you remove them when these issues arise the less you will see of these types of people.”
“I genuinely don’t understand the hostility. The irony that I am being met with hostility as I am asking for advice about hostility. 😅 I guess this page isn’t for me. I hope yall have a better day.”
“Few things...if they're strangers online then just dismiss it entirely but if they are close friends etc then I would honestly dicuss my feelings with them. I'm trans and personally, I don't associate with "Man hating" folks and there's a HUGE difference between, "ugh men suck, I so sick of men" VS "ALL men suck" bc like a generalisation is different to say EVERYONE IN THIS GROUP IS BAD”
“My whole life I have been bullied in some way. Especially online. I could post something that doesn’t seem like I’d get much negativity from, and I’m being attacked in the comments. I’m 27, and I still feel that helpless feeling like when I was a kid. I have noticed that I seek validation about things I’m going through. People see that as problematic and attack instead of validating, or respectfully giving their advice or opinion. I have a chronic invalidation wound, this was discovered in thera”
“People are mean but I keep in mind they're all imperfect like me. I get help to respond kindly to mean people & it has greatly improved my life.”
“reddit is so full of rage baiting angry incels who have no life, i can always asking simple questions on here and there’s always that one person who has no intent towards my existence than just pure anger lol reddit isn’t the best place to meet new people but i understand because it’s a huge platform!! so there’s always someone that’s nice to talk to, maybe just try different subreddits maybe ones with a lot of restrictions so you have better chances at meeting better people. the internet and th”
“DUDE I FUCKING KNOW RIGHT. People are so fucking entitled. They treat us as if we're sub-human just because WE ARE TINY BIT FUCKING DIFFERENT. No fucking empathy. No remorse. We're not saints.. none of are man. But we are human. We're all intrinsically equal, we should be treated with dignity. But we don't. All of them just wdnt their own piece of the pie. The forces of capital and this world robs us of our humanity and any empathy. It's so hard to be a decent person. It'”
“Reality is the internet and the world are full of bad folks, dont let that offend you, and you will stumble upon nice people.. here if you need to talk it out! Just DM if you are confortable. The world is also full of love, let the bad thoughts just be bad thoughts 🤍”
“https://imgur.com/a/ElKWw2d Been seeing their comments in that thread I think they're like, a high schooler or something. I feel dumb for having replied to them.”
“So, I'm trans and obviously there's a massive market for trans porn and whatever. Long story short last night ti found a few new subreddits to promote in, and the amount of transphobic shit that came my way was insane. How do I go about preventing my page from being brigaded? Do I just accept that there are trolls? Should I start to watermark my content as well? I had a LOT of engagement through a few subreddits (5k views) but the upcoges were a mess and the comments.. were supportive an”
“Im with your friend. Because that is RIDICULOUS! There is no reason that lady should have said they to you let alone with an attitude. I've always dyed my own hair. There were a couple of times it didnt look fantastic, but at the same time I didnt care. I wasn't dying it for anyone else but myself and I still dont. I am 30 now. I do have much shorter hair than I used to. For me, it's easier just to maintain and less product usage all around. Now, you wanting help to fix it is definit”
“What bothers me more, is when someone comes seeking help/advice. Just to completely ignore it, or argue back like they know better (then why come and ask in the first place)”
“Yeah i really dislike this too. Using actual disorders as casual insults just adds stigma and makes it harder for people who genuinely struggle with them to be taken seriously.”