Studies have shown that venting can be cathartic (I just got out of classes for the summer so forgive me if I don’t find and cite sources for this); my high school newspaper used to do a feature where we could write up 100-word “rants” on any topic, which I always thought was both fun and really interesting … so I decided to recreate it.
As you might know, May is Mental Health (Awareness) Month. It’s a topic that’s very close to my heart and one I wanted to pay tribute to. We live in a high-speed, high-stress world, so I figured there would be plenty of material for this post. But different people have different values and different frustrations, so I wanted to get a variety of opinions. Over on Twitter I asked y’all to send in rants on any topic.
And without further ado, I am so excited to bring you the first and hopefully not last 100 word rants post!
Submissions may have been slightly edited, with the original writers’ permission.
Charvi @ Not Just Fiction: On Casual Use of “OCD” and “Depression”
I absolutely hate when people casually use words like ‘depressed’ and ‘OCD’ in their day to day lives. ‘I’m a little OCD, can you please straighten that?’ You’re not OCD, you’re fastidious — very attentive and concerned about accuracy and detail. It’s a slightly harder word to learn but it’s better that than disrespecting people who actually struggle with OCD.
And just because you didn’t get into a university you wanted doesn’t mean you can use ‘I’m feeling depressed’. You’re sad, crushed or disappointed but in no way depressed so stop invalidating the experiences of those who actually have to go through depression.
meeghan @ Meeghan Reads: On How the Book Community is Changing (Not for the Better)
Maybe it’s because I live near them so I’m feeling protective, but I’m really pissed about the way that the book community is treating authors of late — in particular Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. The vitriol they got on social media over a decision their publishers made is absolutely disgraceful. Where books are distributed is not the authors decision. Preorder incentives is not the authors decision. Also, I’m disgusted by the absolute bashing that E.L. James got when she announced she was releasing a new book. You don’t have to like her books, but you should still respect people as people. The book community is starting to get this intolerant keyboard warrior troll shit going on and I am not impressed. We are a community who love to create and share and inspire, and the changes happening lately are not good. While not authors, the Goldsboro site situation with Aurora Rising is also heartbreaking. They are just a small business and the way they got slammed online was disgraceful. Where is this sense of entitlement coming from?!! It makes me sad for my fave industry.
Jayati @ It’s Just a Coffee Addicted Bibliophile: On How Depression is Not Sadness
People are often unaware of what various mental health disorders actually mean and indicate and without proper knowledge, form opinions which seem to have become wildly popular. One such misconception that really irks me is ‘Depression is caused by sadness’ which is actually very untrue — Depression is often hereditary and due to chemical imbalances but it seems that no one cares about the truth — they just want to say their opinion which are judge-y and often degrading! People judge others according to their beliefs (which may be wrong) and frankly speaking, that is one thing that I can’t handle!
If you want to say something about a topic, have proper knowledge about it or just shut up because it may affect the person it relates to in a horrible way!
Joe White @ jw_teach: On the Pressure on Teachers to be Experts in Everything
I wish as a teacher I could commit more time to each child, and have the knowledge needed to support them fully. With increasing cuts to essential services the pressure on teachers to be experts in mental health, attachment, trauma, specific interventions to “fix” issues that would take teams of specialists to investigate properly. Working in SEND I do mean that the expectation is to be an expert in a range of fields outside of education. Awareness will never be enough. Expertise in the field of teaching is no longer seen as enough. Please help us help our young people!
Thank you to everyone who submitted a rant! If you have a rant of your own — on any topic at all: serious or silly or anywhere in between — I’d love to get a response from you for a future post 😉
Nine Tale Vixen 
I love how this post shaped up to be 😍
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thanks Charvi! and thank you for your contribution 💕
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This is such a great post & series idea, and thank you for starting it off for Mental Health Awareness Month! I definitely agree that ‘depressed’ and ‘ocd’ are used colloquially WAY too much and it bothers me a lot.
One thing that has been grinding my gears for years is the use of “binge” for consuming content, like watching a show or reading a book series. WHY NOT USE MARATHON instead of taking a disorder and stripping it of its meaning. It makes me irrationally uncomfortable
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I hadn’t even thought of “binge” as an example, which probably in and of itself demonstrates the heart of the issue – so many problematic terms have become so embedded in our slang and everyday vocabulary that we don’t even consider them. it’s definitely one that I’ll be more aware of going forward; thank you for bringing it up 💕
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This is a really great idea for a post and I agree with these rants. You can’t just fling around words that describe depression or Ocd without actually having it. Mental Health should be more discussed in schools and have actual specialists to work with the students.
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thank you! talking more about mental health in schools could definitely go a long way towards destigmatizing, and decreasing harmful ignorance – I saw a tweet the other day by a teacher who explained the meaning / origin of the term “triggered” to a bunch of teenagers who were throwing it around, and they were genuinely dismayed because they hadn’t known it had mental health connotations. not to mention the positive impact it could have for those who might otherwise not want to seek help!
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I remember reading that on twitter!
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This is such a great idea, and I hope you repeat it!! (Also sorry for nearly doubling the word limit!!)
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thanks Meeghan! and haha don’t be sorry, it’s a great rant and I really appreciate you submitting it 💕
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I love this idea and how instead of just writing about your own struggles you’re including short rants from fellow bloggers. I have never been depressed but I have a friend who has that every year, so I always use sad over depressed. It might sometimes feel like end of the world but I do know that I don’t have depression.
I also agree with the hate writers are getting. Not everyone like same writers and that’s fine. That doesn’t mean you need to attack them. I liked E.L James’ Fifty Shades books and I’m sometimes afraid to admit t because of how people react to that. That doesn’t mean I’m interested in reading her new book, though. I know many people LOVE Leigh Bardugo’s books but I don’t go around attacking anyone just because her writing isn’t for me.
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thanks Jamsu! awareness is definitely a huge part of the problem, and as someone with (diagnosed) mental health conditions I definitely appreciate it when people like you make an effort to acknowledge that they’re real and different from everyday sadness or disappointment.
and yes, I absolutely agree about authors! reading is such a subjective experience, everyone likes different things and that’s what keeps it all so interesting.
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It’s great that you started this off with mental health awareness, it seems really fitting. I feel like the rants shared were so valid and it’s great to hear others talking about this issue of people using mental health terms as a way to just describe…well…normal feelings everyone gets. It’s really unfair and diminishes the impact of those actually afflicted. It really gets me worked up. I also really hate seeing such violent hate toward authors on twitter (or book stores in the case of Goldsboro books!) it just shows us that we’re still too self absorbed as a community and it’s really a shame.
Can’t wait for the next set of rants!
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thanks Haley! there are definitely so many frustrating issues in the world that I think a lot of us can relate to and have strong opinions on, so giving a voice and spotlight to them was really important to me – I’m glad you found it validating 💕
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Mental Health awareness never gets the attention it deserves. I think this post was a great idea, and I think it is important for people to be able to express their frustrations and help others understand where they are coming from. Thanks for posting this!
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thank you, Jennifer! glad you liked it 💕
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Ohhh that turned out really nice !!
I would’ve loved to take part but I couldn’t think of anything right then 🙈
Totally agreeing with Jayati – they also say how burnout is an excuse, anxiety is stress, etc.. some are STILL unaware how physical thoses mental illnesses can be, or keep claiming how « its all in our head ». Well yeah – Id sure hope so, it says within the word. It’s my BRAIN who’s sick, where else could it be? 🤦🏽♀️
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haha no worries! I’m leaving the form open for a while so it’s still available if you think of anything later on 😉
I agree with you to some extent, though I think it does vary from person to person – some people get panic attacks (which are physical and therefore by definition not “just in your head”) and others get other physical symptoms from mental health issues. but it’s definitely a highly personal and variable experience, so empathy and understanding are definitely important to have!
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The physical effect is very real, which I don’t think ive heard someone says they don’t have any so far ?
I got brushed off a few times with « only in the head » thing and oh. BOI. Does it makes me mad..
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This is such a great post, Isabelle and I loved how it turned out!
I hope you do more of these and I can read more of these rants because sometimes we do things that seem right to us and do not see other’s perspectives. This would be a great way to help people understand each other and what they might be going through!
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thank you, Jayati! I absolutely agree 💕
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