October 28, 2006

  • Depression and Xanga

    I had a doctor’s appointment the other day.  I sent out a message right before I left that asked “Do you ever have unexplained depression?”  I was surprised when I received over 900 responses within 24 hours.  Some of those messages were encouraging.  Others were depressing.  It was sad to read stories of people and how they were struggling to overcome their depression.

    I started to feel better after my appointment and as I was reading the messages I got depressed again.

    It did get me thinking.

    Is Xanga a depressed community?  

        

Comments (182)

  • I don’t think you can generalize it. It varies from person to person.

  • Unfortunately, over 50% I think is pretty depressed…

  • not to be depressing, but i think the entire country is a depressed community.  if xanga reflects that, then i guess it’s an accurate portrayal of a larger problem.

  • The world is a depressed community.

  • It’s where people come to let their feelings out, especially the negative feelings they can’t always unload on the people around them. But it does depend on which sites you read. Some sites are pretty good at making me laugh or smile. It just depends on whoever is managing the blog.
    Dr. Carasco

  • I think it is. But i think that’s kinda sad to think of Xanga as a depressioning place to be. I hope it isn’t a depressioning place to be b/c when i’m depressed i come here to vent and feel better at times.

  • no. They are an honest community…

  • I think it’s more like on xanga people are free to express their feelings, including depression.

  • not as much as livejournal, home of emo kids and their rants.

  • i write depressing entries…but, i’m not depressed…to me, it is a venue to express intimate feelings.  hope you are feeling better…wonderful news from the appt w/ the oncologist.  :)

  • No. People just tend to type out their feelings more.

  • i think that the majority is

  • lol seems like it for what i read don’t wory dan half of it is people who make up stuff for sypathy

    xX-Nicole-Xx

  • No, but even the most upbeat of people have their down days. And there is a huge difference between “unexplained, mild” depression and major depression…
    Depression isn’t as big a stigma as it used to be. People can now be honest about it.

  • I don’t think so. It is an outlet. Sometimes for the positive in people. Other times for the negative. Overall, I don’t think it is depressed. I read too many wonderful entries and positive entries and words of encouragement to think it is depressed.

  • everyone gets depressed sometime.

  • depends who you’re talking to

  • Not Xanga, it is widespread.  Most are too ashamed to talk about it.  Fear of being labeled or deemed inadequate or unable to function which is not always the case.

    Pure will to survive keeps me going each and every day.  No matter how sad and down I am all I have to do is look out the window and be inspired that life is worth living even if it does not feel like it at the moment.

  • The internet can be quite a place for lonely people.
    Some people use it for reaching out and networking, others for a place to be heard.

    Xanga was the frist place I found for blogging. It seems as if people here listen longer and although I don’t get the amount of comments, they seem to be “good” comments.

    Perhaps Xanga is a place for personal messages where MySpace and Live Journal are places for the quick and the dirty?

    XoxoxoX
    My cup of Xmas Coffee is waiting (I know I jumped ahead to another holiday already- Next thing you know I will be drinking my favorite Valentine’s chocolate coffee before Thanksgiving???Hehehe!)

    Jane

  • Almost everyone is depressed at some time. It’s not for us to geralize about that.

  • Everybody has periods of depression .. everybody!!  There are so many people on anti-depressants … and thank goodness for drugs, or people would be killing each other.  I don’t think Xanga is a depressing place .. in fact, if not for Xanga, I don’t think I could handle life as well as I do.  It’s a support network, where people compliment and help each other.  It’s better (and cheaper) than therapy.  Thank goodness for Xanga!!!

  • yes, my friends usually write when either something really good happens or usually when they’re depressed.  see its_blake_kthnks for further reference

  • No, but it gets depressing when no one comments…

  • I think people come to Xanga for encouragement and thoughts and uplifting words from others who also are there for that reason. I don’t know that they are all depressed, but I do think everyone deals with depression at some point in their lives.

  • I think that xanga is just like any community – there are people who are depressed and there are people who are not.

  • Bunch of silly whiners………..

  • i noticed somethaing in most of the pictures (2 posts below the color of jesus) he has green eyes, yep just pining out the ovious

    xX-Nicole-Xx

  • first page?

  • Its a certain kind of depression that is only shown through xanga. Look at some peoples usernames and youll see what I mean. Hopefully. I dont know if anyone else thinks this same way.

  • Pretty much yeah.

  • Its a certain kind of depression that is only shown through xanga. Look at some peoples usernames and youll see what I mean. Hopefully. I dont know if anyone else thinks this same way.

  • Why do people blog? 
    Sometimes it’s because no one will listen to them. 

    That’s why I started, and poured out all of my emotions into Xanga entries.  That made me less depressed. 

  • Depression is a result of the world we live in. It is filled with the most vile people imagineable…murderers, child molesters, corporate criminals, democrats…

  • I didn’t think so until I started meeting people in the goth/cutter/eating-disorder subculture that exists beneath the surface of Xanga…I think that your question would be like asking, “Is America a conceited nation?” Sure, for the most part, it is. However, there’s a great deal of contrast within it…

  • well it was livejournal.
    but i think it kind of skipped over Xanga for a while.
    because Myspace is the number one place of depression for most people.

    but i don’t know. maybe it’s swinging back around for another go at Xanga.

    <|3

  • I agree that, since a lot of people use Xanga to let everything out, it can seem depressing at times. But there are also plenty of people that are really bright and happy–truly, and not with a facade.

  • No. It’s just a great place to express your feelings. People you’ve come to know from your blogrings really care about you and make you feel better- and you can relate to one another’s problems.

  • it varies. People who blog about theirself and their feelings all the time would generally get more so depressed because they can be focusing too much on themself

  • I think people as a WHOLE are a depressed community. It just comes out on Xanga because people are most honest and vulnerable over the internet.

  • A large portion of itis, but with one exception I tend to be attracted to the sights than are not depressing. Upbeat blogs are common enough 50-50

  • I don’t think it is a more depressed place.  Life is depressing at times.  When you turn on the TV what do you see?  A few comedies, reality crap-tastic tv, and bad news.  Then you open the newspaper and what do you see?  Bad news.  Radio?  Bad news.  The truth of the matter is posting things that are negative give people more attention than posting postive “my life is so perfect” scenarios. 

  • It’s not just Xanga; everyone gets depressed.

  • No, but there are some of us that suffer from it and/or have SAD this time of year.

  • I don’t know… would be hard to calculate – so many individuals….

  • I don’t know if I would considar it that… but there are quite a few blogs devoted to certain individuals’ self destruction.  It’s also a place where people can vent their frustrations with (usually) less repurcussions.

  • Not really. We just vent a lot here and that’s all you see, sometimes. My life isn’t full of depression. I just answered the question.

  • alot of people think they’re depressed especially younger people but only the people who experience true, clinical depression know what its like so no

  • xanga is for the lost souls of the world

  • its only some of the people…

  • I think Xanga and other blogging communities give people a chance to get those things off their shoulders that they otherwise have not outlet for.

  • It’s probably reflective of people in the world. Some on xanga are depressed and some are not.

  • I think a lot of people might use xanga as a way of coping. Theraputic almost.

  • Hey, we need something to write about.

  • no, you just have this effect on people where they are willing to open up about things that they feel like they should be hiding from the world.

  • it varies.

  • In general, no.
    most people are upbeat in the main. It’s just that they leave depressed posts up for longer than happy ones.

    I go through random depressions sometimes. Basically, it’s when I’m not doing anything.

  • I know a lot of “emo” or “scene kids” who post on xanga saying how they are so depressed and want to kill themselves. It seems like that’s the cool thing now, because I know a lot of them and they are not like that at all in “real life”.

  • It seems like an awful lot of people here are depressed or cutters or ex-cutters. Is it a real sample of the population or is there a correlation between depression and Xanga?

  • We live in a depressed nation. Xanga ia not a place where you can pinpoint depression.

  • Xanga is an outlet to talk about things that you cant talk about with other people and you just need somewhere to talk about it. Its not depressing than any other place.. its just more open.

  • I think so. I’m sure some people will blast me for saying it, but I think depressed people probably spend more time on the computer, while happy people spend more time out in the world with their friends. So Xanga is just a reflection of that.

  • Overall, not so much. Ofcourse everyone goes through a funk, every so often, but some people on here are just sucking the life out of me with there constant whining and being all depressed.
    I try to stay away from them, but if they have a good reason to be depressed, I try and cheer them up and be there for them all the way.

    Loving DaBombMom615 comment. She is such a smart cookie, hehe.

  • people are so depressed, not only because of the cerentonine levels in their brain because so many people just won’t listen and talk to them. Its a sad world when we have no one, or nothing to vent our feelings. Although we all have this abundance in food and material crap, its not good enough. we need people and God above all.

  • thats why we have blogs, to pur out our feelings

  • people without hope are depressed… what is the hope for the world?  Some might say our hope is to go to heaven… the only problem with that is you have to die first… others might say our hope is heaven coming to us, that our destiny lies not in heaven but here on earth, and those who have voluntarily come to Jesus will reign with Him… He’s got plans of His own to set up His throne When He returns… but the paradox of the Kingdom of God is that it is here but not yet… so, we can experience heaven on earth, in a measure, right now… that kind of hope drives away depression…

  • The problem is that all the depressed people are on xanga, or somewhere else on the internet, while happy people are generally out in the world livng their lives, which can be depressing, but they don’t have time to talk about it because they have things to do. Therefore they are distracted from the normal depression of everyday life.

    Or at least that’s what I see.

    I really like your xanga btw. It is always very interesting and compels you to read it and the comments people post :)

  • There’s probably a lot of people here who have it…I personally have struggled with it since the age of ten (way before I joined Xanga), so I don’t think depression and Xanga have a direct link.

  • You read your comments?

    I didnt know that…

  • And its not Xanga thats a “depressed community” its the world

  • i think more people let out depressed moments so they can be over with them. i wouldnt want to be over with happy moments

  • Tons of people seem to think they are depressed.  I think most people are momentarily unhappy, or perhaps situationally unhappy.   Unhappiness is a part of life just as much as happiness is.

  • You bore me

    im outa here

  • I read somewhere (a few years ago) about a study that said the majority of people that spent a certain percentage of time (I forget what-but over 50% of their time) were clinically depressed. I have no idea how they actually did this study, but from what I have seen, it’s probably true. As for the general population, who knows?

  • no more so than any other large collection of people.

  • Well, its hard to classify it with so many people on it.

  • Depression is no respector of persons. It doesn’t care if you have a blog on Xanga or a blog or MySpace or if you have no blog at all.

  • Is xanga even a community?

  • hahahaha…no wonder I get on people’s nerves…I’m too friggin’ happy!  LOL

  • yep. its easier here

  • it’s because myspace is generally for idiots and xanga is generally for people who have something to say. when given a choice, smart poeple choose a writing blog, not a profile blog, and smart people are always depressed.

    therefore xanga is a depressed community. i overanalyzed that. now i am miserable.

  • I only get depressed without Xanga.

  • The world is a depressed community..

  • No.  But it is a place where depressed people congregate.  I’d be much more depressed without Xanga and the friends I’ve made here.

  • I don’t think Xanga is a depressed community, but I think that depressed people tend to post an awful lot about how terrible their lives are. Contrast those four page essays with the happy people’s occasional blurb and it certainly seems very depressing.

  • we are a depressed society.

  • (SIGH) I dunno. maybe. (SIGH)

  • I believe all people are really depressed. Xanga is just a place to express it.

  • we all have down days, weeks, or just moments.  The world can be a depressed community.

  • I don’t think it’s fair to make that generalization. I’m sure there are plenty of depressed people on here (including me), but there are just as many who aren’t depressed.

  • I think life is a depressed community.

  • i think that there is no more depression here than anywhere else. i struggle with depression quite often, some of it explained, other times, not explainable. but anyways, i think that more people are able to express it over xanga, because there is a sense of privacy, of anonimity. ebcause you arent directly telling someone face to face.

  • That completely depends on what group of people you are looking at.  There are some people on xanga who are depressed.  There are also some who aren’t.  It definitely does vary.

  • I will freely admit that I am depressed. I don’t take drugs. I don’t think popping pills will make me feel better. I am just  hormonally imbalanced girl 8 months shy of being a legal adult and I am a wreck. It’s probably typical, but it still hurts. And seeing all those damn Depression Commercials doesn’t help. I don’t think Xanga is all about depressed people. There are a lot of people who simply post here as a diary to keep track of their lives and they don’t feel the taint of depression. I am not one of those people.

  • i personally write to express my feelings – which is usually when i’m feeling a little down or bored….it seems like there are many great writers in history who found inspiration for their masterpieces  during times of depression or troubled times……i guess ppl naturally like reading about sad, painful times that ppl go through than about what a great life another person has….

    so YES, xanga has many depressed ppl in this vast online community of writers…..

  • I’m a little depressed that I have not the energy to do something more useful with my time than read blogs, but owell – I enjoy it.  Can something you enjoy really make you depressed?

  • I think the human race is a depressed community. The percent of people who have never been sad/depressed in their life is extremely low. Plus, you asked about unexplained depression. That’s like asking if you’ve ever cried for no reason. I’m sure a lot of the female population can admit to that, no? Blegh, yeah.

  • Um…no…i think…everyone gets depressed sometime…hahaCheer Up Dan… 

  • Everyone experiences depression.  That’s part of being human. 

  • i was one who answered.

  • as a psych. major, it’s probably because most high school and college students (me) have Xangas. bullying, bad grades make high school students depressed. for college students, it’s being away from home, lack of friends (or friends from home) as well as bad grades and responsibility of college.  

  • i think that people tend to report on xanga when things are going wrong or badly…and that makes it seem like we’re a depressed society.

    *hugs*

  • is the world a depressed place?

  • Pssh no. I mean, a number of people on here are probably depressed, but I don’t think we’re looked at as a depressed community.

  • look, if you ask a question about deppression and deppressing things, then yes you’re going to get deppressing answers.

    If you sent out a question about people finding their soul mate, or about the happiest memories in their lives, etc, you’d probably get lots of very happy responses.

  • No- Its  a Place where people can air thair Gripes and depressing moods to feel better…

  • it can make you depressed, definetely

  • No, I think life is just more depressing than people will admit when you ask “How are you doing?”

  • I don’t think it is at all! I’m glad you’re okay. I was worried for a bit.

  • HAH.

    considering the demographic..

  • No, but it gets depressing when no one comments…
    Posted 10/28/2006 at 12:01 PM by xX_tRaGiCkInGdOm_Xx

    agreed

  • The world we live in is a depressing community.

    It’s not just xanga.

  • Not if you’re visiting the right blogs.

  • People write more when they’re depressed.

  • For some people, Xanga replaces family and friends which may have been lost over the years.

  • I find it odd that people felt the need to tell their stories. It was a direct question that required a yes or no answer. But maybe that’s part of the catharsis for some which maybe makes xanga  a helpful place. I don’t know but I don’t think the xanga community is any more depressed than any other group of people.

  • Not really.

    Maybe on an individual basis, but you can’t really make such a generalization.

  • I think that journal writing by nature often encourages people to spill out their inner emo and so yes, for many people who use this service it may tend to radiate sort of an air of mass anxiety in general.

  • I don’t know about the xanga community. But I do know that sometimes people just use it to type out all their negative feelings.. but never positive, and so that makes it depressing.
    They use it as a vent.
    So … yeah… it’s a depressive community haha.

    People should be thankful more often!

  • i don’t think xanga is necessarily a depressed community, but a community that attracts the depressed (or easily depressed).

  • I’d say 80% = emo

  • Not Xanga per se – It’s just here we have a forum to discuss things like that – You asked an honest question and got honest answers

  • Well, I think we live in a world that has a rather negative and cynical outlook on life. It’s hard to be happy. But I would say that I think Xanga is pretty balanced between the two.

    I’ve found a lot of comfort and encouragment from friends I’ve made on Xanga To be honest, I have a hard time wondering what I’d do without such great people. We all get down sometimes, and it’s nice to know that there is someone there with a good word to help get you back up.

  • Xanga is depressing if ones site does not have many visitors, or comments!
    But it is by no means a depressed community. Like any community, it is what you make of it.

  • i think it depends on who you talk to.  like, the people in certain groups are depressed, and a lot of people go through different stages.  but if you go to different groups they may not be all depressed.  and one thing you have to remember…a lot of people use xanga as a diary or journal.  so a lot of things they talk about could make a person emo…but many of them aren’t really depressed…they’re just getting the stuff out so that they don’t get depressed…just sayin.

  • No, but we all have reasons to think that our lives could be different could our moods be different.  That’s not just Xanga. That’s life.

  • You tell us. You have over 900 responces. Break it down and get back with us. Got to go take another valum.

  • No not at all. Xanga just so happens to be a blog community where people are more open about their feelings, unlike myspace, where many (but not all) either suppress their emotions or are shallow sociopaths.

    I’d rather be honest than dysfunctional or shallow

  • I dont think so but people do express their feelings in their writing, some people have journals just for that reason.

  • Yes. Very. Xanga causes users to express their true, deep and sometimes more tragic thoughts about life.

  • Most folks will experience some sort of depression in their lifetime.  It may just be a single episode, but most likely this will happen in everyone’s life.  I don’t believe that Xanga is a depressed community, but I do (personally) find it easier to post something “depressing” on a given day and just release that bad energy in written form rather than calling 5 different people and talking about the same thing several times throughout the day. . .

  • No. 900 people is only a small chunk of xanga, and maybe it’s just a coincidence that those people were depressed. Or maybe I’m wrong. Maybe xanga is a depressed community. Who knows.

                                                                                                                             -KrIsTiN-

  • I agree with a lot of the comments. Depression is more widespread than most people think and/or underdiagnosed, but Xanga is also a place where most can let out their feelings. Either way, it’s not a bad idea to learn a bit more about it.

  • To me, xanga is a place I can express my feelings that I cannot tell many of my friends.  I have a secret xanga and such, to hide from my friends, ha. 

    I don’t think xanga is overall especially depressed.

    ash

  • idk, i’m depressed but then again i turned 18 today so what can i expect?

  • No. But if you ask such a question those who have dealt with depression will flock to answer.

  • It all depends on the person really; some use it because they are depressed and others just use it to tell what happen in their day and lives–because this maybe the only place where they can. I do think that it will lead to depression if you’re just on here all the time and don’t do anything else because a person can’t just live their lives online forever.
    Okay, I’ll stop here before I take this somewhere else and mess up what I’m trying to say.

  • I totally thought you were asking me that because I had commented on your last post (the one about your doctor’s visit) about my going through cancer. Now I feel stupid..

  • no

  • of course. we come to xanga to rant and seek comfort from others. sometimes, we have good news. but mostly it’s bad. if it’s good news, you wouldn’t be on xanga. you would be out partying. lol

  • no..it’s just that a butt load of people need attention.

  • after just reading all the responses on the “Heaven” post, i think it would definitely be a yes. half of the responders had no hope, the other half all had the same exact response. that is depressing.

  • Repeating what some have said…

    I think people do come to Xanga to get some of the emotions out.  I started Xanga because a friend knew that it would be good for me to write and the feedback helped get me out of a head mess.  Just being able to express yourself in some way is a good thing for most people.  I choose writing/blogging.  Others prefer telephones.  Some might prefer one on one conversations.  We are all different.  I like that.

  • The world is a depressed community.
    Posted 10/28/2006 at 11:45 AM by wallxxflower
    I agree

  • Broadly, yeah

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  • 70 percent yes. 30percent no

  • Highly depends on which sub-community of xanga you’re talking about. I feel that people who write nothing in their entries and are just looking for comments to make them feel ‘loved’….those are the ones that are REALLY depressed…=.=

  • No…I think its a problem all over the world.

  • The most popular blogs are probably the depressed one since that’s somewhat the typical blogger: either totally preppy and “oh my god i like went shopping like!” or the angsty poetry, emo, depressed type. I don’t know, maybe some people feel they have to fit into this mold. Or it could be simply since the internet offers anonyminity, people express their true feelings. And what with how the world is today, very few people are truly happy.

  • i think at least a good part of xanga is depressed.  it’s a very good outlet for venting or ranting about how you feel, and it gives you feedback from other people without having to neccessarily talk to them face to face.  (which can sometimes be very hard or frustrating)
    while there are people who simply have a daily blog and talk about everything, including happy things, a lot of people use it to express themselves when they feel bad. 
    but you still can not fairly make the sweeping generalization that xanga is a depressed community

  • Nope…. where HAPPY people! ^^

  • Well, if we’re all keeping journals, we at least have some emotion, right? o-o

  • IT IS WHAT PEOPLE ALLOW IT TO BE…

  • Why did you get depressed from reading the messages? That’s what I want to know. Xanga sometimes depresses me b/c of the people who make fun of or scoff at God.

  • dude i thought you sent a message to me…lol…didnt realize it was a SPAM!! LOL! nah xanga isnt depressing…i avoid those peoples pages that always seem to be down…and that way it doeant affect me that way…

  • think about the kind of person who would rather express feelings to a computer audience of people they will likely never meet. Depression must be here in astronomical proportion

  • People use xanga for a reason. Everything we do is to make up for something that we lack, to change how things are now.

  • the majority of it, yes.

  • Nah, I think the world in general is a depressed community.

  • oh, that’s why you sent me that message?  hahaha… i reread my posts thinking “goodness, is my current moment in life really that bad?”

    people tend to post about their “issues” rather than celebrate on xanga.

  • I don’t think Xanga is a depressing place.  I think everyone feels down every once in a while.  Sometimes life is stressful and it seems overwhelming.  I do not think it is the same thing as suffering from depression.  It is just the ups and downs that comes as a part of living.  Having to deal with what you were going through the other day is enough to make anyone feel afraid, stressed, overwhelmed and sad.

  • Everybody gets depressed one time or another!

  • What are the results of your survey?

  • I don’t think so. It seems to be a peppy community to me!

  • I think that the majority of people who are on communities such as xanga have some form of depression. That’s why people write most of the time – sure there are good things to record, but mostly it’s about your bad feelings and things.

  • I don’t think so. There’s the people that put stuff bout their new baby and wedding days, birthdays, and all that, so it can’t be too bad. (*v*)

  • Seriously, Xanga is dominated by emos, so yes.

  • My response to you was my current state now– when I joined Xanga a couple of years ago, it was *because* I was depressed and wanted an outlet. I don’t know where I’d be now if I hadn’t created a situation where people would check in on me and help me stay upbeat while bad things were happening.

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