Early in December, a celebrity meltdown occurred on Twitter – rapper Kanye West ranted about medication and its effect on his creative process.
Then Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson alarmed millions of fans by declaring in a Dec. 15 Instagram post that he was finding it difficult to go on with life. He has since deleted his Instagram account.
The reactions were swift, as they tend to be on social media, and a larger conversation began.
Some criticized the tendency of those in the public eye to air their personal lives on such public platforms.
Others leapt to the defence of Kanye and Davidson, suggesting their tweets and social media posts are a cry for help and we have a responsibility as consumers to offer our support.
Kanye currently has more than 20 million followers on Twitter. With such a large platform comes extreme responsibility. In just a few tweets, some very questionable misconceptions about mental health were spread to a young audience.
The use of medication as a treatment for various mental health disorders is a particularly controversial topic within the mental health field. There is a harmful misconception that the use of medication suggests weakness, or that mental illness in itself is a sign that you are weak.
Kanye, in what I assume was an attempt to be honest and open about his experiences, contributed to the misconception that you cannot be creative or productive when using medication to treat mental illness.
“I’m loving the new music I’ve been working on. 6 months off meds I can feel me again,” he tweeted.
He went on to liken the use of medication to the consumption of alcohol, writing: “You don’t make runaway on medication Even alcohol is and addictive substance called spirits that actually block our earthly connection to our spirit when we drown ourselves in it.”
I believe it is vital that those in the public eye who struggle with mental illness have the opportunity to be open about their experiences. Kanye added, “I am able to experience first hand how people who have mental health issues get written off by society. Don’t listen to him cause he’s crazy. He’s washed cause he’s crazy etc....”
While these discussions are important, watching the tweets unfold raised the question: where do we draw the line between mental illness and personal responsibility?
If your well-intentioned tweets perpetuate harmful stereotypes, is it worth the risk?
Given the nature of social media and the large platform Kanye and Davidson have, anything they tweet or post is guaranteed to garner some kind of reaction. That being said, they both have a responsibility to be aware of the negative effects their words can have on their young and impressionable followers.
The holidays can be a particularly difficult time for those suffering from mental illness. If medication or reaching out on social media helps you, then that is what you should do. Everyone is different and what works for a celebrity may not be the reality for their followers.
It is my hope that these conversations, whether they are sparked by Twitter or your community, can help debunk harmful mental health stereotypes.
Jennifer Hamilton is a local student and writer.
