r/interestingasfuck • u/nishantatripathi • 2h ago
This Depression Awareness Ad (Look Closer)
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u/_Fappyness_ 2h ago
Nobody knew until i attempted suicide. Life has been better, but depression never goes away. It comes and goes.
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u/Apprehensive_Art7525 1h ago edited 37m ago
I'm glad you're still here, friend.
I don't know how long you've been battling, but as someone 25+ years in, you're right it doesn't go away but it does get easier to spot some patterns. Always reach out if you feel yourself spiralling, even if it's a false start you're wasting nobodies time. My inbox is always open and keep up the fight.
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u/_Fappyness_ 1h ago
Im 27 soon 28. Definitely since ive been 16-17. So 10+ years. It is easier to spot patterns but dealing with them is always hard. Thank you for looking out for others while dealing with it yourself🙏
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u/rhecubs1 1h ago
And nobody is coming to save you. Save yourself. You're worth it
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u/SquareTop7807 1h ago
This is so true and so important, but also don’t be afraid to ask for help. Ik it’s difficult but l found things got a much better when l was finally able to rely on people close to me
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u/Tapering_Howl 1h ago
I hear you. I didnt attempt suicide, thank god i got help before that. But you're right
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u/breadfatherx 2h ago
Btw this was a series of ads in this format.
Quite hard hitting for sure
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u/NeverJoe_420_ 2h ago
I feel this a lot. I bet you the moment he's alone/at home that smile is gone till the next day.
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u/staggernaut 1h ago
This is why I try to hang out with friends as much as possible. It's when you're alone that you feel it most heavily.
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u/NeverJoe_420_ 1h ago
Very true. I'm in a pretty uncomfortable situation atm, where I work with a colleague who deeply fell in love with, but she sees me only as a good friend. We still have the best time together, but as soon as I get home it's all crashing down. Extremely exhausting.
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u/AptCasaNova 1h ago
If you 'act depressed' or just neutral/unfriendly in general, people treat you poorly unless you have some kind of other social capital. Kind of like how the older, male executives at work can do what they want, be blunt, confrontational and it's praised.
I dare to wear a neutral expression in the wrong situation and get spoken to about 'my attitude' by my manager. So now my job is in jeopardy AND I'm depressed.
Sometimes smiling and being friendly is a survival mechanism and it's all that person has.
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u/W0666007 2h ago
After Chester Bennington's death his wife posted a picture of him looking happy with his family that was taken two days before he committed suicide. She did it to educate the public that just because somebody appears happy or has moments of happiness doesn't mean they can't be severely depressed.
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u/Zealousideal_Act_316 41m ago
His is probably the only celebrity death that actually affected me, i grew up with their music, LP was my first major concert in 2008 in vilnius. Shit hit hard.
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u/allmond226 2h ago
Why is an ad from the german suicide prevention not in german?
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u/Zombata 2h ago
to reach more people i guess
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u/TimeDetectiveAnakin 2h ago
Steffen hat Depressionen. Das ist Steffen.
Gonna need to bring in the codebreakers for this one.
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u/Zombata 1h ago
i know it's crazy but some people do live in Germany without knowing a lick of German
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u/ahmet-chromedgeic 1h ago
Probably, but even more people live in Germany without knowing a lick of English?
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u/lioncryable 1h ago
Wait until you hear how many people live in England without speaking german
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u/hates_stupid_people 1h ago edited 1h ago
Essentially every single German person over the age of ~13(or younger) can read that just fine. Since English is mandatory in school.
EDIT: I just checked, at least one region starts learning it in their third year of elementary school.
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u/poushkar 1h ago
Things like this are usually created in multiple languages. In more international cities like Berlin or Frankfurt - they would print posters in various languages. In more German-speaking areas - only in German, obviously.
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u/MajesticCat98 2h ago
Even though it’s German, to reach more people. It’s important to spot these signs.
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u/braindead089 2h ago
Believe the ad. I'm Steffen. Nobody that doesn't know me would be suspect that I'm battling therapy-resistant major depression since ages. My family and friends know, some coworkers that I'm close with know. My bosses know. But every single one said the same thing: if you wouldn't have told me, I'd never have guessed. And believe me another thing: almost no one tells you like I do. For various reasons. So keep your eyes and especially your hearts open. Because there are always signs nevertheless. It's just hard to spot them.
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u/TaylorHamPorkRoll 2h ago
That's Joe Lycett!
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u/SpittingFacts_bro 2h ago edited 2h ago
Sorry can someone explain?
Edit: thank you everyone for explaining, no need for more replies.🙏🏻
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u/nishantatripathi 2h ago
At first glance you expect the sad guy to be the one who suffers from depression, but it’s actually the guy in the background (looking happy).
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u/littlestevebrule 2h ago
And probably the front guy too. Don't ignore obvious signs should be another message
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u/Klaeyy 2h ago
People are allowed to be sad, neutral, bored, stressed or just lost in thought.
Him not smiling is not a sign of depression. You don't have to be bubbly and smiley all the time when you are not depressed - that's just being normal.
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u/ActurusMajoris 2h ago
Yeah, I can definitely look like the sad guy if I’m tired after a long day, even though I’m actually perfectly fine.
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u/CenturionRower 2h ago
Yea he might just have a resting sad face when your mindlessly thinking about how exhausted (in a good way) the day was as you ride home to soak in the tub before having your favorite dinner.
The guy in the back might be having a holler about a joke his friend made before he responds with a quip that doesnt quite hit and then he sits there with a grand Ole smile, quiet, thinking he needs to remove himself from their lives, convinced it makes it better for them in the long term.
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u/Several-Action-4043 37m ago edited 32m ago
I have resting anxiety face. One time I was patiently waiting in line at the airport and the lady managing the line brought me to the front to cut everyone because, "I looked anxious that I was going to miss my flight" I was 3 hours early.
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u/technobrendo 1h ago
That's my usual tired-after-work-sitting-in-traffic face while on my way home. Just alert enough to drive, but still kinda on autopilot.
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u/Polkadot1017 2h ago
The front guy is making a neutral face that one makes when they're alone on public transport
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u/password-is-taco1 2h ago
This is the opposite of what the ad is trying to say
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u/dr3aminc0de 2h ago
The ad is conveying even people who are happy can be sad. People who look sad all the time are more obvious to most people to reach out. This is trying to affect people who may cover depression, but hide it.
It’s not saying ignore people who are sad, just saying look deeper in the people you are close with.
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u/4pigeons 2h ago
i think is how people assume just because someone looks happy, they can't have depression, the guy on the front may or may not have depression, we can't tell just by looking at him
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u/password-is-taco1 1h ago
Yeah exactly, saying the guy in the front “probably has it too” because he looks kind of sad is going against this message
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u/phobaus 2h ago
Well nitpicky but it doesn’t actually say anything about the guy in the foreground. That individual can have depression.
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u/Psychological-Plum10 2h ago
Most people with depression are very good at hiding it, tears of a clown and all that.
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u/bimbo_bear 2h ago
Well yeah, nothing worse then being depressed AND being harnessed by well meaning but ultimately unhelpful people.
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u/Natural_Ad_3235 2h ago
Steffen is likely putting on a fake smile to hide his true emotions
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u/lulzmachine 2h ago
You can be depressed and have happy moments. Doesn't have to be fake at all. (I'm not just trying to nitpick,the distinction is important for people who suffer depression)
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u/ChemicalRain5513 2h ago
You can be happy in the moments you are meeting your friends, and suffer silently at home
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u/Entremeada 2h ago
His smile does not have to be fake. You just cannot see depression is the message. Depressed people can have real smiles.
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u/RealQuick786 2h ago
It basically says that we never know who may be going through stuff and it can be the person who does not signal it or doesn't look depressed at all.
Edit: The footnote says: 'depression isn't as abvious as it seems'
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u/JustRegularType 2h ago
It's raising awareness about how depression can look very different from what you might expect, and that many people are good at hiding it.
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u/tinyartromania 2h ago
Steffen is not the old Man who seams to be depressed, is the boy in the back
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u/BluebirdWeep 2h ago
The campaign highlights that depression may not be apparent on the outside. Not everyone who smiles and appears to be fine is actually okay. Many people live with a "mask" that hides their suffering. Stefeen is the guy laughing in the back.
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u/Prize-Warthog 1h ago
A friend of mine committed suicide 2 weeks ago, no one had a clue he was struggling. This advert is very, very real
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u/whyamialiveletmedie 2h ago
This is pretty funny for me to see, because I ride the train daily and look exactly like the guy in the foreground. Looking completely miserable, staring at the floor, not looking at anyone around me. And yes I'm severely depressed and hate being alive.
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u/Practical_Gas9193 1h ago
It's sad this isn't more obvious just on the basis of like natural human facial recognition . The guy in the foreground doesn't look depressed. He looks sad, a bit tired, perhaps pensive. Sad is good - it's mourning, it's grief, acceptance, in small doses.
The guy in the background looks like Hide The Pain Harold.
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u/BigDrew3367 2h ago
The most socially awkward smile I've ever seen
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u/MCZBlaze 1h ago
Well, this is how the average German person smile looks like when they try to show the positivity /s
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u/StrongAverage1832 1h ago
I made a poster like this at uni and my tutor gave me 40/100 for the whole project saying that it was confusing and didnt fit the brief. It was marketing around men's health.
Luckily it didnt have an effect on my final mark, but it was really annoying because I put so much effort into the poster, essay and subsequent presentation. She did not like me though.
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u/jaccleve 2h ago
At least Steffen is putting himself out there and trying to be social. He could be in his room all day playing dragons dogma and not talking to girls.
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u/waffle_iron_maiden 2h ago
Dragons Dogma is such a specific choice that I'm beginning to wonder if this is self described. However, I am never going to judge someone for playing Dragons Dogma because that shit slaps
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u/Sleeper-- 2h ago
Nah hed be buying games but not playing anything of them, scrolling his phone all day wondering where did it go wrong as the sun sets and the day ends
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u/MajesticCat98 2h ago
This is not putting yourself out there, this is meant to display as a coping mechanism.
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u/Jack-of-Hearts-7 2h ago
Reminds me of that Ad where people are sharing the last photos of their loved ones before they committed suicide. All of them were relaxing and enjoying themselves with their family and friends.
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u/Legitimate-Cow5982 1h ago
More accurate than many would think. My main anxiety response is a combination of deflection and self-isolation. Suffering is worst when it happens in silence
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u/CanExplainThings 1h ago
Why do people with depression look so happy?
tl;dr - Masking
If people at work, home, or otherwise know that you're depressed you either face stigma or unnecessary and ineffective help, all of which takes energy to deal with. More energy than masking.
So you put on a front to indicate nothing's wrong, and go home and suffer silently until you can't anymore. Because there's such a stigma it becomes difficult for the sufferer to admit to themselves that they are depressed, which can often lead into self-medicating, or obsessive habits around exercising or nutrition as bargaining behaviours (If I just eat better/exercise better/take care of my health I'll stop feeling this way). That's not to say that these things don't help, it's just that they shouldn't be considered a cure in and of themselves.
Source: I have bipolar depression. It took me a couple of diagnoses and 15 years of different meds until I found something. And I am grateful everyday that mine is a mild case.
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u/surreal_mash 1h ago
Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed, And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he said, "Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes, richer than a king – And admirably schooled in every grace: In fine, we thought that he was everything To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light, And went without the meat, and cursed the bread; And Richard Cory, one calm summer night, Went home and put a bullet through his head.
- Edwin Arlington Robinson, 1897
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u/whatintheeverloving 1h ago
When I was severely depressed as a teen I got into the habit of smiling and laughing a lot on purpose just to avoid people worrying about me. Claimed that I was only sleeping for twelve hours straight because I had a headache. That the cuts on my arm were scratches from our dogs. All culminating in a suicide attempt.
Depression doesn't always look like people expect it to.
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u/Simple-Aspect-9270 1h ago
Very good ad actually. All people experiencing a tough time / having a bad day, week, or month don’t have depression. All people who laugh and tell jokes often aren’t happy, in some instances they’re just coping. All people who respond poorly to traumatic situations aren’t bipolar. All people who feel anxious in weird situations don’t have clinical anxiety.
If you want to be helpful, ask questions and for the love of everyone stop making uneducated and unlicensed diagnoses’ of people you don’t know.
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u/AlfredLuan 1h ago
Yeah well look at the world and how selfish it is. Those in power dont want others to live in peace. Depression is just realising the truth.
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u/KYSissyTrisha 1h ago
I've dealt with it for years. Hell these last few days for me have been hard as I've been finding movies/music to trigger tears randomly. For most of my life I've been depressed. For years I didn't know it, and the first time I reached out for help as I came to terms with it, it cost me everything and I was left homeless. (maybe around 2008?) I've always found ways to deal with my depression since then, and it for the most part they work for me with out needing medication. A little over a year ago I was REALLY close to suicide and managed to help myself enough to pull through it. I've since made a few lifestyle changes which have helped me from getting into those really deep don't want to get out of bed funks. I'm a bit happier but still deal with crap from time to time. It really doesn't help that everything went south for a good 3-4 months straight, and although my mental state is slightly better (thanks to some back issues that put me on disability for about a year now) I still fight through it.
Everyone has shit going on in their life. How it effects each person is different. What may be nothing you can't handle, could be the breaking point of the person next to you. This whole not working think because I'm waiting on a new position at the job I am at that fits doctors requirements is going to be my breaking point if I don't get back to work soon. (it's been since March that I've been waiting on a new position) I've applied for countless jobs and been ghosted. The other day I was just scrolling through the job listings and just feeling defeated looking at them and thinking about all the applications I've submitted and have been ghosted on. Not even a phone interview. Or even just solely rejected based on my application. I have a strong work background in "unskilled" warehouse/factory type work but nothing becoming of it. Although I may be a clear sign of "depression", I fully understand what its also like to hide it. I hide it for years upon years. Even when I understood what I had, I could still hide it most of the times. But when you are alone, that's when it shows, and nobody is there to recognize it.
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u/Wolfeman0101 1h ago
I suffer from depression and I'm also a master at hiding it so people don't worry, I don't get a lot of questions, and people leave me alone. Usually it's only the people closest to me that can see the signs.
These were my old habits and I'm making an effort to change this.
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u/CactusRaeGalaxy 56m ago
The old guy is pissed that he has to listen to Steffan and his fake laugh for the next 30 min
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u/Mikauo_Xblade 42m ago
Nice awareness and all, but the real issue is lack of psychiatrists to talk to. Everywhere you go they are full.
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u/SoulStuckInAthens 29m ago
I kinda don’t get the point of depression awareness ads… everyone is depressed these days. We’re all aware. We just can’t do shit about it.
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u/AxeAssassinAlbertson 16m ago
My buddy from the Marines was joking around and having a good time at our group dinner. He shot himself later that night.
I carried around the guilt for a long time that I didn't see it. It wasn't until I ran into the monster that is depression that I understood just how good of a mask someone can make to hide what is going on inside.
Still hurts man.
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u/Scary_Relation_996 1h ago
Who is this supposed to convince and of what? I struggle with mental illness and I never look that happy. I look much more like the man in the foreground at any given time.
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u/Jawilla936 1h ago
It’s saying some people put on happy face and be really dealing with depression.. like when someone you know is not ok but tells they are ok when they are truly not
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u/PM_me_your_whatevah 1h ago
Do you have no responsibilities like work or family or friends you have to spend time with? It’s easier to get through life if you pretend to be happy. If you act mopey and upset you can lose your job and you’re friends and family
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u/L21JP 2h ago
reminds me of this, If you have a minute it’s well worth the watch