Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Goths and Depression

The recent Lancet Psychiatry article on teenage goths and depression has prompted many responses, including an article in The Guardian and posts from fellow bloggers on blogs such as The Everyday Goth and Domesticated.

Here are a few of my thoughts...

(Firstly, I'll assert that it's easy to draw incorrect conclusions from statistical data. For example: 82% of people killed by lightning are men. One might conclude that lightning targets men or that women have a higher survival rate.)

I don't like the study's definition or context of goth. Essentially, it said goths are a group who rebel against the norm or attempt not to conform... as if the Goth group were a subset of the Rebel group. Do some teens "go goth" simply as a way to rebel? Yes. But I wouldn't say they're goths. I'd say they are rebels, and goth is their chosen mechanism of rebellion (and is probably just a phase). But many go goth because they're drawn to the music, the fashion, the art, and/or the culture. For many, goth is about finding a place that feels comfortable, not about rebellion.

I wonder what controls, if any, the study used for intelligence. Other studies have shown that smarter people are more likely to suffer mental illness. Maybe smart people are more likely to identify with goth than with sporty or chav or skater, and any apparent correlation with depression is actually related to intelligence, not choice of subculture.

Maybe teens choose goth because it appeals to them... but then they're bullied for being goth, and the bullying leads to depression.

There are a lot of maybes.

As for my own experience with goth and depression...

I didn't know about goth until I was an adult. But I was depressed practically since birth.

My teen years were excruciating. I did not rebel or strive for nonconformity. Quite the reverse; I followed the rules and tried to be inconspicuous. Under the strict dress code of Catholic school, I looked like everyone else. Even so, other teens judged me as different. I was picked on and bullied.

I first got treatment for depression at age 21. I slowly began to peek out of my shell, and at age 22, I heard about this thing called "goth." I looked into it and had an immediate sense of connection. I felt comfortable in the goth community. For the first time in my life, I didn't feel weird or freakish or rejected.

For me, depression and goth are correlated -- but it's an inverse correlation. When I'm more depressed, I'm less interested in goth music or fashion. When I'm more actively goth (crafting, sewing and DIYing in goth style, following goth blogs, listening to goth music), I am happier.

Identifying with the goth community has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for me. I imagine there are others who feel the same.

15 comments:

  1. It was so nice to read this, it was calm and to the point. You questioned the amount of research and pointed out how many maybes there are when trying to make conclusions from statistics. Loved this post! :)

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    1. Thank you! Calm and to the point... that's a very accurate description of me as well. :D I'm not exciting at parties, but I have mad analytical skills. ;)

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  2. I definitely agree with pretty much everything you wrote here. I struggle with depression and have since I was a child; long before I even knew what goth was. Being able to identify with a group of people that accept that sometimes things aren't all sunshine and roses and that is okay (and even sometimes preferred) has been a better help in learning to live with and cope with my depression/anxiety than all the prayers and pastels everyone else tried to shove at me for all those years.
    Some people are not perky and bubbly and we shouldn't try to force them to be that way. I consider myself lucky to have made it through the part of my life where everyone tried to change me (and basically told me I was wrong for wanting to be who I knew I was), and have been able to make friends (both online and IRL) that accept me for who I am and support me as well. They're not all goth either, but they're open minded enough to let me be me and when they see me getting a little down, encouraging me to do the gothy things that make my dark heart sing.
    Thank you for making public what so many of us feel.

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    1. Well said! My parents always thought I'd be happier if I could fit in somewhere. That was true... but only if it was the right group. Unfortunately, the academic clubs and church groups only made me feel more rejected.

      Open-minded, supportive friends are absolutely priceless. :)

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  3. Laura Morrigan also wrote about this study. I agree with you that the conclusions that the mainstream media draw are not what the scientists intended. Also, all of your concerns are correct and have been mentioned by the study authors - which have been overlooked by the reporters like in so many other cases!

    I hope that goth keeps you from depression for the rest of your life!

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    1. Indeed. I think she published just after I scheduled my post.

      Though I'm not entirely comfortable with their definitions, I think the study authors gave a balanced report. Unlike the media, who always embellish with unnecessary drama. :P

      Thank you! The goth blogger community is certainly a big help to me. :)

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  4. I recognize alot of this. I also did not find and delve into the alternative scene until I was an adult - but I have been depressed my whole life. Conformity, gym cards, 2.3 kids, couples dinners and khaki pants were never going to be in my future. I have always taken the different path and "rebellion" was what the process looked like, but it was always about searching for comfort and understanding.

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    1. Well said! It's unfortunate that a search for understanding is often misinterpreted as intentional rebellion.

      Khaki pants! Oh, the flashbacks to high school dress code! When I graduated, I swore I would never wear khaki pants again... and I haven't.

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  5. I really had a problem with this study -- a BIG PROBLEM. As someone who deals with late teenagers for a living, they are a hormonal, depressed, perky, and wildly rebellious bunch. I like to call them "woolly". Teenagers who are Goths, or guidos (Jersey Shore Kids), or anything will exhibit ALL of the woolly tendencies. Teenagers who rebel with Goth either might think they should be depressed and therefore answered accordingly, or the researchers were looking harder for depression in Goths. It's like the stereotype of guidos always wanted to party and fight. Sure, I've seen them do it all my life ... but I know quite a few Goths who party very hard and end up in fist fights by the end of the night, breaking the stereotype that "Goths don't fight." Hell, I've been in a fist fight or two ... or more ...

    The "researchers" are using teenagers -- a woolly bunch of humans -- and are working in the stereotype of Goth. From an academic's point of view, their whole premise and their results are completely biased, horribly constructed, and completely flawed.

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    1. Good points. Researchers sometimes think they know the conclusion prior to the research, then see only the data that support their conclusion. Did the teens give an honest answer or the answer they thought they should give? How does one get reliable data from teens, short of mind reading?

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    2. Exactly. And how were the teenagers interviewed? Were they in private or in a peer group? Kids show off and will try to outdo each other. I see it in class all the time. Now, if they want real answers they should have been tracking Goths from teenagehood through their 40s and 50s. THAT would tell them a thing or two ... wait, wasn't there a study about that already? Didn't they conclude that Goths were some of the most well-adjusted and "normal" people. Yes, yes they did. And there you have it.

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  6. This is a great article, so glad to see others sharing their take on this study!

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    1. Thanks! It has been wonderful how many people shared their feelings about this without a lot of melodrama.

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  7. I started reading the article and found myself getting annoyed. As a goth who has suffered with mental health issues for a big chunk of my life I object to the conclusion that being goth is somehow linked to being depressed. I was always drawn to the romance and beauty of the gothic way of life and subculture and don't find anything about it depressing. If anything it's been uplifting and a really positive part of my life. The times when I've felt most alone and isolated have been when I've not felt like I was being true to myself. I've also worked in mental health for the past 15 years and people with mental health issues such as depression come from a wide variety of backgrounds.

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    1. Well said, and I agree! I've never thought of goth culture as depressing. If I had to spend my life masquerading as someone else (someone "normal")... now, that would be depressing.

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