am i oversharingggg too much

the response varies a LOTTTTTTT! but even so thanks for joining the discussion. thinking about it all :)

"describe to me how you're feeling"
"oh fuck off"

Just uploaded a video response...I bloody LOVED this, sooo important to discuss <3

What would you be doing differently if you were going through these things but didn't have any sort of an audience? I think that may be an important question to ask yourself before posting certain things that you post. Your snapchats and Instagram captions just make it feel like you're wallowing in it, owning it, and using it for you art. It's important to communicate that how you're feeling isn't because of you as a person and it isn't something you consider as a part of you. That's how people become attached to it and don't want to let it go. That doesn't help anyone, including yourself. I don't mean this harshly, but I do think you very much rely on feeling mentally ill for who you are and who you appear to be online. It sends the wrong message. You say it's not part of your brand but you've literally released a book about it. I just want to see "Dodie", who happens to struggle with mental health, and not "mentally ill Dodie".

"Explain how you're feeling"
"Oh fuck off"
Mooood

I'm a bit worried about what you said on creativity relating to mental illness. I consider myself a creative person, and I think a lot of my personality revolves around that, but a couple years ago when I was around 11 I started to get a lot of messages through various media implying or just outright saying that people who are creative must have mental illness. Obviously you're not saying that, but I do know that I was (and still am!) pretty impressionable, and these messages caused me to romanticize mental illness and feel as if my creativity, and by extension my personality, were invalidated. I still do struggle a little with these thoughts, and I have to remind myself that I do not want a mental illness, and feeling this way is unfair to people who have these problems.

Here's an interesting thought (and this goes for making videos, not for snapchat lol) - go ahead and film the video when you're depressed/down/really not okay. But WAIT TO UPLOAD IT for at least 24 hours (preferably more). Make yourself take a step back from it and go "hmm, is this actually going to be helpful for my audience to see?" Even if you never upload it, you still get the benefits of talking out your problems to the camera, which I sense is very therapeutic for you Dodie.

I'm seeing a lot of 14/13 year olds commenting and while their opinion is so so valid, it just might be nice to hear something from someone your own age. I am such a huge fan of everything you make, - your videos, your music, your art- but Ive been discussing it with friends recently and we've all been turning away from your stuff a little bit. Many of my friends do suffer with medicated mental health problems, and while it is nice to have someone to relate to, it s almost like your shoving all your problems or dark thoughts onto your audience. I had a time in my life where I also had to question was I oversharing. I had around 1,500 followers on twitter, and while this is nothing comoared to your follower count and I was making very little impact, when I was sharing tweets when I was down, was I doing any good? It more just felt like shouting into a void- which I get can be nice but ultimitly youre never gonna get the same reaction/conversation you would have with a close friend. I spent a year shouting into the void of twitter when I was down, and none of it was the same as a 5 min conversation with my roommate. Its also so lovely to know you have all these supporters that are almost like a family- but you have to stop and think- theyre not.Were people who look up to you, and some even idolize. Its scary to see some 13/14 year olds commenting that they have mental health issues, and while im sure some are solid truth, it scares me that I think "are they really depressed? or do they just think its cool because of tumblr gifs and dodies insta?"

it's really problematic to think that creative people are inherently depressed or crazy, c'mon guys that's just really wrong. that puts people in a bad position because people think you need to be fucked up to be creative, when it's just not true

small suggestion after reading a few of the comments - maybe try keeping a journal? write down everything the way you would say it to a camera, or write on an instagram post, and then decide what you want to do with it after you've gotten it all down. hazel's got a point saying that she makes sure she doesn't post when she's at the bottom. getting your feelings out of your head is all well and good but if it goes out to a bunch of strangers, that's more harmful than helpful. keep talking about mental health though. it's important, and it helped me an awful lot. you continue to help me everytime you talk about ways you are trying to help yourself. focus on that with your social media stuff, maybe. use your friends or your music or your therapist/doctor for the darker stuff.

There are plenty of comments saying how your audience is impressionable, which is true. But apart from how it might affect your audience I think it's reallyyyy unhealthy for you.
You submerge yourself in that depressive state, indulging in how awful you feel. I think there's a difference between getting your feelings out and desperately desiring validation. Wanting attention is normal and human but you ask for it on such a huge scale and the more you get that validation of sweet comments from your followers the more you seem to crave it. The videos that you post nowadays seem to come more from a place of indulgence and desiring attention (a cry for help if you will) than honesty or information. And that quick shot of 'empty calories' makes you feel good momentarily but it doesn't help long-term. And the more you give in to that craving for validation, it'll just keep creating an unfulfillable need for it inside you.
Your instagram is a mess tbh, you keep posting dramatic captions about your problems while moaning about your theme and aesthetic. That contrast, that desire to make your mental illness 'pretty' is pure romanticising in my view. A bit of madness is not key, depression doesn't make you a creative person. Your creativity is completely separate from your mental illness. You can use it as fodder for your creations the same way that someone who's gotten divorced can do, but your depression isn't what makes you creative any more than that person's divorce is. And I think it's really dangerous for you to keep advertising/ insinuating that mental illness is necessary to be an artist. It isn't.

I think there's a balance to be found for creators online. Personally i find it very helpful to hear someone like Dodie be open about their mental health, it makes me feel less isolated and like maybe i'm not a freak (of course logically most people know they are not alone in mental health struggles but feeling it is very different from objectively knowing it.) But at the same time they have to be cautious, not just for the audience who could be affected but for themselves, that 'empty calories' thing is a great description because it may not actually be a long term solution to only talk online about issues. Either way I'm so grateful to Dodie for everything shes done surrounding mental health online and I think Hazel's suggestion of talking about it more when you're out of the worst of it it a good idea ❤️

I'm very fortunate that I don't suffer from depression, but I love to watch you, your snaps, instagram stories, etc. But even I think to myself that sometimes when you are going into such detail (not so much your instagram posts, those are beautifully worded) as someone who a lot of young impressionable people look up to, it may make them feel hopeless, like "if of all people Dodie has all this going on in her life, and trying everything and it isn't helping her, there's definitely no hope for me" at the same time, a good balance of it may help, because people are able to relate. But perhaps avoid too much detail that could be resolved with only your friends? Regardless, you're an incredible human Dodie and even though you're younger than me, I truly look up to you x

dodie makes me get into a sad mood every time i watch something about her sad times so i stopped watching her bc it wasn't good for me mentally, but i hope after this she realizes what an impact she has on her audience... but at the same time i do think she should share and let people know it's not just them... i'm really not sure how i feel about her over sharing

Hey dodie, I just watched your snapchat and I've decided to share with you what exactly was helpful to me and what I thought was doing more harm than good. I think most of your youtube videos are really helpful, the one I remember the most is the one you made with tessa a good while back and you talked about therapy and what to do even if you can't afford it and that it's ok to go even if you're not diagnosed with something. And this video for instance you both were very honest about things you do which aren't necessarily healthy, and you're seeking your fans input which I also think is great.

The biggest thing that I thought was really negative was when you were sharing how the meds affected you day by day. I study psychology and I see how people, including psychology students, already carry a lot of stigma around meds. I understand that they don't work for everyone and they can also have some pretty shitty side effects, but perhaps there was someone in your audience who was debating whether to go on them and was seeking personal experiences and you kinda drove them away. I understand you were so numb during that period, this probably didn't even cross your mind. But something like that I would have appreciated it if you had after you've had the conversation with your therapist and friends, you then made an informed video describing how they affected you and how certain types just don't work for everyone.

I understand, only very recently did mental illness even become a thing that people are aware off, and you're probably the first generation to be dealing with it around the internet. It's difficult, I don't blame you.

(One last thing about this video particularly, when you guys were talking about how there's a big overlap between creating and being mental- that's true,but think about all the times where your mental illness prevented you from getting up and creating. And think about the many many people who don't have something like that, who are just office workers for example, but they're still ill, I personally feel like this kinda makes me feel bad because I can't even make anything out of the feelings, you get me? Just a little thing I thought I'd mention)

I'm so sorry this is so long if you read it, and I really believe things will get better ❤❤

This is very relatable, my little brother passed away a couple months ago and I'm still having nightmares and trying to take care of everyone else and listening to you talk about your feelings actually makes me feel better. You working through your thoughts and emotions helps me feel okay with mine. And your music helps me a lot as well. I love you and thank you for being you !

I absolutely aspire to be half as much of an amazing person as dodie. She's completely an amazing person, and absolutely my favorite youtuber, singer, and internet person. I love her. It'd be an absolute dream to meet her

I love how these comments are very civilized, even with the people who don't agree with your full statements the reply comments are so calm and straight forward. Love the community! <3 Plz get better soon Dodie and keep up the good work!

ps. plz look into the "over sharing to much mental health situation" cause at times your vids really help me, but sometimes when things get bad they sometimes do the opposite. Love you! <3

I don't watch your snaps anymore or follow you on insta but I had a stalk though and I get why people say you romanticize mental illness. There are these pretty, aesthetic photos that clearly took effort with poetic descriptions of mental illness - which just isn't art. A song about your feelings - that's understandable. That's your job, and all musicians take inspiration from their pain.
Also I've never once heard you talk about treatment or coping mechanisms, except for when you spoke about therapy a few times which suddenly stopped - and after months and months, seeing you still only post about the negatives, it can send the message that it never gets better. When talking about mental illness online, it's so important to include helpful information to people who are suffering. It just kind of comes across as you only talking about mental illness when you need to complain about it. Kinda like you're talking about yourself, not mental illness if that makes sense? I get that it's an outlet/cry for help, but with such a large audience - that can be really damaging and you have to consider that before posing these snaps. If you spoke more about the treatments, the progress you make and help that's available, that's more acceptable but honestly all I see is romanticizing instagram posts and videos of you just talking about how bad things are. I do hope you get help, but honestly your audience doesn't ever hear about you getting help and that's the wrong message to send out regarding mental illness

yo everyone saying shes oversharing: before adding to the cesspool of "shes oversharing and needs to seek help" comments, speaking from experience telling someone that they're oversharing whilst in the mindset dodie seems to be in, is quite dangerous, and true she did ask, but constantly feeling annoying to your friends due to your mental state that you're struggling to patch up, is really painful, you can really only tell your friends your sob stories a few times before you feel like they stop caring. dodie needs to know people care; so please just let her vent her heart out to an audience she feels she can depend on

personally I admire the fact that you share soo much online. it is courageous and it makes me feel way less alone knowing that there are such kind and wonderful people like you going through the same thing as me. it makes me feel like i have someone with me when i have no one, thank you<333

(I wrote this a little while ago. it’s a bit dramatic, but it's been sitting in my google docs as 'future dodie comment' and it's the future now, so here)
dearest dodie, I just read your instagram post about feeling depressed in the LA gloom during vidcon. It made my heart dip in a particularly heavy way. It isn’t unusual for me to read your captions and feel touched in some way, but this was different. About two days before, I had met you after your amazing show at the Echoplex. I remember standing outside the venue, completely expecting you to leave in a car, or out of a different exit. After all, you must have been exhausted and the show did not include a meet and greet! But instead, you chose to come outside and meet literally everyone standing there. You were so incredibly sweet and patient as you took pictures, signed merch, and talked to everyone. When you got to me, I felt so small and shy (seeing so many other people adoring you intimidated me a bit), but you listened to me speak with such genuine eyes and caring facial expressions that I felt...important. On the uber ride home, I was simply buzzing with joy and a perpetual mindset of eeeeeeeee! Then, today, I saw your post. In that moment my mind lashed out (at the fog? at your brain chemicals? at the world? idek) and passionately exclaimed *how dare mental health be so shit and harm this kind thoughtful human ARGH* I suppose this is my long-winded way of saying that you deserve so much joy, because you fill so many others with joy. I hope your mind becomes a sunnier place.you are amazing. and so strong. so. damn. strong. -Carrie   PS I was the girl who told you that I’m taking a gap year to pursue writing. I handed you a small notebook to sign.

I guess how I feel about the topic is this. Your openness was refreshing at first to me, because it was nice to see someone who was able to express their feelings that were similar to mine. However, the sheer volume of you expressing how you're feeling became very triggering. I dealt with a lot of depression and anxiety, and after starting meds, I started to feel better. And that's when the snapchats and vids became triggering to me.

I think we need to be careful and think about the age of your viewers and how impressionable they are. It is important to talk about mental illness obviously, but also important not to flood your audience with negativity.

I'm so, so glad you're recognizing this for yourself dodie. Much love. <3

I've been a subscriber for years and a few times I've considered stopping watching your videos because they've been progressively negative lately and I thought this may not help with my own mental health, but I can never bring myself to leave because I'm so invested in you as a person and I love you so much that even if I'm never noticed and can never make a difference, I can't stop trying and being there for support

I can't relate. I'm really happy.
The thing is, I spent so much time in those specific fandoms and places on the Internet that I suddenly wonder what's wrong with me because I'm just content with my life.

These mental health videos are so important, because it is important to talk about what you're feeling. Even if you don't tell us everything that you're experiencing, you should definitely confide in a friend. But thank you Dodie for being able to share with us, your videos help so many people feel less alone who are experiencing the same/similar things.

I love how you share, it makes me know I'm not alone❤️. Even thought we don't have a conversation I feel like you and other popular YouTubers are there for me.

honestly dodie i love you i do and i love your openess with mental illness as a longterm sufferer of depression, anxiety, bulimia and psychotic episodes but i find myself theses days often skipping through your snapchats because i know that they're going to be so graphic and so oversharing and i worry for you about that. like you gotta keep some things to yourself because if your deepest most private thoughts become this massive public thing then its really really unhealthy for yourself and can be a bad influence on younger kids who i know watch ur vids. just be cautious darling. we all love you very much xxx

Thank you. This video really helped me a lot. Honestly Dodie, your music helps me a lot. This, this video.I have trouble putting it into words sometimes. This is really good.

i was just thinking the other day how much better i'm managing my depression and that i finally feel like i have a handle on it. your posts remind me a lot of how i felt before i had a handle on it, and it's very hard to read. i definitely understand the want to share how your feeling and get the feedback or support w/o looking into a face of pity, but i agree with many of the other commenters on how it would likely be beneficial to us and you to take a step back from social media when those urges arise and not to post while you in the depths. we unfortunately get the privilege of seeing the horror of your depression, a person many of us have grown to care deeply for, without feeling like we really get a chance to speak to/encourage you personally. we see the pain you're in and only get to post a semi-anonymous comment -- i'm just not sure that it's beneficial to either party. it's hard to answer a cry for help online, especially when so many of your fans are so young. ((i'm typing this as i see you've posted a follow-up!! lots of love to you, dodie, really))

We all need a Zannah to give us a reality check when we've over stepped!

Anyway, there really is such a thing as over sharing when you have an audience, especially a mostly young one. But in the moment it's not easy to filter yourself when you've come to rely on your methods of getting it out. In fact it can make you feel worse and even more trapped if you have to consciously keep stopping yourself from doing or saying certain things when you're in a bad headspace. And ultimately that leads to bottling everything up. It's much healthier to practise doing other things than it is to stop doing what you currently do, because then you'll naturally find better methods and move away from the unhealthy ones.

At the moment the amount you share isn't causing mass harm, just making some uncomfortable and hopefully like Hazel they are helping themselves by avoiding your snaps and videos. So while it's at that stage, it's easier to come back from, and it's good you're aware of it and you can now try to train yourself to go to people privately :) but that obviously doesn't mean you can't be honest. It's just better to do as Hazel said - discuss it when you're out of the worst of it and then you can be more constructive about it, too! You can discuss how you felt and how you dealt with it, because that's a lot more meaningful to your audience :)

For the longest time, I struggled with anxiety without realizing it. I thought that having anxiety meant you were always a crazy bunch of nerves that couldn't handle anything. When I first stumbled across your videos, they helped soooooo much. I finally was able to accept it, and begin to work on how to handle my anxiety in a healthy way. Thanks to your videos not only did I grasp a firmer understanding of it, I also saw that I wasn't alone. That is the best thing anyone could have done for me, thank you. You will never understand how grateful I am for your content

Just to add my two cents, I really appreciate everything you share online, and don't consider it over-sharing. Initially, I was shocked to see someone discussing things so frankly, but only because I was scared to talk about mental health myself. However I've taken so much comfort to see someone else going through similar things, and sharing them without the before-and-after 'I felt sh*t but now I'm better'. It's refreshingly honest, and seeing you continue to go out and make/do things while feeling like this encourages me to do the same.
Clearly some people find your posts too descriptive, but I think it's their choice to decide whether or not to continue watching/reading, you aren't forcing anyone. At the end of the day, you can share what you like online, and for some of us, it's been a huge help! X

Hey Dodie, I just wanted to say thank you for sharing. I know it's hard and we always ask ourselves whether we are bothering or annoying people with our problems. But for me it does help to hear other people who are going through similar things talk about it, about how they are feeling, how they manage, etc. So thank you, for raising awareness, for just talking about something so many people want to avoid. I hope it helps you, talking about it.

Dodie, thank you. When I feel down, I watch these videos and I don't feel so alone. I understand that I'm not the only one who feel like that. Thank you very much.

I also just wanted to point out that saying things like 'are we mentally ill because we create' can also be damaging bc ppl who arent mentally ill and create feel sort of obligated to be mentally ill... im v musical and love creativity but im mentally healthy and when i was 13/14 i sort of convinced myself i wasnt bc i wanted to be creatively sad too

This is such an important and lovely video. I feel like it talks about a side of mental health we often don't discuss. Thank you so much for making and posting it <3

I cannot express how much you've helped me Dodie thank you so much for your Amazingly helpful Snapchat stories

well, I'm 14 and have been watching your videos for about two years, and I thought that I might as well share my opinion as I would be classed as the younger part of your audience. your experience and what you've shared online has really been one of the biggest influencers on how I view depression. a lot of what I know about it is based on content you've created. of course I keep an open mind and don't take your word as gospel, and I know it's different for everyone, but seeing as a lot of what you post about mental illness is negative I mostly view it as something that is hard to treat and difficult to get out of and until recently I didn't realise that there was much hope at all if If someone or even I was to ever experience it. I completely understand how venting helps you personally but I think it does and has had an impact on me and probably others, so I do agree that keeping your audience in mind is an important point to bring up. at the end of the day you're obviously not forcing me to see your content and I am choosing to continue following it so I'm not pinning anything on you, but just saying what I think. :) much respect

I genuinely appreciate how much you share, in some weird way it helps me face my own problems. But I can understand why your friends might not think it's the best thing for you. Whatever you choose to do is up to you and we will love you either way ❤️

I am watching this back cause of your recent podcast episode and it made me cry because of how much you have grown, and honestly how much I have grown. so i suppose here’s to growth and wellness my friends

I will say that personally, I watched your "I am depressed today" video one day when I was feeling SUPER low and it was SO comforting to me. I don't know what it was about it, but it made me feel like somebody else understands and I felt better after! Keep sharing whatever you feel comfortable with - it's not within your control how it makes others feel <3

This is one of the first videos I ever saw of yours haha. We're all here to support you Dodie :)

I really appreciate the sharing you do as I feel genuinely alone in my mental state and you've helped make me feel more normal in my own head, I can see the negative impacts of sharing and there will always be negative things and there will always be positives but somehow I feel stronger when media influencers share their real thoughts.

I think the oversharing thing is definitely a valid point and after reading a lot of the comments I think it's important to think about the effect that your words can have on your viewers and real-life friends, but I would just like to add one thing. I am extremely grateful that you do address your mental health problems. It has helped me tremendously knowing this is something other people are going through and it's made my (and I'm guessing many others') experience with mental illness so much less isolating. Your video "I am depressed today" resonated with me SO much that I still think about it constantly. A lot of people's descriptions of depression/depersonalization never really matched mine but what you said in that video was EXACTLY how I had been feeling for years. Just knowing I hadn't been completely making things up for the past 4 years and that other people experienced this same thing was such a relief. Since I don't have any friends with mental health issues, watching that video made me feel a hell of a lot less lonely than I had been for quite some time. I absolutely agree and think it is healthier to discuss your feelings and mental health issues with your friends as they are the ones who know you best and are able to give you feedback/help unlike most of your viewers. But I do hope you don't completely stop discussing mental health in your videos in an honest and real way (as long as doing so doesn't make you feel worse!) as I know firsthand how much less isolating it makes the experience of others. With that said, you should obviously put yourself first and make sure whatever capacity you are sharing in is as healthy as you can make it and you aren't hurting yourself in the long run.

I'd just like to say that I love how honest and frank this video is. It's so great that you can both say what you're really feeling to each other and say what you think the other needs to improve on.
I really understand both sides of this. I've personally found a lot of comfort in your instagram posts and videos (haven't followed on snap so can't comment on that) because you DO articulate things so well and I find putting things into words one of the most helpful things as it helps me understand my feelings a bit more. Yeah, I guess I can see the side of people saying you romanticise it because the way you describe mental health can be very poetic (which i personally enjoy and I'm guessing makes you feel a lot better about it because you're creating something at the same time as spilling out your feelings and maybe makes it feel a bit more productive? That's definitely how I've felt about doing that in the past) but that doesn't mean you have to stop writing that stuff. What I do sometimes if I really feel the need to go into the extremes of how I'm feeling and wallow in it for a bit (which is okay to do sometimes, and it very necessary so you can process things and feel like you're not sweeping things under the rug. It's so important to give proper time and attention to all of your feelings!! That doesn't mean spending every waking moment thinking about it, just let yourself feel things when you do and then when you feel like it's past the point of being helpful and it more damaging, try your best to say "okay, that's enough for today" and try your very best to just distract yourself from it. That doesn't mean you have to be instantly happy or even stop feeling bad, just kind of accepting that's how you feel today and it's okay and then trying to get on with your day the best you can with those kind of feelings. I digress hahaha.) is writing that kind of stuff down in a diary or in my notes in my phone so that I can be brutally honest without having to worry about having a filter or whether or not what I'm saying will be damaging because no one is going to see it. It's also good if you do that when you have therapy so you will be able to bring up and work through how you were feeling at the time when you have your sessions if you're not feeling anything particularly extreme that day. Or even just making voice notes of how you're feeling so you can vent and talk and cry but you don't have to go through the effort of setting up a camera and talking to it if you don't feel like you can do it that day. Plus you can ugly cry as much as you want 'cause ain't nobody gonna see ya!
These are all reeeeeaaally difficult things to learn (even if you know they're true logically, actually feeling like they are true is a completely different kettle of fish.) and so it's okay if it doesn't happen immediately, because it most probably won't. Just try your best and know that's good enough.
I still think talking about mental health and being open about it is so so important as, it DOES break the stigma around talking about it and well, it IS inevitably a big part of your life. I think a lot of your posts do actually show how ugly mental health problems are which is important as well. It's very difficult to find a balance but yeah, I saw some other people saying at least 24 hours after creating to something to know whether to post it which I'd say is a good idea.
It's really really great that you're thinking about this though and that you're actually willing to be critical of yourself in a helpful way so that you can improve! Maaaassive props to you and I hope everything goes well. Lot's of support from me, even if that is empty calories hahaha. Mental health is a complete bitch and the fact that you're getting through it is amazing! Even if you're not coping with it well, you're still getting through it. You can doooo it, you go girl! x

Heyo Dodie I just started watching your videos.... Like yesterday...... And I just have to say I love everything you do!! The way you share so much and are just honest and kind and I really like that and I feel like a lot of people can enjoy and benefit from your videos❤️

I know that through watching this, some people may have become stuck in their thoughts and emotions. Using social media as a crutch for help is unhealthy and can be damaging. Talk to a friend, talk to someone, even if you think it's too little of an issue or don't want anyone to worry, it'll do you more good.

I really admire you for stepping back and making this video. This is such an important thing to discuss and it's an issue many people have, not just you, so don't feel alone in it. As you said in the video, everyone's made that spur of the moment mental post. I hope your mental state improves soon as I love your work and know you deserve happiness ❤️

We've both been wanting to reach out to you about your oversharing as well, but honestly, we were afraid we'd be backhanded as "haters" or "internet trolls" who don't know you and therefore whose opinions are invalid. As Zannah and Hazel said, oversharing can be dangerous, both to you and to those you're oversharing to. The short-term fix you may get from the validation of your followers is no substitute to the long-term fix you may get from actually sorting out your issues. While shouting into the void that is snapchat may feel therapeutic, remember that it isn't a void, it is a direct pipeline to thousands of different individuals going through thousands of different hardships who may be harmed more than helped by these shouts. Just some food for thought.

thank you so much for this. i relate to SO MUCH and it's great to know im not alone. i love u dodie x

It's interesting because after this she deleted a lot of her darker videos.

when you talk about your mental illness it really helps me, i only have mild anxiety and a lil bit of depression but my mum on the other hand has most of the illnesses you have. it's difficult living with a mum who has bi polar, depression, anxiety , depersonalisation AND a personality disorder. i don't always know how to react in certain situations with her and when i here how you feel, as scary as it is, it helps me know how she feels and how i should respond ( even tho everyone's different). i also think that lots of people find it very disturbing in the way of, i sometimes feel like that does that make me ill too? a lot of kids are self diagnosing and it's a very fragile subject amongst young impressionable children . but you're breaking the stigma with each video and it's important to talk about subjects so if kids do feel this way they can reach out for help. maybe you overshare, maybe you shouldn't. but it helps me with my mum and recently that's been hard.

I'm so glad these comments are how they are. for the longest time I've felt isolated because everyone seemed to take comfort in hearing your stories and knowing they're not alone whereas they were immensely triggering to me. to hear people feel the same and even one of your best friends doesn't watch your snapchats has helped me feel less alone. i hope you take on the feedback in these comments- i know you will. I'm so grateful for this community. I've already watched this video three times. 💛

I personally really enjoy the amount you share. I think it's nice to finally have someone on this platform that speaks what's on their mind at the time you're thinking it. It sounds mental but it reminds me and I'm sure others too, that we aren't crazy! I respect you for how you talk to us about everything and that's one of the reasons I started watching you 2 years ago and why I still watch you to this day 💜

I'm a young person and watching your videos really helps me and my friend I really enjoy them! I like when people get into detail because I just relate so much whenever you talk about anxiety and other stuff, it's like having a friend to talk to and they understand you. I absolutely love your videos, from the happy ones to the serious ones!

Although I completely understand why people say it can be too much, and watching the 'follow up' video made me respect you so much, the fact that you can take criticism and learn!

you are both so amazing and huge inspiration to me !!. Being creative is extremely draining mentally and physically. I find i do this when I act , I get so I guess obsessed with a character that I'm playing and just immerse myself into that character ( which is super dangerous) and creating art which is what you guys do takes a lot of work and all creators/ artists use pain , suffering , love , heart break , happiness , sadness all that beautiful human stuff to create magic and beauty, that what makes it so pure. But all of need to remember to take care of ourselves !!! love you xx

This was such a helpful message, thank you so much💛

i think it's important to find the right balance. sharing on social media can help you and also helps so many of us in so many ways but it might mean that you have to counter that by sharing things more in your real life(also I know this is easier said than done). we love youuu(and so do your friends)<3333

Thank you so much for putting yourself out there, and honestly. It helps me realize that I'm not alone. <3

i genuinely fell in love with your openness about it. i think your bravery is what we need in the mental health community, while people think it can be romanticizing, i really think for a lot of people it helps them. i understand where your friends were coming from with oversharing, and i also agree that a large part of your audience is very impressionable, therefore they may think they have certain mental illness or group themselves in a certain category that they don't really belong to or even understand. however, being someone who is in this community of being a fan of yours and also someone of mental health, i honestly find it very helpful that you put out these videos. i feel like somebody understands me finally and like theres somebody out there that actually listens. i worry about you and i genuinely hope the best for you, dodie, and i want youtube/instagram/snapchat to be a safe platform for you. i love you and i hope the best for you. :)

Honestly, I don't think you are oversharing. I suffer from anxiety, depression, and body image issues, and to have someone like you openly talking about these things has really helped. The fact that you talk about them to such a large group of people makes me feel less embarrassed about my issues. And because of you, I started going to a therapist and dealing with my issues. Your videos, Snapchats, and songs make me feel less alone.

This video was simple and raw but amazing, has really spoken to me and really relatable! When I read or see your snapchat makes me feel a little less crazy so in a way thank you Dodie for sharing! We are on the same boat and will make it to the other side because we are strong souls!!

I can't find words to describe how much I love dodie. She has helped me with so much in my life and has helped me love myself. Dodie if you do or don't see this I just want you too know that I love you.... and I'm super excited about your book.

For my part, these type of videos really help me understand mental illnesses, since my best friend suffers from one of them. Although everyone is different, you have your own thoughts and she has her own, it truly helps me understand what she might be going through, and, in a way, it makes it possible for me to hear the words she doesn't dare say to me. I know opinions are very different especially on this topic, but personally I just wanna thank you for helping me and my friend <3

Personally, I love how much you share about your mental health because I can relate and it's so nice to see someone else going through what I go through. I also think it's really cool how you don't filter out your bad days and only show your good days. There's so many people on social media who won't show when they're feeling down and just try to act like life is perfect, but nobody's life is. I can see and understand how it could be triggering to some people but for me I really enjoy hearing about what you have to say about your mental state.

dodie, I live for your vlogs and snaps. they make me feel so much better that someone else who I look up to struggles like I do. It all helps me a lot a lot a lot

As someone who IS recovering from a multiple year depressive episode this is my input for anyone who cares.

Its good to acknowledge the depression and share how you're feeling. Its good to seek videos online and it can be reassuring to know you're not alone. Talking about it will help you feel better initially. But sharing your problems with others isn't the solution. It wont cure the depression. It is merely the acknowledgement that something is wrong and that first step towards fixing it.

If you want the depression to go away you need to stop dwelling on it. You must first PRETEND you are okay, this will eventually result in being okay. The best way to get over it is to stop thinking about it. Mindfulness, meditation and breathing exercises are a great help. Watch comedy. Smile in the mirror (The physical act of smiling helps to release endorphin's which will improve your mood). Avoid too much alcohol, sugar or caffeine. Get Regular exercise and good diet. You don't need to do all of these and none act as a magical cure but they all help a little bit.

Acknowledge and be happy about every little improvement you make because they are important. All the little improvements add upon each other to create a much bigger improvement over time. Depression can take months or even years to go away, but it will go away If you want it to.

Depression offers to embrace you with open arms, you must leave depression in the past and turn your back on it to be free.

the other day somebody asked me how I was in like a general greeting kinda way and I said 'i'm good' then started crying because I genuinely meant it and it freaked me out because this is the most 'good' ive felt in a long time- and most of that was due to you guys making me realise the 'bad' was real and then seeking help and managing it. thank you x

5:10 onwards sounds like a good idea for you dodie, wait until your not so down to post things, it gives you a chance to really think things through and question whether what you have to say is really helping you or your viewers.

Love to you both, I absolutely get what you guys are saying and how it's a lot to share but sometimes it needs to be shared because how else do your share such raw stuff! It's not always up to you to make sure that people don't do this or do that because of something you've posted. All your gotta do is try your best and educate and love and care. 💛💛💛

While your videos have helped me go through my bad days with anxiety, I do believe that you shouldn't let your mental health define you! Sharing a little bit is alright, but I know you have friends who care about you that would be more than willing to listen! But I know you will figure this out, Dodie! You're one of the strongest humans I know! 💛💛💛💛💛💛

I am happy you share- especially your mental health stories! You help a lot of people like me who suffer from that rare condition- thanks ♥️

i feel like the mix of social media and bad mental health can become a nasty combination. it's something i've had to realize and deal with myself and i'm glad that you are too! (also i hope you're doing okay)

Dodie you have our support ♥️ I've never had anxiety but my depression has been pretty bad and I think it's good to talk about mental health and understand that it's hard sometimes but I everyone who understands, feels that way too. Everyone needs someone they can tell everything to, someone that can take it, no matter how much you think you're bugging them, they'll always be there.

I think its just easier to evoke an emotional reaction with sad art, so we delve into that side of our minds more often when creating as it feels more authentic. A band like Animal Collective with an album like Merriweather Post Pavilion manage to evoke emotion in very positive songs, such as Bluish or My Girls, so it certainly is possible, I just think its more difficult.

dodie, i just want you to know how important you have been to so many people... your openness about sexuality and mental health has helped so much with my life, knowing that there are other people like me out there. i cannot tell you how much this community and how much each individual cares about you, and i want to see us get better. thank you so much dodie

I am a studio art major in my 4th year of college... and sometimes it is very hard to get up and create and even do the things that I want to. but you are one of the two huge inspirations I have in my life that push me to go further in my medium of choice.
You make a big difference in my creative life. so, thank you.

I understand the urge to vent over Snapchat or YouTube - after all, it's easier to chat to a camera lens. Thing is, I think just the act of venting in itself is catharsis enough. Switch on your camera, chat, get it all out - and then leave it. Watch it back later, or edit it, or delete it - do whatever you want with it, but don't upload it. That way, you still get to vent, and you can keep the video as validation, but you don't feel the guilt of oversharing. It also helps you clarify things in your head so that if you do decide to speak about your mental health to your audience, it feels less jumbled and jarring cos you've already talked about it to yourself. Think of it as a dress rehearsal! That's what I used to do (and still do!) before I felt comfortable enough to open up to my mam and friends. Either way, I'm so proud of you for addressing this, Dodie.

Thank you dodie for validating everything I feel. Ily💘

That was like a genuine podcast, enjoyed it so much :D

Dodie i love you and you make my heart feel a bit more alright by being authentic and talking about your actual life and problems and stuff. Everybody has their own opinion, but for me, youtube and social media and the real world are already full of people pretending to be fine and superhappy and yay-smiley-facing all day long. For me when i'm depressed there is nothing worse than feeling like i'm the only one feeling these ugly feelings. It is absolutely up to you, how much you want to share and i can't say, what is best for you, but just wanted to let you know, that your sad videos don't make me feel sad. They make me feel safe.

Hey Dodie, thanks for sharing this. For the past three weeks I've been sleeping all day and it sucks, I have no motivation, I sat down to play my favorite game and I couldn't even focus I just wanted to sleep. It fricken sucks.

dodie I don't follow your Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter (because my mum thinks if you use those you'll die) but I think I agree with hazel that you shouldn't put every single bad brain day on the internet. It's good to be vulnerable from time to time. But putting your heart and soul on the internet could harm you. Also don't keep it to yourself. As you said reach out to a friend they'll be there for you. I'm sure! You maybe keep a personal video diary, just so you could get it out there without oversharing. (And also as soon as I can convince my mom that I won't die from social media I'll follow you) I hope you'll feel better soon! xx

this video is so blatantly honest and it's exactly what i go through when i want to talk about it, but never end up doing it. dodie, when youre in your low times its around the same time i am too. what you say is "over sharing" to me, its a reminder that im not alone in this fight. we are not alone.

i appreciate how open you are!! it makes me feel like i'm not alone and i seriously want to help people like me. thank you, i love you

I've also gone to the hospital due to a panic attack :'( thanks for sharing, made me feel less alone, thank you so much <3

I love that you share everything. It makes you seem real and relatable and people can realise that everyone can be affected by mental illnesses

honestly dodie your videos about mental health, especially when you describe in detail what it is you're experiencing, have meant the world to me. as someone who has struggled intensely with my mental health there's often this aspect of sort of gaslighting myself (like is it really that bad? am I imagining it? did I make all of this up for attention) and having someone repeatedly and publicly go through what I go through has been so indescribably meaningful and validating. it gave me the confidence to seek help, to reach out to other and to be honest with myself. and for that I'm so, so grateful to you.

I personally really love talking about my feeling to someone, and I'm guessing that Dodie's 'person' is mainly her audience. I think it's good to show people how you feel and that you're not always perfect (that's one of the things I love about Dodie, she is quite realistic), but then again if someone reads too much into another person they can feel sad and worried for them and over-obsess. I think maybe Dodie should consider sharing her depressing and sad things maybe once a week or something? That way the audience can see that she is actually happy aswell??

Dodie, I really like that you're very open minded to other perspectives. Thank you. I enjoyed this very much because It was very conversational. Anyway, have a nice day

I think the both of u r incredible for making this video! I love this video for the fact that I don't feel so much of an outsider as I had never considered the fact that others felt the same way as I have. For several years I have had a battle with mental health and no one has listened thus far because "I am a teenager" which in no way helps my condition but the fact that u had the guts to put this on the internet is AMAZING!!! Love u both!

I personally really appreciate your sad posts and Snapchats because I was going through the same thing and I was so alone. then I had discovered you and you sad posts and I realized that I wasn't alone in the world. I always though to myself "If Dodie can be open about her depression that so can I". so this caused me to open up so my friends and they helped me a lot. if I never would have opened up to then I probably wouldn't be alive right now. all of your depressing posts basically saved my life. I don't think you are over sharing. ❤❤

I admire you so much, not just because of your passion and talent, but because you're so emotional and open and it feels so good to feel that the person you look up to and admire isn't afraid to be human. I've been criticized for being too emotional and too open and you helped me realize that that's okay.

I'm a mess at the moment, too, and honestly, you have helped me (and many others) deal with depression so much just by being yourself. It comforts me to know that I'm not alone in how I feel. I cannot, for the life of me, talk to my friends either so what you do honestly helps.

Thank you so much. I love you.

(This whole comment is a mess because it's 3 a.m. where I'm at and I feel horribly sleepy.)

Your songs have helped me immensely. Thank you for sharing

Honestly I'm so glad you made this video. I've been feeling all the things Zannah said for a few months now. Without wanting to be cruel, the internet isn't your personal diary. I defiantly feel like your Instagram was romanticising mental illness to much. Constantly talking about how awful everything is, just keeps you at an all time low. I unfollowed you on Snapchat because your videos were so intense and as an empathic person myself, I felt I was drawing your emotions/experience into my own life. When I was low a few months ago and you posted your depersonalisation video I really thought that maybe I had it too, when in fact it was just a difficult period in my life. I appreciate you breaking down the stigma but please do so in a more constructive way instead of just telling everyone how awful life it, I don't think that helps your audience or you. I love you videos and hope that now you're on the right track and feeling better 💛💛

Dear Dodie, I think you're exploring some important things for yourself. My first response to the title was that what's good for you and your brain determines whether or not you're oversharing. I know that part of you sharing your mental health journey has been very helpful. I know it's helped me identify and respond to the anxious feelings and low points in my life, whether they are clinically diagnosable mental disorders or not. But coping mechanisms, like sharing with a distant internet audience, can be as much bad for you as they can be good. Best wishes and much love as you figure out what will help your brain the most. :)

THANK YOU for uploading this <3 it's got me thinking about the way i open up and reach out myself, which i feel i really need to think over more

It's great for people with and without it to see and hear that it exists. But I think its also important to remember that theres a reason its a medical profession to hear it out and help. I don't think the romanticizing aspect is something that's the speakers fault, and it would go hand in hand with people being more aware of mental illness so its like everything, with positives and negatives. I think it's important to be able to regulate what you post though? Venting into a diary and then filtering it out as a message maybe instead of like the snapchat thing. Hard subject

dodie, i just want to say your amazing. You're the only other person i think would understand me and i admire you so much for going through hell and coming back with amazing music and videos and performances. i feel proud in a way i guess i love you! Your my actual definition of a hero

Personally, your videos help me through my journey with mental illness. On bad days, I can watch your videos or snapchats and feel a little less like I'm going through this alone. I don't understand why people are angry about you going into detail because I think it helps to reduce the stigma and turn people with depression into more than sad people, into real, suffering people. While I can see how some symptoms of depersonalisation and depression could be relatable to people who don't have a mental illness, making them think they do but at the same time, does that mean that you should stop making videos that are helping people suffering from mental illnesses because some people are self diagnosing themselves because of the many youtubers who are now open about the suffering they are going through? You can't always please everyone but I'm extremely grateful for your openness as it's helping get rid of the stigma and makes me feel like there's someone else who I can relate to.

Dodie, whenever i get a notification of any sort having to do with you i can't wait to see what it is. Whether it is a photo on instagram or a youtube video it just brightens my day. I love hearing everything you have too say and reading your stories. Whenever i hear one of your songs or someone talking about you I'm always like "OH MY GOSH YOU KNOW DODIE!!!" and i just get so excited. So keep being you, your fan base is hear to listen, we all love you. ps... i dropped my laptop on my forehead while typing this; i now have a lump. <3

Honestly, I've been really enjoying hearing about dodie's mental health because no one talks about it openly usually and to just hear someone else feel like that made me understand myself better and made me feel less alone. I guess sharing that much all the time is too much for most people but i'd also be sad to not hear about it at all anymore...

I hope you're having a good day and if you aren't I hope it gets better Also it's ok to not be ok but I know it's not a fun feeling & I hope you feel yellow inside soon

Genuine question - do you feel like the relationship between suffering and creating is pivotal? Do you feel that if you spent most of your time in a mentally healthy state your art would suffer? Do you feel like your art thrives when you are suffering? Or is it something else entirely?

hey I know this is an old video but it's helped a lot with my anxiety that I'm having. I've had this in my likes forever but rewatching it when I can't shut my brain off is very helpful. Just want to say thank you for this video and being so open about the really low times of mental health. ❤

hm... so i've been thinking about this for a few days and i still don't know my exact opinion on the matter. and i definitely don't think there's one right answer at this moment... social media is still too new and we do need the space to explore all of this.

that said... as someone who also struggles mentally in a lot of ways, your sharing of your experiences has been super helpful. you've been the sole representation of what i've been experiencing that i've interacted with and it's extremely comforting to know there's another person out there who knows what i'm feeling. but i'm also good about walking away when i realize that it gets to be TOO MUCH. i've can walk away when i'm relying on it too much, and i can walk away when it's getting too dark or i realize it may be triggering.

not everyone can walk away though, not everyone has the strength to do so. i feel like what you've done is extremely important, but i also think we all need to be more careful about how we go about sharing these experiences. i agree with hazel's opinion about not posting about it when you're in the pits of it and instead waiting for it to be more about reflection than a cry for help in the moment.

also reaching out for help from people you've connected with irl - whether that means someone you can actually hug or a true 'internet friend' half way across the world is extremely important. i'm terrible at this. more often than not my solution is disappearing off the face of the planet for the hour or week or whatever that i'm at my lowest. which also isn't healthy and is something i'm working on. nobody wants to feel like a burden, but i also try to think about it in the sense that i wouldn't mind if a friend came to me when they're struggling. in fact it makes me feel like i must be doing a good job as a friend if they feel comfortable enough to do so; ideally it would be the same when the situation is reversed.

so yeah, representation matters and unfortunately there's no perfect way to do it, especially when it comes to such delicate matters as these. this conversation is super important though, so thanks for bringing it up.

It's hard for me to enter this discussion because I can relate to dodie soooooo much, I just crave to let the world know how shitty things get when I'm in a bad place. I want to let my friends know, my family know, I even want my exes to know even though they have NOTHING to do with it. It's such an overpowering feeling when all you want is to share your thoughts, because you just want to be understood and it kills you that no one will ever understand it the way you do. I just don't get how some people don't have this (angsty teen voice: "it's not fair!!!!" lol) and I can't imagine how hard it must be for Dodie to have to deal with this in such a big way, ESPECIALLY while she's in a bad place.

i think the "oh i'm not alone" thing can be great but also it's gotten to a point where even if i'm feeling mostly okay that day the way you share details about how bad you've been feeling/your depression kind of nudges me in a downward direction which can be harmful since you have an impressionable and considerably large audience

Can i just say i am so impressed with how respectfully everyone is expressing their opinions here, i'm so glad everyone is having a discussion about this, communication is so important, thinking deeply about these issues is so important, and i love that there's room here for all different opinions on this matter to be heard and respected, thankyou to all the other commenters for being so respectful and honest
and thank you dodie for opening this discussion

I'm so glad this video was made. I agree with both sides of what's happening and I think this conversation was so important. Shout out to Zannah for bringing it up. I love you Dodie, and I'm glad you are figuring all of this out.
I do the same type of thing; I pretend that I'm in movies when I'm sad. I wrote a poem about how it's so much easier to talk to a camera than someone. Just to pretend that I'm playing a part and that it's not actually happening to me.
This was so nice to see, thank you

i'm so glad you made this. i think it's important to be open about mental health but the way you can sometimes make it sound sometimes is almost romanticizing it, especially in a creator sense

i've become so much more comfortable with talking about my anxiety/depression but like learning when it's a good time to share or not is confusing and difficult, but i've learned a lot about my friends and how they're doing by opening up to them.

I thought the question of "do we create because we are mentally ill or are we mentally ill because we create?" was particularly interesting, and it resonated with me as a creative and mentally ill person. So I looked up this article on psychology today and basically it said that creative people tend to live much more stressful lives because they are generally more open to new experiences and so they don't have an automatic "filter" they can use to categorize experiences - rather, each experience is new and interesting and must be dealt with individually, which can be stressful whether you realize it happening or not. That made a lot of sense to me! So really I think the answer to that question is not that there is a direct link between mental illness and creativity, but that creative people tend to have certain traits that make them susceptible to mental illness.

This feels oddly more raw than the dark videos where you talk about what you're actually feeling. I just want to add that, as audience members, what we want most is for you to be great people, in every sense of the word. Of course we want you to be successful, but we also want you to be happy and healthy and self aware as much as you can be, and if that means sharing all your emotions, that's fine. But also if that means never sharing those things, we'll respect and support that too. It was truly touching to see you talk about this experience so honestly. I hope you make a choice that you're content with. We'll support you whatever you decide.

Thank you so much for making this video!! I feel like mental health needs to be addressed, but, like you said, sometimes it can be triggering. One time when I was on instagram when I was at a particularly depressed point in my life, I saw one of my mutuals post self harming images and everything they felt at that moment and it triggered me. I didn't even notice that I got triggered. I'm not gonna lie and say I haven't posted things similar to that before because I have. And like you said in the video, it's like empty calories. I've learned today to be more open with the people around me!! Btw, thank you so much for laughing in this video because it made me laugh and smile too!!

I understand what your friends are saying and I agree, I love you and a lot of people do and are here to support you in your mental health journey and we love to hear when your doing okay and that your not alone but it gets to a point where it just becomes toxic and doesn't do anyone any good, people get too invested in your negativity and problems and it creates problems for themselves especially if they are already struggling with mental health. It is good spreading mental health Awareness and how people can get help and I know the negativity is reality for you, as it is for a lot of people but this is supposed to be a positive place people can come to away from their own problems not having to see everything that is going wrong in your life. If you wish to bring mental health awareness u need to do it in the right way by speaking out about how people can get help and positively about how this wont be life forever or it defeats the point. Mental health illnesses are often selfish illnesses so I can understand why you feel the need to over share for support I don't want you to ever feel alone or sometimes you tend to come across as the only one ever struggling with these types of problems and sometimes it gets too much. Always remember u can do this and u have a lot of lovely people supporting you and if it's not okay it's not the end and everything will work out in its own time never give up dodie you are a diamond in the rough.

I like to see you opening up and I know how it feels when you have no one to explain your feelings too. If you were to make a new snapchat or Instagram where you opened up whenever you wanted to, it would help those who are struggling and look up to you, without bothering the people who want to get away from it all. I'd personally love you to carry on opening up because it helps me to realise that not everything is bad. When you are upset, you still somehow manage to say positive things and when I'm going through similar situations I think about your snapchats and videos being so balanced between negative and positive thoughts. I suffer from depression and anxiety so I know how it feels to be sat alone, not being able to talk about it. I am 13 years old, therefore, I do not always have someone to open up to and tbh it's like walking on eggshells. You can't talk about it too much because you don't want to be called an attention seeker but you're going through so much pain that you wish that word was forgotten so you could tell somebody how you really felt. If you were to continue opening up, it would help a lot of people. Maybe post a warning on your snapchat story before talking so if people want to listen they can and if people don't want to, they can skip.

I feel as though all of these messages saying people love you is absolutely wonderful but likely will not be helping you :-( I love this video, the thing about empty calories really stands true. I've been the hugest fan of you since around 2015, and you've changed so much. That is a good thing, but I feel as though this is getting too concerning. The tone I get from you and your words and posts and videos has changed so much recently. These type of situations are so different and difficult for everyone who experience them, so I don't know if any of this will actually help you, but I've had anxiety depression and a dissociative disorder since I was around 10 and I've found that the absolute best thing that helps me when I feel the way of the tone of this video, is to be very exaggerative? Like I'll watch something a video or show or something, and like actively try to smile or laugh instead of just dully trying to fill my void with shallow entertainment. I try my best to just move on, to speak of things and thoughts that pain me only in sacred moments. Today my favorite cat in the world died. Leukemia and kidney failure. Today I cleaned my room and made apple cheescake to cheer up my family. Today I watched a familiar youtuber that used to bring me so much energy and excitement for the world and that of myself. And today I did see that talented sweet angel peek through her pain. I would suggest trying the fake it till you make it! It feels silly and pointless but trust me it will work eventually. Things will get better sweetheart. 💖

I love this a lot, it resonates so much!

It’s kind fo heartwarming to see how much she’s grown since posting this video. These days she steers away from talking about mental illness and honestly she seems a lot happier. I’m so proud of her and how far she’s come 💙

Dodie I'm really happy to hear you talk so openly about your mentel health! It's really helping me and probably other people to feel less alone!
I think you should share as much as you feel/ think you should.
I hope your feeling better ❤

i love your honesty
i love your self awareness
i love your openness
i love you dodie

I think it would be a good idea to have a small & private online journal/blog, that just you can see, where you can pour out all these thoughts and feelings in a similar manner, without the backlash of social media. I personally have an online "mental health journal" that just I can see, and it's helped a lot with venting, and if i feel the need, i can show my friends or post it, but if i don't, i can just continue to keep it on that private platform. which is okay. i can also show these to my therapist, instead of feeling on the spot and scared in that chair. she can just read those, and know exactly how i felt in that moment.

When I was younger I thought I had depression, online it is so romantisied and just seen everywhere and I just thought that some sadness was depression. However, people like Dodie have actually changed my way of thinking about illness and made me realise I do have a pretty healthy brain (weird way to put it ik)
I can honestly tell that she isn't trying to romanticise it, because she is a creator and so many other artists do the same as her. It's her way of getting it out there and even though things are shit, she is still trying to stay remotely postive for her audience. But i do know that this can come across in the completely wrong way. I support Dodie but i can also understand why people think she's oversharing and should stop.

I also suffer from depression and seeing your channel lead me to your snapchat and it's helped me to see other people suffer as well 💛 it's made me feel a lot better and I have learnt to talk to people about how I am feeling 💛 thank you 💖💛

It's so great to watch this video + follow up later and see how she's changed her openness, vibe, and brand. She still had awareness videos, but they are a lot less, "look at me and the shitty problem i have" and a lot more, "i have a shitty problem and here is how im fixing it". It's all so nice and positive, and I think it's all for the best. xx

"it's easier when your physically sick" I've thought that so many times. It seems nearly impossible to get the courage to talk to someone because it's like, you don't even know if people will believe you or understand the situation. Thank you for sharing this conversation.

This is a very interested video. I feel like another problem with mental health is that if you talk about it with your friend, it's scary to think that your friend might not even be able to help you. And then you bothered them for no reason and/or made them feel like shit

I love it (not that you are suffering from mental illness, obviously!); it's realistic. We are your friends. You should talk to us about the way you're feeling - you are an authentic human being. I can relate to you on many levels and that's what draws me (and I'm sure many others) to your videos. I do agree you should have trigger warnings about some subjects but just because some subjects are triggering for certain people does not mean that it won't help somebody else. You and I have a lot of the same thoughts and habits and it's comforting to know I am not alone. I would rather sit and watch you talk about your dark, honest feelings than watch a fake smile rant on. Love you!

Honestly, when you are honest with how you are feeling, it helps my mental health. It makes me feel less alone and less fucked because I know that others are feeling what I feel. It makes me feel like I have a sort of "friend" who understands. I want to give you a hug so much. It's why I love your music. It's honest and real. I don't think your realize how much your videos and music helps people. I want so badly to be your friend because I want to help you feel the love and support I've recieved from watching your videos. You don't overshare. You tell the truth.

As for the effects on your audience, perhaps a certain tag or even a different channel could be used to protect the younger and more easily influenced members of your audience. Your mental health videos help me, as I relate to everything you've spoken about. Heck, you're depersonalisation video helped me explain myself to doctors.

i was always so nervous when watching your snapchats because i knew it would make me feel sad just having to watch you struggle so much and not be able to comfort you. it was almost like guilt which caused me to empathise with you and feel similarly to how you were feeling. this video really cleared my mind and i applaud you for being so honest. i understand that just talking about it, even to a camera can make it feel better but for the people on the other side of the screen it has the chance of making things worse. this does not change the fact that i love you to bits and enjoy and appreciate your videos ❤️ xx

There is a lot of talk about this becoming part of Dodie's "Brand"- and there is some truth to this, it's the case for other Youtubers as well. But this goes deeper than just a 'brand'. I have depression and anxiety- diagnosed and medicated and all that. I was having a conversation with a friend who had suffered with bad depression but was doing better. She pointed out the hard truth: I didn't want to get better. I don't know how to. Sure, I want relief from my symptoms. But I have been depressed for ten years- and I don't know who I am without it. My mental illness has somehow become part of my personality, part of who I am. When I am feeling up, I have a hard time telling people because I know it's going to go down again and I don't want them to lose sympathy for me. I need them to know I'm depressed, because I need them to treat me that way to cope. I literally have no clue who I am without my depression. How could I possibly have a conversation or an experience which isn't tainted by my mental illness? It just feels like a part of me that has been around so long I forget I wasn't born with it sometimes. When depression becomes so all consuming, you forget yourself without it. I'm scared to get better because I'm scared of what I'll find on the other side. I don't know if Dodie's like this, I don't know if it applies to her at all- but I understand the problem of it leaking into every aspect of life. That said- I am a much more private person, I do NOT have a huge audience, and I don't ever talk to people under my age range these days. But, still.

We're here for you, Dodie and Hazel. While I think you're right saying you bring stuff back up when you create, I think I create because I'm mentally ill. It's an outlet for me and while it does sometimes add to my mental illness because I bring up stuff, it helps to get it out.

I know it probably doesn't mean much but you have my support Dodie!!❤️❤️

i struggle with a lot of the same things you do, and i find it comforting to know i'm not alone. i like to see the contrast of you being honest about your mental health and then you going to therapy. you do want to make a difference, and that's so important. when i'm down, all i am is down. there is no up, no hope, so i can relate to the "this is all there is and it's horrible" feeling. but i think it's important to talk about your suffering when you aren't suffering too, so you yourself can grasp that there is more to your mind than pain

reading you're posts on instagram, i never really took the time to think how your true real life friends feel reading that. since you recently started posting about being depressed A LOT on instagram, i've been thinking you're definitely oversharing, and that you don't need to put every time you're down online, and not reach out to friends. but i totally get why you've done it now, and i am so thankful you made this video.

Okay... people might get mad at me for this
But if you have the means of getting help, and you want help, you'll get it. Those who suffer like this, myself included, want to get better as soon as possible. I don't doubt Dodie wants to feel better, but to wallow in it and borderline romanticize it is damaging to herself and to those who watch her. I was desperate to go to therapy when my anxiety was at its peak... it's true everyone is different but Dodie seems more like she is using her mental illness as a way to (don't hate me) get attention. I don't think she's faking (at all), but I do think she is glorifying being ill a bit. It's one thing to talk about mental illness and another to use the pain for art...

Firstly I think that it really is a great thing for you to be so open to your audience and admit that, say, you have mental health issues. I personally don't get affected by your rather "negative" content, but perhaps the Internet isn't the best place to spill every single bit of our problems. A diary of some sort might help, (I myself have an isolated instagram just for ranting and it just makes me fell better to let my feelings and thoughts out without necessarily sharing it with others,) friends are also a great choice, but I suppose it's just not too appropriate to spill absolutely everything about how you're feeling to social media. But Dodie, remember, we're all here for you and we love you no matter what❤️

I appreciate it. It’s like someone is putting my own feelings into words. I can’t explain it well but dodie you’re very good with words so if someone is asking about how something feels I’ll just link them a video 🤣

i really liked this video and i love you both girls ! <3 I know mental illness is a really sensitive subject and it is always difficult to find people around you that can really understand , even if they are your best friends sometimes people don't get it, so i understand the need to talk about it on social media. And it helps a lot sometimes and other times it's really not good. It's something you can not really provide. Anyway, i love you both and i hope you are all good today xxx

even though i am SURE you aren't meaning too, i feel that your snaps do come across as a romanticized portrayal of mental illness. as someone who has gone through depression and anxiety and depersonalization, i know what it can be like, and so in your snaps i see the rawness of your emotions being released, you are a creative person, and so it is understandable that you let your feelings out in almost a beautiful way.

but.

i have a younger sister who doesn't fully understand mental illness (i feel you really do have to go through it to truly understand it) and she also watches your videos and follows your snap stories. and it does make me worried that she will a. get a distorted and romanticized view of mental illness. and b. when she is feeling down, (in a non mentally ill way) or if (god forbid) she experiences mental illness, she will then have trouble dealing with it because her main exposure to mental illness has been witnessing you going through it. i don't want her, or anyone, to misdiagnose themselves after somwhat relating to the emotions in your snaps, or to come across others with mental illness and not know how to correctly help/support them.

i love you a lot dodie and you've helped me deal w a lot of stuff so thank you. please just take care of yourself!!

that was an amazingly insightful video, Ive never thought about a lot of these things. Im glad you have someone like Zannah to bring you back to earth and 'show you the light.'

I remember when I was younger a lot of youtubers I watched made lots of videos about self-confidence and anxiety and panic attacks. I remember trying to relate with them and doubting things. I became really awkward and anxious and even though I was quite a confident and humorous person beforehand. As I was watching these videos when I was around 12 they sort of influenced my persona. It's hard, it's good you talk about these things and don't just hide the fact you're human and have down days, sometimes lots of negative videos can make impressionable viewers feel hopeless, even though they were quite happy before hand. Love you both though, just a thought

I think it's great that you've put this discussion here. I think it's healthy to reflect on your actions and either learn from your mistakes or carry on with the same action, but that reflection is necessary to see whether it's going well or not. I personally struggle to talk to just anyone because I hate the idea of someone judging or putting their two cents in when it's not overly necessary; I'd rather talk to a therapist, mainly because I've been seeing one on and off for at least 8-9 years, but also they don't judge, they allow us to see things from a different perspective and give constructive suggestions. I think that it's great that you are open about mental health, truly, I think that it can help a lot of people, especially as you're very influential, but a balance needs to be struck about how much you share, mainly for your wellbeing. Sharing too much and regretting it afterwards is a hard burden to bear, but letting it out and thinking about it before you share with the world might be beneficial for you, that is, if you don't have a therapist/close family member or friend to talk to.

actually, that was really really helpful! thank you, dodie and hazel

i love you, dodie. these comments don't get noticed or get any likes but i just wanted to clarify this to the world.

Dodie if you feel talking about your mental health online helps then keep doing it. At the end of the day if it helps you then it's worth it <3

I like the fact that you share things, it's nice to know someone is out there going through the same thing and you really do help me, even if you are talking about something serious, I think people should be able to be real on the Internet, the world isn't all happy and okay, and I think you express the real issues with mental health, also I love you Dodie you are amazing and I'm so proud of you and I hope to one day meet you cause you are a wonderful person 💖💖

Honestly bless you this is exactly how I've been feeling and just yes

You have been one of the most influential people in my life and such an inspiration to me, but I can now only listen to the happier songs of yours because the sad ones only give me bad memories and worse feelings.

I love her music and her honest videos I read her insta posts and watch her snapchat story's but I've tried to read less of them for myself. I went through a bad patch of mental health in December and I got over it (luckily) I didn't have it as bad as Dodie but I found her videos and music relieving but as I got over anxiety I decided it would be better if I looked at her videos from her point of view as her videos would sometimes make me feel a little more down but I still love dodies music and can't wait for her book will buy as soon as it comes out!!
And agreed with Hazel and Zannahs comments xxx

I loved this, please make more videos with Hazel x

The creativity thing is so true, I go through phases of creating stuff, then it starts driving me crazy and I have to take a break from it. I start to base my self worth on my productivity and it's suuuper unhealthy haha. Don't feel like you have to make videos/blog posts to feel better xx

You guys are so lucky to have each other ☺️🤗 So sweet ❤️

I also think, about the social media and oversharing thing, that it is true. Sometimes it can get too much and as beings of empathy it can even affect your audience. Furthermore, I think you can become too reliant on it sometimes like to the point it becomes a practice or a bit addictive even because it's like a cry for help but without any embarrassment you may experience from directly asking your friends. I think sometimes we need to be sad by ourselves in that we need to get through it by sorting our own thoughts out. Other times, directly asking your friends is necessary when you can't deal with it on your own, and oftentimes that's the way we should go. Just practice defeating the barriers of self-doubt and self-consciousness when asking for help. Realise that your friends will support you when you need it. And even though maybe what they say when you're at your lowest (like what zannah did when u posted that snap) may not be the best thing for you to hear at the time, it isn't necessarily the worst thing. Practice realising your brain is being irrational and at least acknowledging it when you're feeling shitty, and then practice forcing yourself to act on what you know instead of what you fear. Sharing your experiences online with your audience can be very beneficial for both sides of the equation, but in moderation. I know emotions don't take a break and mental health/well-being isn't something you can control, but we all need a break sometimes. It's good to tackle issues once in a while but it's also good to let yourself and your audience take a break. I'm not saying your mental health isn't something we'd like to know about - in fact, id say some of us can be too adamant and obsessive over your mental health because we care, but since, and especially, most of your audience is young, we're more easily affected by such emotionally charged content. While taking care of yourself, you also sorta have a responsibility, I suppose, to care for your audience in more roundabout ways and factoring them into what you put out there. Everything in moderation, dodie, or at least try to show the world that. I'm not saying you should be dishonest with who you are and how you're feeling, but your public persona should be a persona with edits and thoughts into every piece of content, to benefit both yourself and your audience.
O shit that was long soz and thanks if u read until this line lol

I have been thinking about this for a while as I've been watching you for a while, and on my own mental health bumpy road. I'm really glad you're bringing it up and open to discussion! I think my issues with your raw sharing are about the most sensitive topics and the effect on your audience. I had an issue with you updating how you felt after every therapy session or 'zapping' session because for me at least meds took at least a month to take effect and I was in therapy for 6 months before I felt comfortable reflecting on 'results' or how far I had come. Getting help is often framed in a negative way and I think it's important to talk about your experiences with it in a constructive way, idk. Another thing is, i know it's your life and your truth and sometimes you feel shitty about yourself, but I think there's something very harmful about saying 'ah man I look like shit' all the time because then your fans will compare themselves to you and they're so enamored with you they'll see themselves in such a negative light. I think that can be a really tricky situation. Idk, I myself have had to step away from your social media at times bc there are so many things I want to say to build you up when you're down but we don't know each other personally and there's no garuntee I'll even directly reach you. So that's a bit of emotional labor for me personally. Just some thoughts. Again, I think it's good that you show all the sides of you. And that's something I've respected you for for a long time. But there's a gray area and there's an amount of responsibility, I would just think about how you at 14 would respond every time you post something. Love u!

I firstly just want to say that you're both incredible and a healthy amount of discussion surrounding mental health is a huge step forward in combating the stigma, and embarrassment you discussed when opening up to loved ones.
however, i'd really like to provide an example of when your sharing can become damaging to your following.
her deep and inquisitive angle has always been a drawing for many to dodie, and she wouldn't be the same creative we all know and love without it, but as a 16 year old who has enjoyed her content for a number of years, her recent and more persistent discussion and documentation of bad periods are intensely damaging, and slightly disrespectful to her audience -(i'm sorry if this sounds attacking by the way, I honestly do not mean it like that)
ive watched both dodie and hazel for many years, and they're both key figures in my 'growing up', but there's definitely a strong air of romanticisation from the way dodie in particular has shown her struggles. whether intentional or not, it creates a desire to be the same, to want to fit in. I've always been a happy person, speaking generally of course, but in recent months have found myself overplaying or falsifying mental health issues without even noticing. it will only be after a dramatic breakdown to a friend that I will realise. obviously, o b v i o u s l y not all the blame lies with dodie in this instance, but this realisation has turned into genuine self hatred and the creation of real mental health issues.
again, i'm not attacking- but this sharing has real ramifications and its not the service an audience should provide.

your vids on dpdr help me out so much - i was diagnosed nearly two weeks ago and have been suffering for about a year and a half. as much as i love dodie I do feel like there's some stuff that just doesn't need to be shared? obviously it can be very helpful in moderation but sometimes i think you do romanticise mental health a little bit. venting is great, but i don't think the internet is a great place to do it.

that was beautiful. inspiring. relatable. true. and just helpful. thank you girls❤❤

I always listen to your snapchats. Especially late at night, often I am feeling the same thing and have been feeling the same thing, and much in the way of you saying it's like reaching out without having to bother any of your friends or just getting it off your chest, watching your snapchats is the validation that someone else feels like this. Thanks dodes

Dodie, I love you so much you're so precious and hazel looks cute and you're both beautiful 💕

i don't think i have ever related to anything more in my whole entire life.... i am crying watching dodie and hazel, i love you both, so much, i hurt with you❤️

We all love you and will always be here for you!! <3

I absolutely love your videos and music, and i really like that you talk about mental health. I havent ever felt that your videos overshare or are too negative and i do think it's so important to spread awareness about mental illness. Then again, i havent ever had a mental illness, and having a mental illness probably changes the impact of your videos considerably. I don't have snapchat, so i dont know whether you do overshare on sc. But you do have to remember that you have a very large audience that looks up to you, and that you should be careful about what you say regarding mental illness. ❤❤❤

here's my thoughts on it (which you may never read)

although you are both valid in everything you think and feel (like honestly im proud of you guys for the genuine shit you put up with, you handle things very well), and even though youtube/social media in general is a wonderful way to make yourself feel a bit better (from nice comments, advice, or just the fact that you can type or speak all of your thoughts out to the world), i feel like people like you, with the huge followings that you have, need to be slightly cautious when it comes to sharing??
your audience is full of incredibly impressionable young people. i am 17 now, but when i was in year eight i know for a fact that people all around me were being influenced by things they saw online in regards to mental health. self harm became a thing you did to be cool and feeling depressed was a huge trend. although you have every right to say whatever you want on your own platform, and i fully respect both of you and what you are going through on a daily basis, i worry that some young people will begin to convince themselves they have something because the people they idolise talk about it so much. i worry that people will start to get into a circle of doubt until they convince themselves they have a problem so much that it actually becomes a problem. i also worry that people who already have genuine problems will begin to give up or lose hope as the people they idolise often just speak of the negatives.
again, i wanna make it SUPER clear that i respect and adore you both!! ive met you both, i have merch, im a huge huge fan and i have total respect for the fact that you guys are doing your best in difficult times. this is just something to consider, as social media and people with an audience have a huge influence on young impressionable people.

i hope you get where im coming from. im not trying to be horrible in the slightest, it's just a thing i thought i should say. i love you both and i hope things are looking up for you soon x

Dodie, I can relate to the wallowing side of feeling down (I don't want to label myself as depressed) and sometimes possible dramatisation. I don't know you personally, so I can not say that is what you do, but sometimes when we get caught up in our thoughts, I feel like we easily get caught up in thinking everything's awful and don't always recognise when things are good. What I mean by this is, when I feel really low, I forget that I had a good day or two before that and just feel as though I'm constantly depressed. It is good to acknowledge bad times, but perhaps not wallow in them. Easier said than done, but still possible. I believe anyone can turn it around, even if it may take longer, depending on where you're at. Have you tried keeping a score of how your days have been out of 10? Sometimes this helps to put things into perspective and recognise the better days. All the best x

this was so interesting but also comforting since i'm the same age as you and been dealing with the same exact things as you. and this video honestly really made me think deeply and question why i always have the urge to post my thoughts and feelings in different places on different social medias when i'm feeling like "the bad" is taking over my brain. i agree with everything you said and feel!!

It seems like the comments have made all the most important points, so i just wanted to say thanks to Dodie for having this discussion. I'm glad people are pointing out both the positive and negative points of sharing so much about mental illness and not just romanticizing it and defending Dodie blindly - a conversation always goes two ways.

Heya :) I think that when it comes to discussing mental health with a large audience, it's wonderful to share but probably best to stick to what you can be a little objective about. I don't know that it's about level of detail as much as it is level of emotion- I think it can be distressing to people to hear the really low thoughts you are having, but always okay to talk about the fact that you are having them. When you say things like "I've really been struggling lately", that's completely relatable without being potentially triggering for anyone, whereas something like "what's the point" is the depression rather than you reflecting on it. At the end of the day, however, whatever you do/choose to share is completely up to you- you are not responsible for anyone else's mental health! Lots of love <3

Totally agree with hazel!! I always found it weird how you went into detail about your mental health and personal problems in places where hundreds of thousands of strangers will see it. Yes we love you and care a lot about you but unfortunately we are just strangers and don't actually know you, that's why it's important to talk to friends. You can and should still talk about mental health issues but not in the way you were doing some time ago, putting a happy picture on instagram and then a long rant about how bad you are feeling always seemed like romanticizing it. This is all really unhealthy so please talk to your friends when you need help and when you are a lil better you can share some things, but not all of it, with us and still help people

As someone who has been depressed for a long time and still is, I actually find you over sharing helpful. I feel like I’m not alone and i shouldn’t feel the stigma and shame around it. (With that said I don’t follow your snaps so maybe I don’t really know)

I'd highly recommend writing as an alternative/something to do alongside posting videos about being mentally ill. At least for me, it's almost as cathartic as actually talking to someone about how I'm feeling, and it's extremely helpful to have a way to look back on how I've felt before on some of my worst days, and compare it to how I'm feeling now.

I loved this. Thanks so much for sharing x

Such a nice and candid video! Sometimes the raw and honest emotions of someone going through the same shitty things, wakes people up to ask for help. No shame, please.

bABE

i know telling people that you're hurting is hard. but you're gonna have to start telling your friends more often. start by telling them how your day went. and be completely honest. it doesn't even have to be a whole full story, just a short summary of what happened and how you're feeling. it doesn't have to be every single day, but it should be often. eventually you'll become accustomed to telling them how you feel honestly. take care.

Your "oversharing" helps me feel ok about my crazy (亝ω亝｡) Ty I appreciate it, sharing your issues really shouldn't be this much of an issue where it makes you worry ur annoying ppl. Ur doing great doll, just keep doing things for you, you are always the most important person in your own life. ALWAYS ♡xx

Dodie,

I think I speak for all of your viewers when I say that I just want you to be happy. I care about you, which is weird since I've never met you, but you've been an inspiration for me since I was in sixth grade. Do whatever makes you feel better. (In my experience, counseling is never a bad option, but everyone is different). If that means continuing to vent your feelings online, go ahead. If it means stopping that entirely and getting a counselor and/or meds (I don't know if you're on them, but they really do help, and don't change you), then that is entirely fine with me and most of your viewers, as well.

I love you. Best wishes.

I am so so happy you made this video and it's so relieving to know other people think the same - I've unfollowed you on most social media and tend to avoid your videos, of course how you're feeling is valid! But equally we can't help you, and when you're crying for help we're not the people to cry for - and equally when you post these things it can make the most mentally healthy of your audience feel shit. People look up to you and I have friends who now relate how they're feeling to how you're feeling, they are so so negative and pessimistic and they are your biggest fans, it hurts so much to see. I'm sure this is unintentional but you tend to invalidate your fans who are mentally healthy, because I am very musical, you draw from pain to put feeling into what you do, but it hurts to be told that my work has no meaning because I'm not depressed. When I have my low moments as every human does, due to the intense feeling of negativity from you tubers etc, I worry I'm depressed and nothing will ever be right again. You say you're not but your mental illness appears romantic, you're self obssessed and when good things happen to you and you're given all these wonderful opportunities and yet you're still snap chatting into the 'void' which isn't a void but a bunch of teenagers with no life experience, it can really make us feel like utter shit. I truly love your personality and art, and hope things get better for you, but share your thoughts with those who can help, make you feel less alone - you said you were lonely and Hazel hugged you - so stop telling social media who's words are empty and tell your friends who obviously all have similar experiences and truly feel less lonely. And stop getting out of bed so late, seriously haha

personally I was relieved when you posted about feeling suicidal on Snapchat, as i hated the ambiguity with which you'd post, at 12 at night, pasted onto a black image, about how your head hurt so much and your chest was tight. I wanted to know if me jumping to the conclusion that you were feeling suicidal was just an irrational thought atop the mass or irrational thoughts my brain already presented me with.
As for this video, thank you so very much for addressing mental health - not just how you'd been doing previously, but specifically how you've done it in this video. Thank you for going into the endless circles your thoughts go round as you consider whether you're being a burden on your friend for asking for help. I can relate S O very much. As I think you're beginning to see, discussion of mental health shouldn't just come from when you're rock bottom, but rather a deeper analysis (the type of analysis that depression stops you being able to do when you're in it's tight grips)
Thank you again dodie :)

Dodie, I really want you to feel comfortable with sharing your feelings.

I think this is good, me and my best friend have depression and we both weirdly connect on it. It's casual conversation, and I'm happy not to be ashamed of it

I'm so proud of you for being so open and honest about your mental health issues. In my opinion I don't think you're oversharing because you have helped me deal with my own mental health issues. You made me realise it's ok to not be ok and that even someone as inspiring and amazing as you can go through the same things. I think you should always share whatever you feel comfortable sharing. You don't need to feel bad about it. You have helped and continue to help so many people and at the end of the day, we are all human and we all have our own issues and I believe voicing these issues and helping others by being so open is the best thing to do. For every subscriber you loose for talking about mental health you are probably gaining another 10 for your bravery, so never worry about offending people. No one can help the way they feel. Stay strong, we love you x

P.S- Maybe you should start a blog! You can always do it anonymously if it helps!

I really enjoyed the thoughtful discussion in this video. I don't watch your snapchats or instagram stories, so I can't comment on those, but I do follow you on twitter and instagram. I personally find twitter a hard medium to use in general, because of the rapid-fire changes in tone of the content-one person's tweet is funny, another's is about fighting injustice, the next person's a self-advertisement, and the following a cry for help. So in general, I don't enjoy when anyone overshares on twitter because I find it overwhelming and like I can never fully engage with the gravity of any one tweet. As for instagram, I seem to be in the minority because I appreciate your posts. I have grown up with many people dealing with mental illness (and I don't mean in a my-neighbour's-aunt sort of way, but in a multiple close family members and friends sort of way), and always felt like no one seemed to grasp the depth of ways it affects one's life and everyone who is a part of that life. I really appreciate the intensity and rawness of the posts you share, and I find the juxtaposition between the photos and captions not to romanticize mental illness, but to remind me that mental illness coexists with life, the beauty and joy of life. That has always been on the biggest paradoxes for me, that really low moments could coexist with some of the happiest moments of my life, and to me, your instagram posts reflect that in a way few other things have. But then again, I am almost 21 and I understand that this perspective comes with years of experience that not everyone else has, especially some of your younger audience. I'll echo some other posts here and say that maybe waiting 24 hours to post something could be helpful in figuring out what is helpful to share, and what is potentially damaging/triggering/too much. Thanks for letting yourself be vulnerable and making this video, it's a hard topic to explore and even harder to be self-reflective. Much love from a fan of your videos and music <3.

Dodie, (I'm a huge fan btw! You are amazing!) I really suggest a digital detox-this way our feedback won't hurt you more than help you. Help yourself before you worry about helping us right now. We're always here for you. <3

Casually wants to just hug Dodie instead of answering.

I personally enjoy everything you share , I started loving your songs because you talked about your mental health problems , and I related so much. I feel sad for you and I wish I could talk back to you through snap chat , but it's nice for us to know how you're feeling instead of you faking your happiness

I just want to say in regards to the physical illness thing, as something with a disability and mental health issues, it's not much different. There have been times where I've been so exhausted and in pain because of my disability and the most a got was a pat on the back, otherwise being completely left on my own to deal with it- not trying to blame those people but that's what happened. What I've learnt is that if it's difficult for someone to sympathise with someone else's situation they probably won't help, or at least will do the bare minimum to not feel guilty. Sure you'd probably like to think that is someone's showing physical signs of being not ok you'd do something but if it's something you've never dealt and/or there's no one telling you what to do with you most likely won't do much especially if it's a common occurrence (in my experience). Again not trying to blame anyone because when stuff like that happens it is scary and hard knowing what to do but just saying it's not something exclusive to mental illness (srry this is rambly and grammatically incorrect it's late here and I'm tired aha).

It's not easier to be physically sick. There isn't always "proof". A lot of the doctors I go to don't seem to believe me so don't generalise. There are many invisible illnesses. I have both a physical illness and mental illnesses and I've had way more stigma with my physical illness. But on a lighter note, JACK??? BOYFRIEND??? Since when were Hazel and Jack dating?!

I've struggled a lot over the last few years with depression and anxiety, and I relate to this so much. I stayed up late talking to people because i was down, then didn't get up until mid afternoon so i got enough sleep, but i was always tired and I then missed the stuff I had to do during the day (uni) so I felt down again in the evenings. I am always grateful for friends talking through stuff with me in down times, and offer to be there for them when they're down.
I study engineering, but music and scale models and drawing are most of what I do tbh.
I'm now on antidepressants which have been a great help to me, but my daily routine is still messed up (I'm basically nocturnal) and I lack motivation to do the stuff I should but couldn't previously due to mental health.

Dodie I love you. Dodies fan base I love you. Everyone in the LGBT+ community I love you. If you are a human I love you.


Wooooow!!!! How did I get so many likes!! This is why I love you peeps!❤️❤️❤️

Honestly, I'm so glad Zannah said what a lot of us have been thinking. We'd never want to take away an outlet that helps you, but at the same time it can be triggering or difficult to watch. For those of us who have mental illnesses of our own it can be quite difficult, and for those who don't it can seem like it's just an "edgy" way of expressing yourself, and seek to emulate it as a trend. I'm sure you never asked to be a role model (does anyone?) but you do have a young, vulnerable and impressionable audience, and unintentionally or otherwise, nobody wants to encourage emulation of mental illness. It's not an aesthetic or a trend or a badge of honour. It doesn't make a person cool or quirky. It can engender creativity, but it's not a tool, you know?

I'm not suggesting that you have ever had any intention of portraying mental illness as a cute character element, and you can't help that some people will infer that. HOWEVER the less "cry for help" material you post the less people have to cling to and interpret incorrectly.

I've been in your shoes (I have bipolar and PTSD) and the seeming void of the internet/social media can be so inviting because it's a lot easier to throw your suffering into the void without a target and hope someone takes initiative and steps in than it is to assault your friends with it and risk feeling like a burden or getting rejected. An indirect cry for help comes more naturally to us than really asking for it.

I know you've been let down by someone you loved, and having been in an abusive/controlling relationship it's completely understandable that you struggle with trusting others to bring you up when you need it. If you've had someone break your trust that badly it's hard to open yourself up again, even to people who genuinely do have your best interests at heart.

Basically, it's ok to need help and it's ok to ask for it. Your friends all seem like Very Good Eggs, and as hard as it is to go directly to someone and say "I need help, I need to talk, I need a shoulder to cry on, I need company, I need validation, I need to ground myself" it's something that gets easier with practice. I hope you're coping. <3

I related so much when they talked about sharing when you're at your lowest point. I mean it's good to reach out but having such a big and young audience might not be very good for them. I've held myself back to sharing how bad my thoughts were to friends when I know I'm at my lowest point because I know that some way this won't affect them in a good way at all.

I have never seen your snaps so I can't comment on that but your instagram posts are half the reason I love you. You are so amazingly real and I love it, it just shows me that even people like dodie feel like shit sometimes and it reassures me it's okay for me to feel that way too, I love what you do

It's so important to tell people how you feel as then u are getting it out. I understand you feel like you are opening up too much but tbh if creating ur snapchats with how u feel is ur way out then please keep doing it because it's so important for you as a person.

Personally, i love the raw, honest quality of your videos. I love when you talk about mental illnesses, and you're feelings. But, also know that I'd still love you even if you didn't talk about those, and i watch your videos for YOU, regardless of what you create. Anyways, kisses 💋

this video is very important. i struggle with overhearing with my thoughts, i try to do it through poetry or metaphors so it's somewhat hidden but to a certain extent, i do share more than i should. i've reached out for counselling and been both ignored and denied, which i feel like is why i tend to use my platform as somewhere to talk (alongside twitter and snapchat), which means i can be a bit explicit. i am one of those many people with a "private" twitter. i tend to tweet my emotions there in the hope that people will ask me what's wrong, because i fear that if i go to someone first they will be annoyed or disinterested in my emotions, and therefore won't care for what i have to say.

im personally thankful for your posts, no matter how descriptive. it really makes me feel less alone. but i understand others being triggered by it. maybe put warnings beforehand or have a specific insta/snap just for venting so it doesnt push potential viewers away?

here are my thoughts:
About a year ago, i was super grateful for your videos, seeing there were other people feeling like myself and how they deal with that.. Whenever i felt down i clicked on your videos and felt better hearing you rambling about stuff. But now - idk if it is because of you or me - i'm kinda scared to click on your snapchats/videos because it makes me feel even worse, doesn't help me, tears me down even more. Though i still really do appreciate you talking about and raising awareness for mental health it got a bit much.. I'd recommend waiting a bit before uploading to see if you still want the 'depressed' content up and/or putting a disclaimer for those, who might not want to see it. But otherwise, thank you for talking about it when most don't :)

There is no such thing as over sharing - its your channel and you decide where your boundaries are <3

What I do notice is many of these celebrities on social media put on a facade that everything is amazing but you always stay real with your fans which is what I love about you. Not everything can be perfect 24/7.

I honestly like when she talks about mental health because I have mental health problems and seeing how I’m not alone just really helps. But I just want Dodie to be comfortable and share what she wants.

I read the description and here's my advice (I have no mental illnesses so don't judge me if my advice is bullshit)
Try and control what you post. Also get a diary to write in. Trust me it can help to just write out all your feelings into a book and just have a rant with no fear of judgment. Also it can help you see how you are doing in terms of how bad your illness has been recently.
Hope this helps.Love you Dodie 💛💛(and anyone else who sees this also)

~I saw a comment saying 100 Reasons to love Dodie and it said to finish it off. So here we go~

1. She cares so much about her friends
2. She is so beautiful
3. She is so loving towards the LGBTQ+ Community
4. She is so passionate
5. She could talk about Window Frames for a week and still make it entertaining
6. She is so insecure and flaunts her flaws, and is learning to love them
7. She supports her fans
8. She appreciates that we all have lives and doesn't beg for views
9. I don't think she has ever click-baited
10. She is responsible
11. She knows what's good for her and follows her dreams & passions
12. She raises awareness for things that are usually pushed under the rug
13. She is so careful about what words she uses & how they could impact people
14. She loves and cares for her friends, family & fans like royalty
15. She doesn't demand things
16. She is honest and truthful
17. She is so talented, but doesn't brag
18. She is open to us, & lets us know when things are good and when they are bad
19. She is so trusting to us that she will breakdown and cry and not feel vulnerable
20. She is so kind and loving and caring and adorable
21. She is not selfish
22. She doesn't disrespect others
23. She regards people's feelings and takes into account other people's comfort zones; as well as her own
24. She is so sweet
25. She is loving to fans, even when they make mistakes
26. She'll cheer up her friends, even when she is upset/busy herself
27. She can take jokes, and doesn't get offended by butterflies
28. She doesn't overdramatize situations for views
29. She doesn't care what people think, and dresses hoe she likes
30. She is an idol for not only the Bi community, but the whole LGBTQ+ Community
31. She is a proud pride supporter
32. She can control when she uses bad language and respects what type of audience a particular video is aimed at
33. She looks after people who need care
34. She loves, supports and appreciates us fans
35. She doesn't like she is any lesser or more than us. To her, we are equal
36. Her fame and money hasn't changed her, like it did to other people
37. She never points blame
38. She'll take blame even if it wasn't her
39. She tries to avoid drama and makes other people happy
40. She is a little ray of sunshine in a world that needs a lOT more sunshine
41. Even when she's stressed, she is still loving
42. She has built up relationships with her fans and keeps them close
43. She never leaves us without reason
44. She's dedicated and devoted
45. She is without flaw, only to herself
46. She doesn't ignore us
47. She treats us as if we are human too
48. She is so talented in many different ways and aspects:
49. She is a fabulous singer
50. She is a great dancer ~ very graceful
51. She is a stunning actress
52. She is so GOOD at making people smile
53. Her laughter lightens up the world
54. Every time she smiles, it's like the worlds problems melt away
55. She is just adorable
56. She is so lovely it's unreal
57. She is ridiculously good at Ukulele ~ it's unreal
58. She is fair, and doesn't use her fans to advantage her
59. She is very kind and has a huge heart
60. She is unrealistically modest
61. She doesn't say she is the prettiest, she doesn't say she is the ugliest
62. She doesn't lie to get compliments
63. She realized her flaws ~ works them!
64. She knows what's best for her and her friends
65. She is always happy to give advice
66. She is honest about her mental health
67. She doesn't use her mental health as an excuse
68. She gets back up again after losing a battle
69. Nothing can break her completely ~ she can only be knocked
70. She is so good ~ and it isn't an act. At heart, she is pure sweetness
71. She can turn a lousy day into a bright, fun time
72. She is always willing to help others
73. She will sit with her friends for hours, helping them through
74. She can realize and admit when she has a bad habit
75. She will go out of her way to get over a bad habit
76. She is honest, in the aspect of if she has fucked up ~ she'll say 'Guys, i fucked up.'
77. She can accept people's opinions but she is strong and can stand up for herself
78. She is one of the only youtubers who doesn't get offended by Constructive Critisism
79. She takes time out of her day to respect her mental and physical health
80. Her smile is contagious
81. She is enough
82. She has impeccable manners
83. She has the best laugh in the entire world
84. Even when she's struggling & stressed, she'll put on a grave face and laugh through it
85. She deserves an eternal hug from all of us
86. On a scale of one to 10, she's a full on 7382919837474272829947473723983732783.33
87. She'd look fabulous, even on a bad day in a binsack.
88. It's clear that she brightens up the room for her friends
89. She is proud of what she has done, but still modest about it
90. She works so hard for us
91. She quit her steady job for YouTube, not knowing when it would crash
92. She quit her job to support this community
93. She is an idol for everyone
94. She is an inspiration, and she has saved so many lives
95. She would only ever try her best, and never gave up
96. Because of her determination, she has got where she is today.
97. She is such a strong, brave and loving female to look up to
98. She can accept others opinion, understand why they think what they think, and explain how she feels
99. She is not only great at talking, but great at listening too.
100. She is dodie.

~I just wanted to say a huge thank you to dodie for helping all of us through. Whether you've been here since 12,000 or 1,000,000 or you found her yesterday, i think we can all agree, dodie has helped us all. She is my inspiration, & always will be. Ilysm <3~

hello dodie,
so personally i find it very reassuring to know that there are people out there experiencing similar things i'm going through. when i found out i had depersonalisation i thought i was going mad but seeing your video on it made me feel like i was definitely not alone. i feel like seeing your descriptions of mental health can be very helpful, due to the fact they can reassure me, and many others, that we're not alone. but also i may have to point out the negatives. any time you talk about some sort of feeling or spaciness it just makes me feel like i need to give you a big hug and talk to you properly. but obviously, with having such a large audience it would be impossible to talk to every single person and hug every single one. which brings me on to the fact, there's always going to be a response with these things, good or bad. so you need to be aware people will ask you how you are and put sympathy on you. don't worry though, i've done the exact same. were you comment online your feelings and etc. and to begin with you get that satisfaction of letting it out and venting. but afterwards you feel rotten because of responses. i've got a really great app called vent. where you can still get that release of writing about your feelings, but you can feel accepted with it, because that's the intention of the app. make it anonymous, don't use your name, make up an entire new username. and vent, because you still can get that satisfaction of releasing your feelings to people but just in a safer way. i hope you read this. there are other things o cover but people have done an excellent job. don't feel hurt with all this. know that we all love you a lot. we are just concerned. personally, you've reassured me, but i must say things can be triggering, i hope you understand that.

thank you xx

i'm really thankful that dodie's noticed this because i think it was an issue. i haven't been able to watch most of her videos on mental health and i had to unfollow her on snapchat because every time i heard her talk that vividly about it i fell deeper into my own issues but also felt this immense guilt and didn't talk to anyone because "well she has it worse, why should i bother people with such little problems?"

love you dodie and hazel <3 i think that you need to be confident in your friends and strengthen the trust between you all, so that you feel more secure and okay to ask for help or just a rant session! i have no idea obviously about the situation you and your friends are in, and i'm not going to pretend i know, but sometimes you can be best friends with someone and still you haven't accepted and opened yourself up to trust them completely and know that you won't be a burden on them, and that you have friends because humans can't get through life alone!! we aren't meant to be superiorly strong and capable of absolutely everything, so why should we pretend to our closest friends that we love the most? :) it's difficult to ask for help or ask to talk to your friends about it honestly, because of the paranoia about being a burden for example or etc etc, but a really good way to ease yourself into accepting and opening yourself up to that trust is thinking, "if [friend] felt this way, and she talked to me, would i want them to tell me everything or would i think it was a burden?". because then it helps you realise that if you'd gladly accept to help them, they'd be more than happy helping you too! i think sharing and making this aware is great - i'm all for it. however, i think there's a line which you are navigating and exploring between sharing and oversharing, which has it's pros and cons. it's great that you help people, as it affects everyone differently and sometimes having people to relate to is comforting. however to some others, it's triggering. i can't possibly tell you to exactly know about everyone and cater to their triggers, but maybe a good suggestion is to talk about these things to camera when you're not on a low? i understand that it's extremely cathartic to talk on a low, but if you maybe wrote it down or recorded it privately thren you could have those exact emotions you wished to talk about and were able to talk to your audience about them when you were able to think a lil more rationally and were ina bit more control? i don't mean to offend you - i love what you do and i love your music. i just thought maybe a comment could help. i dunno :) stay awesome! and continue to make people smile and giggle and cry and most importantly, feel :)

I feel like yeah, you do overshare, but I find it so so helpful and validating as someone who suffers from mental illnesses to see that I'm not alone. As for the not reaching out to people directly, I think I do the same because it feels less like you're annoying or a burden, when I message a friend saying what's going on in my head they usually don't know what to say or seem quite awkward, whereas if I post something on social media that shows I'm not quite right in the head and a friend messages me, they are more prepared and have had time to think about how they can help and listen to you in the most effective way possible

dodie i really have a lot of respect for you for sharing this video, it's a very mature and difficult topic, but you need to remember that you are young yourself and you are going to make mistakes!! i'm sure you're probably reading a lot of these comments and feeling really guilty because you were geniunely unaware about how impressionable your younger audience can be and for using this is your coping mechanism. It's hard to do the right thing all the time and i hope you don't take some of the blunt comments to heart. We all still love you and this doesn't lessen your struggle in anyway at all. we just hope you reflect on how your sharing might affect your audience and find some healthier coping methods (as scary as it can be to reach out for help from your friends!!) thank you, i hope you're doing ok xx

i say all these things with the utmost resoect and no bad intentions.

i do agree that you should make a private account or something for people who want to see that stuff. i don't watch your snapchats very often anymore and i dislike looking at your ig because its pretty negative and i'm part of your younger crowd, as a 15 year old. i do think you need an outlet, just not one so public where you post so much about it. i saw another comment about people thinking "i was to be special like dodie! i need to have anxiety and depression to create art!" and i kind of agree. i WAS one of those people who believed that and it wasn't good for me. i spiraled into a very bad place. just sometimes it gets a bit too much. i love you so much and i enjoy your videos but sometimes it is frustrating. you're a wonderful human being and i wish the best for you.

Doddie and Hazel I love you two. Doddie Thanks for sharing your struggles, I too struggle with anxiety and depression. And although your videos can be intense at times they do help me not to feel alone. But I can say from experience (self-harm) that you need to find a better coping mechanism. I hope that I don't sound to preachy, and I don't really know anything about your personal struggles but I am a fan who cares about you and I hate to see you hurting. Sending love all the way from Canada.

I personally find it really comforting that I'm not alone with the same issues.

I always thought you were really encouraging to talk about your problems with other people. Most people bottle up their problems and you talking about it means others feel like they can open up about it too. You encourage us to acknowledge your sadness and let it happen so the worst can pass and not bubble up and get worse. That being said, you do need to acknowledge when you are at your worst and think before you explode. Nobody hates you for it, we're just worried about you. Please know that your audience still love you and appreciate you for being honest. HOWEVER Please don't start bottling things up because you now realized that you may have said too much. Always talk to someone, whether that be a doctor, therapist or a friend. We love you dodes, take these things at your own pace and the next time you start to feel at your worst, switch off the internet, make yourself a hot beverage and go knock on a friends door, or call someone close to you. Someone will always be there<3

i've just been diagnosed with panic disorder and bpd, after having been depressed for years. and i take great comfort in your videos, dodie. you've put into words thoughts i've had but haven't been able to express properly. now that i've got words for them, i can explain to my therapist how i feel, and they can help me more easily than when i just say "i don't know, i don't know"! i see where everyone is coming from, but i think it's a lot easier for them to just not watch that content. it's been a great help for me, and i'm so grateful you've been sharing. i hope you can make your content AS WELL AS asking for and accepting help from the people around you though! xxx

a lot of what dodie has talked about has helped me feel less alone in things ive gone through, but i do think there is a line, and dodie is well aware of this now.
i had to take a step back from being so involved in watching all her videos for a while. i was in a place where i felt like i couldnt handle the emotional weight of it. and now i think dodie has improved so much about knowing what is healthy to put out online and what should be worked out personally..

i very strongly remember one night in high school i was watching a video on doddlevloggle, at my kitchen table, sobbing. the video was something back in 2015-2016 about a dark topic, i wish i remembered which video. long story short, i know it had a very significant impact on. my mental state in that moment. i think some of the heavy/depressing content she put out can be a trigger for people who are trying to get in a better headspace ya know? ive grown and i know dodie has too, and i wish her the best and love her! but i just do think it is healthier for everyone involved if she doesnt post such extensively heavy mental health explanations all the time.


sorry for my brain dump lol. its 2am and im just writing my thoughts. hope this made sense. <3

im so glad your friends finally brought this to your attention. during my last three years of school my brain was shit and i had this little secret instagram profile where only my closest friends followed me. i'd pour my heart out on that profile and would even make requests on my posts like "hey, my self esteem is shit, can anyone compliment me?". it worked out wonderfully cause it wasnt as hard as directly talking to friends, but since only about five people followed me, i didnt have too worry too much. i no longer use that profile, but it has over 900 posts and its amazing to have all my highs and lows from the last three years registered with such honesty.

As someone who doesn't have mental illness, your snaps and your videos really help me understand what some of my friends are going through. They won't be as absolutely honest to me as you are when you talk about your depression or depersonalization. But my education shouldn't come at the risk of you reaching out in an unhealthy way. Whatever you decide, dodie, I'll support you

I think it's okay if you feel like you need to tell us how you feel. I know you go through a lot and sometimes it really helps to just say something about it. mental health is an issue that needs to be recognized! it's important to say that youre not okay so you can find support.i totally understand where you're coming from.

I personally am not bothered by you sharing, because it makes me understand that I'm not alone, and someone as amazing as you even goes through hard times. 💖 it gives me hope, but I also do get worries about you and try my best to post a comment on your YouTube videos letting you know that I understand how you feel. I think it's okay!

I know your intention is not at all to romanticize it, but if others feel like you are I would suggest talking about more positive things you look forward in life after you explain how you feel during those situations. I know it's hard, but that way you will feel better in the midst of that situation and you will find a reason to keep living. Also, the others who get bothered by it will feel better too. Or you can give a warning so others who don't want to see it they can have the option to watch or not!

I feel like people need to understand that you can't always be happy all the time, and sometimes you break and need to talk about it. we don't want you to lie about your situation when you're actually going through a bad time and need help.
but then again some people say they're badly affected by your sharing, so I don't know :((
It could be unhealthy for both you and your audience.
This is a very difficult topic to discuss, just like how 13 reasons why also created a lot of controversy.

It's totally okay if you want to share with us how you feel. Sometimes, it helps others who are going through the same thing realize that they're not alone. and when they see you happy and positive, they start believing they can be happy again too.
I love you dodie, and I'll support you! I just want you to be happy, so whatever is best for you of course :) you're so strong. ✨💖

I'm really glad you made this because I've been avoiding your Snapchat lately for that very reason. It feels like stuff I shouldn't know. It feels a step over the line. I understand it's helped a lot of people and that it could continue to help a lot of people, but it just seems like a step to far. You're not my friend. As much as I'd wish for you to be, you're not. And I'm not yours. Being this open on the internet could lead to people feeling as if they are closer to you then they are. Like they can treat you a certain way because you say so much. I love your content and what you're doing, but there has to be a balance somewhere.

babe i love you so much and i'm happy you made this video because you're taking a look at yourself and your head and really figuring out what's best for your mental state. like i feel as if your videos and snapchats and everything helps me but it might not be helping you. many people say that social media + mental illness = badbadstuff and i've definitely bared the brunt of that when it comes to the internet but thats my own shit lol i just love u and want you to keep trying and keep looking for solutions because you will find one that works for you and maybe take more breaks from social media it might encourage you to talk to your friends more and from this video it sounds like they'd really appreciate that <3

1) I appreciate the amount that you share because I feel trusted with the information you give. and I feel like I have a friend who I can relate to and also understand and be understood by.
So thank you for that.

2) I don't think I'd be able to share so much for the same reasons that you DO share so much. Because I wouldn't want people to think I'm lying or for them to think that I'm building it up to be something that it's not. But I would want to share a lot because I would want people to feel understood and give people someone to relate to so they don't feel alone. And to help people make sense of certain things.

3) {there is more that I want to say so I'll leave this space open for a better time when I have thought some things through}

wow, I don't get how the comment section can be that negative. I understand that MH shouldn't be romanticized, but I feel like dodie is just being honest. Yes they are joking in the video, yes there are aesthetic pictures on her insta with poetic captions, but this is how she deals with it. I paint and draw and write sometimes, to sort out what I am feeling, I am just not such a popular figure. I can relate to what she is saying and it feels real.

I think towards the end that's a very good point about "digging up" your problems to use creatively. I think it requires a kind of self awareness that you're more likely to find in creative people. I think pondering your mental health is inherently a pretty self reflective thing, more likely to affect more self reflective people.

As someone who also suffers from anxiety and depression, I understand where you're coming from when you post your dark descriptions and can relate to/appreciate them. However, I also recognize that it's not healthy for me to do so, and because of that I have to distance myself from your content. I struggle with feelings of life not being worth living/life being boring and lonely, and it's pretty bad. So seeing someone like you also struggling is relatable, but also very disheartening because it makes me further feel like there's no hope if even you can't overcome it. It's really up to you what you want to share, because people like me can decide for themselves whether they want to view your content, but personally it's not good for my own mental health.

So I've been struggling with mental health for a very long time, it first came to light (family noticed) just after I had my son. I got "help" I've been on and off medication for a long time, seen so many different therapists/psychiatrists. Only two years ago I got a diagnosis of bpd, bipolar type two and anxiety. I am still learning to cope with it.

I've always wanted to share my stories and struggles, maybe make videos and posts as I wanted people to understand and see what life is really like. But I don't want to show my weakness and for people to pity me or think I'm attention seeking or even worse that I'm not a fit mother, which then made me think of posting anonymously but then I worry that I'd over share. I will be honest, I watch every snapchat and I can relate. I write down everything I feel or try to and I have joined a group on Facebook and we all share things and it just feels good to get it out some how.

Anyway I ramble on all I wanna say is thank you x

I think you are incredibly brave to be so authentic and open

i love u so much dodie. you are the most incredible human beannn!💓

personally, thank you for opening up, because i feel like im not alone. it creates such an open, real bond with your audience and it allows us to connect to you as a person and your art. when you "overshare" its as if a close friend is confiding in you, so you see those thoughts and feelings in their art and songs and music. its a tricky line to balance, as to not trigger or bring up negative feelings in your audience, but i always listen to your videos and snaps that are personal.

sometimes on social media, people only show their best selves. when im sad, i feel like i am the only one feeling this way, because no one on social media shows when they are sad or unhappy. your posts are refreshing because its humanizing and relatable. its honest, and not a front. you dont pretend to be happy when youre not, and when you are happy, you express it and it feels genuine.

i do think you should turn to your friends or a counselor, but there are people in your audience who are now learning that its okay to feel sad, its normal and okay to feel things, be sensitive, and that mental illness doesn't make you weak.

however, mental health is not romantic. as long as youre respectful and dont glorify it, its okay to share your feelings. its okay for people to share when they are happy, why not when they are not happy?? everyone in life is going to face struggle and hard times and its comforting to see that someone else in your same position surviving.

just some thoughts

I really do admire your honesty. The trouble is when we are so deep in the depression black hole we just don't think. We reach out into the void of social media because we are so desperate for someone to help us. In that moment the awareness of how it appears to other people goes out the window as we are just so desperate for someone to understand. It's not done out of malice we are just not in our right minds. In that situation it's hard to assess whether what we are doing is productive or helpful we just do it.

If you feel like it helps sharing this stuff then you should, if you feel like it makes it a negative place and it doesn't really help then don't share it. If you are going to share your emotions then try to say the negatives(if there are any) and then end with a positive so it doesn't worsen it. You deserve to be able to do what you're comfortable doing. Love u Dodie ♥

There is such a fine line between sharing too much and not sharing enough. I've had times where I kept it to myself and I've felt incredibly alone, but I've also confided in someone that soon became annoyed with me being constantly down

I'm half way through the video and i just wanna say please don't stop posting these type of videos. If talking to the camera and sharing about how you feel is something that makes YOU feel good about then please. don't. stop. i love it when you open up to us, it makes me feel somewhat less alone and it reminds me that i'm not going through this by myself. whatever you do, people are gonna say something about it so don't let them stop you from doing what makes you feel good. Stay strong, Dodie. x

I have to admit I tune out a bit from your long posts - particularly on instagram - I find they're almost like diary entries, and with all the love in the world, that can be tedious, however heart felt. My impression is that social media has really given an unhealthily heavy emphasis on nostalgia, which seems to really overwhelm you. I know you have actual mental health issues, but the nostalgic element is what really stands out. I don't know if this is symptomatic of our new social world, but I feel like it does promote a more wallowy side, and gives an outlet to obsessively look at your past and feel the present is lacking, which I think is really unhelpful. Obviously everyone tends to romanticise their pasts, but I just think trying to imagine the present as the past of your future (if that makes sense) can help you to appreciate the moment a bit more. Like the present is an act of making memories. Obviously you can do whatever you want to do, but I would just say that if it doesn't really help you, then don't bother. You could always just record the videos and not upload them - then maybe go back to them when you're feeling better and THEN make a video about it, using edits from those vids - once you have a bit more perspective. Because that would probably be actually helpful for people going through what you have, as they would be able to see that you can get out of it. Anyway, hope you feel better soon - maybe try having a social media detox (not because I dont enjoy your content, just because it might help you to change things up for yourself a bit) xx

man i loved this video. it's so fulfilling to hear people talk about this thing

I've been waiting for this video for who knows how long. Like pretty much everyone else has said, I am a huge fan of you Dodie! Your videos are great and you are very kind and talented. But I've unfollowed you on all social media. I completely agree with what Hazel and Zanna said about you posting everything while you are in the pits rather than in hindsight. It's dangerous and I feel that it does more harm than good, and even romanticizes depression a whole lot since so many people look up to you-- not because of the way you're talking about it necessarily, but the mere fact that it is you saying these things can me romanticizing, not to mention triggering.

Although it will help many people who are suffering from severe depression like you to see someone they look up to sharing their experiences, it is harmful to those of us who are young and highly impressionable, those of us who are shaped by what we see on TV and on YouTube. It is also hurtful to watch this type of video because we are seeing things only through your eyes, not the objective reality (though that is not to say that your view of things is wrong in any way, but it is only one way of seeing things). It makes it feel like your form of depression and your experience with mental health is the only one out there, like anything other than your experience is somehow insignificant compared to the way that you talk about your mental health (granted you are one of the only narratives out there). So it's invalidating to watch you talk about your personal experience because in the minds of a young person who looks up to you very much, it seems like that it is the only experience (ie the right experience), and that makes it really difficult to understand ourselves. This is a topic that is so specific to each person, and your viewers should not be influenced in the way they think about their mental health in comparison to yours because they're so different! I am not saying that your experience is invalid, I'm saying that some of your viewers see this as the cut and dry way of experiencing depression, which is not true for everyone. But I want you to know that we believe you and that your experiences are 100% valid. But they are, as I said, your experiences, not those of every single person out there who suffers from depression and that's important to note.

All that said, I really truly hope that you find something to help, Dodie. If you truly are going to share less/do it more positively, then I am rooting for you because I think it could be a really big step forward for your healing. Feelings change, sometimes we learn from them, sometimes they're just meant to pass. I'm sure you know that very well. Social media stays though, and its not always accurate to how we feel later. Thank you to Zanna for saying what many of us were thinking, and thank you Dodie for taking our opinions into consideration for the topics discussed in the video.

If what you do is considered "oversharing" then thankyou!!<3:) Plz never stop being so real and honest

I personally find it helpful and fascinating to see what over people think because I also sometimes have the same emotions and instead of lying in in a pit of self pity i can see what you have said about it and I feel realated to and less alone but sometimes it gives me less hope so before posting maybe put a trigger warning or some kind of disclaimer obviously I'm not trying to tell you how you should use your social media but personally I think this is the best way to handle it again, totally up to you! Love videos like this with important and interesting topic!!! Xxx

Personally I think it's wonderful that you are so open on social media and I'm sure that it helps a lot of people to feel less alone in their feeling. But I can also see how this may not be helping you in the long run which I wouldn't want so I hope that if you do continue being so open online that you also reach out a lot to friends and people who you know personally for support. Aside from that I also just wanted to say that your videos make me so happy no matter what the topic is and I hope that whatever you do it turns out well for you. 💕💕💕

On #2 from the description, I actually shied away from watching this video, even though I'm a subscriber and got a notification when you first posted this. I do think that it can be really hard to see someone else's struggle when you're in a low place yourself, and that this can end up pushing people who could use your words of support away from your content. Because now, having watched the video, I feel a bit better about having the strength to reach out to my friends when I was in a bad place. To me, that makes the content valuable, but if it became all I could expect from you, it might make me hesitant to always watch your videos, or follow you on other social media, in fear of the triggering.

I like that you share. I suffer from depression/ anxiety as well. It makes me feel less alone. I talk about my mental illness and I'm not ashamed to say I'm seeing someone and prescribed meds.

My friends always thought I was bright and cheery and I felt such pressure to repress my depression and negative thoughts bc I didn't want to upset them but it felt good to see someone who also had a cutesy "brand" also have a dark side. It's so fucking real to me. On the flip side, I feel like it's also becoming trendy for the younger viewers especially. As a kid, it was trendy for my peers as well.

I want only the best for you, you know that and everybody else here wants the best for you as well. I see what you and Hazel are saying about over sharing too much and maybe triggering people or maybe seeming too needy and not dealing with your problems, but please don't stop talking about your mental health and mental health in general. For some people like me, the only way we find happiness and we know that we're not alone is through YouTube and Twitter and Snapchat and Instagram etc. if that'll stops I will feel so alone and so will a lot of people out there. So please please please I cannot say this enough please just try to find a balance but don't stop talking about it. Talk to your friends more and try what Hazel said and not talk about these things at your very lowest point but please don't stop talking about it. I love you so much and if you stop talking about it and you weren't being your true self online I don't know what I would do.

dodie, I watched your snapchat about how the responses are completely varied and I agree but I just wanted to say, you have helped me so much. I'm 13 and I've had anxiety as long as I can remember but it was only recognised when I was about 10 or 11, you've helped me put things into perspective and understand that it's okay to not be okay sometimes. As for the depression side of things I have watched your Snapchats and I now understand (even though I will never truly understand) what it must be to go through something like that and have even been able to learn from it. Thank you so much for always being here for me. Lots of love xx

(Also quick side note, I personally don't think that you're romanticising anxiety and depression and I think that you're just telling it how it is but if it helps other please don't share too much)

[Brief context: I'm 21, I have depression, anxiety, OCD and PTSD]
I also massively overshare about my mental illnesses - not in the same way because obviously I don't have (or want) an audience in that way - but by talking about it all the time in a way that eventually becomes the 'empty calories' you were talking about. I think that's why I see what you put out there in videos/snapchat/instagram as helpful and validating - because it validates the way I cope? This video has given me a lot to think about too. Much love, keep being grand, keep letting your friends look after you - they care and you deserve their help! <3 (I'm trying to remember this myself, too.)

this was an important conversation to have. i appreciated watching it!

Thank you for sharing. You make me feel less alone. Love and support you always 💚

I think it's easier to talk to a camera because you have complete control. You can say what you want and turn it off when you want. You don't have to hear anything you don't want to hear in that moment back at you. If a friend was there, they'd talk with you and help you do the hard work to get down to why you feel that way, or to go take a walk, or cry with you, or do whatever it takes to help your mood some, and maybe then you'd feel better afterwards ... but that's work. And when you feel like crap, you don't want to work. You just want some sense of relief. I think that's what the camera is. It gives you that ability to feel like you did something without actually doing anything productive for yourself. Your videos do help others, and I don't want to negate that at all, but for you personally your videos may be a way of avoiding dealing with what you're going through. It shifts your focus away from yourself. That can be a good thing, actually, but it can also just be avoidance.

I don't know though. I don't even own a camera. I think Zannah's a good friend to encourage you to reach out to real people in your life instead of a camera, though. I love your videos, and I've benefited so much personally from watching them, but I want you to be well too. Your friends are worth listening to in this regard. If the camera is therapeutic, use it, but if it's a crutch, reach out to your friends instead. Be well, Dodie (and Hazel too)! <3

I text my friend about this last month, just found the texts which read -

"Whenever I see Dodie on social media these days it's always something to do with mental illness. If that helps her then that's great, but I can't help but feel that it adds to this whole glamorization of mental illnesses. Not that she's intentionally glamorizing it, but when it's all that someone of that status is talking about it's hard to differentiate the two. Cause I don't think seeing big social media stars talk about mental illness actually helped me when I didn't have the best mental health at 14/15, if anything it made me want to use those mental health issues to fit in, which is not ok at all"

Obviously conversations about mental health are so so important and it's great to raise awareness, but i think it becomes damaging when someone's mental health is such a huge part of their high status online persona. Sending you love Dodie, it takes a lot of courage to open up this kind of discussion. X

Dodes, I think the points you made in the description are really valid and important. You pretty much summed my concerns up. I love your videos where you discuss everything going on and I do believe it's healthy for you to express all of that, but to a certain extent. It is very helpful for me to remember I'm not alone and people out there feel just as bad as I do some days, but on my good days, it hurts to see you so unwell. I dunno, just hoping you work out what's best for you! Thanks for being here xx

dodie - i love this video. i have no words to tell you why, but i love it, especially hazel's chicken and egg analogy. noone seems to get it but you guys.

You help me SO much. You're literally the only one who understands me as crazy as that sounds but without you online and me knowing I'm not really alone some days seriously keep me going like...YOU ARE SO INSPIRING. Please god keep being real...and doing what feels good and right in your heart. There is no other YouTuber like you at all and I just feel like without you being totally real it's like....what's the point? Yano. Anywayyyy I genuinely thank you from the bottom of my heart for being you. You're amazing.

As a 13 year old anxiety and depression sufferer, I feel like I can relate you and your little Snapchat videos and I personally find it helpful and reassuring to have someone who is so famous and such a role model to me to be so open about their true feelings. I know exactly how you are feeling and tbh I'm always up when you post the 3am snapchats!! You could make a series dedicated to mental health related stuff because soooooo many other young people are going through this and I feel like this taboo needs to be talked about? Thank you so much for raising this topic and I hope you don't think that this means you can't ever talk about your feelings on social media because you can and there will always be someone there to listen!! Xxxxxx lots of love charlotte

i believe there's a certain responsibility when it comes to talking about mental health. Especially when your audience is younger, which yours is. i am 22, and i know how impressionable younger people are, being an impressionable young person myself. I remember watching your videos, and then having a small panic attack thinking maybe i had depersonalization, which I dont think I do, but when you describe it so vividly, some people might look for the signs and make it fit themselves. that's not to say, I dont think you should feel responsible for how your audience reacts, because that is ridiculous, but I think you should feel responsible for how you present it. i think this kind of new era where oversharing is pretty common is still being navigated. i don't want you to think i blame you for anything, because you are just experiencing what you are feeling and you want people to know that if they're feeling the same way, they're not alone. I think you are a brilliant creator and i love seeing how you take your feelings and make art with them. just my opinion on oversharing mental health issues

I think that we have the idea that bottling everything up ends up badly a lot of the time but I think spilling it all out can end badly as well. You need to find a balance between both.

Statement:
What I like about, and what draws me to you is your honesty, and your integrity (not to mention your BLOODY TALENT.) I believe that even having such ethical questions in mind as these, is what separates you out from other creators on the platform, and keeps me coming back to your channel. Thank you for what you do. I, at least, consider watching you to be a valuable part of my day.

But:
I don't always agree with, or particularly even like some of the things that you choose to discuss, and sometimes skip your Snapchats because they tend to make me uneasy. I often feel as though I am invading your privacy, as though what you are saying was not meant for my eyes, even though you're speaking publicly.

That said:
What I watch is my choice, and what you say, and how you choose to say it is yours. I enjoy the majority of content that you make more than anything else on YouTube so you better believe I'll keep coming back to your channel time and time again. I skip your Snapchats, that doesn't mean I won't have Party Tattoos on repeat from now until forever. I don't have the right answer, and no one does. My advice (if I have any place at all to give any) is that whatever you do it's going to upset someone, just try not to make that someone you.

I think that you can do whatever you want, you're a wonderful person with some horrible monsters fighting with your happiness, and that's ok, because life and live depends of that, having rushes and fails and if you feel better sharing your feelings with us, go ahead, because I'll always be here. Ily, Doddle💕 Have a nice day.

Oh god that description from Hazel, that's just how I feel all the time. Bless her for putting it into such perfect words

Wow I thought it was just me. I had to stop watching your Snapchat story for a while because of how it was making me feel, and it honestly did make me feel better. Gotta be honest - I have started watching it again and I do think it plays a role in my mood, so I may have to stop watching it again. Idk, I do get that it might help some people, but at times, it can definitely be a bit too much. I think this video is great as it shows how self-aware you are of these things - it is important to take a step back sometimes :)

I've honestly never related to a video more. I've always struggled. When I would reach out I would apologize profusely for bothering them.

I like hearing dodie laugh, just keep smiling gurll

From what you tell us, I relate to you quite a bit, and like to add that I always wonder we people with mental illness and disorders sometimes because obsessed with it, they're own mind. Probably because it corrupts our thought process and that's all we ever focus on, at least that's probably the reason for why I seem to do that. I can't really go through a long conversation without bringing up my own depression/ocd/anxiety or at least make a sarcastic, dark-humoured comment on it. I feel like a burden myself just even mentioning I have a disorder. It really sucks.

Watched 1 second of the video

What a beautiful bean





(Edit: Watched the full video! She's a beautiful AND caring bean)

(But obviously we already know that)

I like this video a lot because I tend to share my feeling on the Instagram stories a lot and I rarely think about how it could affect others. So this kind of opened my eyes. Thank you

I think it's absolutely lovely that you talk about mental health. There are day's for me where I wish I could just simply talk to a friend about all the things i'm going through. I've noticed recently that I spend my whole day dwelling on who I am and who I want to be; all while trying to create and be the writer that I want to be. I wish I could find more people like you that are open to being able to say i'm having mental issue day and here is how I feel about it . I struggle to even admitting I need help and i'm so grateful that Ifound your channel a few years back because i'm finally starting to talk to my friends about my feelings. Doddie ,I really do appreciate all that you do ,what you represent , and I deeply appreciate the fact that you want to let other people know that they are not alone. I cant express how thankful I am continue to get better and please know that your friends are there for you and they will support you.

This feed of ideas and comments on mental health, art, and social media in the world is amazing. Whatever your conclusion about this video, it's raised some hugely interesting issues for debate which I'm finding really cool to flick through.

(i’m late) but i feel like you have every right to share your feelings. but i feel like you do have somewhat of a young audience that can feed off of the energy and things you produce. it’s like a placebo effect, your audience starts to feel like you do, almost like living vicariously through your mental state. i understand how hard it is but you have t o n s of people around you who care about you and are there for you. i recommend venting to those people, instead of the entirety of the internet. i don’t mean stop making videos about your mental state completely, but little tips and an update on your mental state would be great! love you dodie 💛

This is really interesting. I never really share my mental health struggles on public internet because of the shame I know I'll feel and shit like that. Occasionally I'll put a photo up on snapchat saying that I've had a bad day but all the wrong people would reply to it so I stopped. I used to reach out to a friend but after that got shitty and toxic I stopped that too. Now I only reach out in my lowest moments but even then don't share the extent to what I feel. I don't have counselling or help from my parents so it's very lonely. I'm kinda at a point in my life that I feel if I don't get help soon this might not end well, end being the key word but I have unsupportive parents and am terrified of being as much of a burden on my friends as my old friend who I used to talk to was to me. It's tricky to know what to share. It's tricky because a lot of the time for me it's very graphic. I don't want to make my other mentally ill friends (and that's all of my friends) worse in any way but if I don't talk I often drag myself down to a really shitty and suicidal point. Idk. Easier for me. I'm a needle in a haystack.

Ok so here are the many thoughts I thought when watching your vid. 1)I 100% agree that there should be an outlet where you can get whatever you're feeling out (which is VERY IMPORTANT). Whether it be through social media or not there will be some weight lifted off your shoulders, even if it's just a little and barely noticeable. How you get it out is optional. If you now feel a bit hesitant on how much you say on Snapchat in fear of the people's response then do not think that you can't get whatever you are thinking out at all. Write it down physically on paper which is what I do and I sometimes feel so much better. If you find yourself going to Snapchat and start recording yourself then at least save them and don't post them. Like Hazel said, especially on those extremely low nights. 2)I think there is a way to open you're Snapchat to people who added you but you didn't add back to get feedback from them and you could always close them after 3)I have the opposite problem where I suppress my feelings and only get my thoughts out on paper. I don't really have anyone that fully understands what I'm feeling or that can help me feel better, but you do ❤️4) people just assume I'm better because I put on this facade of me being better and happy so I feel people won't believe me when I say "I'm not right in the brain, especially today". That's all, probably. I hope this helps you or anyone else who reads this 😚

this video has made me realise why i've been feeling mentally bad recently because i've been watching you pour your troubles on your snapchat story which has led me to question my mental stability which prior to the last few months has been okay and i've never had problems. i think it's a good thing you share what's going on in your life to show others the normality of mental health problems and that they're not alone but it is affecting other people because your indepth talking has caused their problem to maybe resurface. the past few months i've been more emotional and crying and unsure about myself and i don't think your snapchats are the direct cause but i don't think they're helping me.

Paper. Burning paper.
I get exactly what you say, I overshare on social media and I regret it and I regret it and I regret it
So I write it on paper and burn the paper
And watch the smoke
It drifts up and up and with it I let go

Dodie genuinely makes me feel so much better about myself

I'm not going to comment on behavior/oversharing, but I will say that this video was such a good and real discussion about pitfalls and struggling and reaching out to others and it was so comforting and helpful. It's really nice to see friends talking about this and helping each other because it encourages others to have the same discussions with their loved ones.

I have an anxiety disorder and have dealt with depression for many years, and I have always been a musician and a creative person and for so long I put off getting help because I had this romanticized view that my mental struggles was what made me a good artist and fueled my creativity, and as my mental health deteriorated it got to a really really dangerous place. This concept of tying creativity and artistic expression to being mentally ill is a slippery slope to go down, and it can be really harmful. A healthier way to look at it is to see creativity and artistic outlets as a coping mechanism that’s separate from your mental health, not as something that depends on your illness.

At the end of the day if you find its helping you and some of your audience I don't really see the harm in it. Personally I don't mind you sharing about mental health until it gets to a point where it's so descriptive and vivid that it's triggering. I also just worry that now you are a bigger youtuber that it's not healthy for a large amount of people to know so much about you and it could be dangerous for you in the long run. Love you Dodie, just a few thoughts X

Yeah, I've been starting to share some of my writing. And some of it is emotionally deep stuff. And it's hard, one you start to open up, to shut the door. But I have a folder for stuff I think is too much or something I can't handle sharing, or something that I couldn't handle a negative/dismissive opinion on so I see that stuff but no one else does. And the very open stuff I also screen it through a close friend and say "is this okay to share?"

I think the main point many people are trying to get across is, that while it is good to break down the stigma of mental health, a large portion of your audience is composed of young, impressionable viewers. Viewers who can be swayed to think of mental health in a certain light. Or viewers who have been diagnosed with depression, but experience it in a different way than you do, therefore not feeling truly "valid" in their feelings. It's a hard concept to flesh out. Personally, I'm a bit more reserved with my mental health, so it's hard for me to understand when people turn to social media, as I'm afraid of people having preconceived notions about me. All in all, Dodie, you're such a lovely and kind hearted person and I love what you're doing. Just remember that your influence reaches a large audience of variety. :)

Dodie I love you a lot and it's heartbreaking to see someone you look up to be so sad all the time yknow? I know you do seek out some mental help but this is probably something hat should be a big priority? I do know that it's really hard to get up and out to take those steps to get better though... but I believe you can do it!

I have very mixed feelings about this after watching and reading the comments. One the one hand I can understand how people can look at posts about mental health and believe it to be romanticising mental illnesses but on the other hand it might not necessarily be their intention and they just need an outlet.
As someone who has gone to therapy and been diagnosed with depression, I think it is a good idea to talk to someone and go get help (even though I know sometimes it's not an option or it's hard for a lot of people), I find it quite difficult to talk to people face to face but I am glad that I went to these sessions. Even if you just want to message a friend about how you're feeling and say 'hey, I've been feeling pretty terrible lately' but I also understand that it is a lot easier to talk to yourself or a camera and have people approach you.
As a musical person, from watching dodie's videos and snaps, they have really helped me see that I'm not alone and I could potentially use my sad thoughts to make something good with them. Also I just think mental health is really interesting and how the brain works is fascinating (I am not saying I love mental illness or encourage it, in fact I absolutely hate it).
I agree with the idea of filming a video or writing things down but then waiting a bit and seeing if you still want to click upload. So I think that this kind of content is potentially harmful but I don't want dodie to have to censor herself especially if it could help someone. <3 <3

I did my GCSE speech about Dodie and I got a distinction which I was told was because of my passion towards the subject of her and all she's done. I mentioned her videos on this channel about mental health (and sexuality) and how they are so incredibly helpful by removing stigma/being a place I can come back to. I don't really know what I'm saying, but please don't stop posting about these subjects!!

I'm so glad you posted this video because I've privately been concerned about you over sharing for quite a while now. It's definitely great to reach out to others and share your experiences because not only is this beneficial to your audience and wider society, it's also been an outlet for you to lift a weight from your chest. I think you definitely do need to set yourself some boundaries, however because your friend was spot on when they described reaching out to a vast sea of strangers in brief moments as being like empty calories. I think so much of your brand revolves around your mental health, which is good in many ways but I have felt at times that you do romanticise your mental health. Young people nowadays are acutely aware of mental illnesses but I think that a problem that is being caused by the overload of information and personal experiences that we have now, young people are misinterpreting normal levels of anxiety, stress, loneliness, feeling out of place, low states of mind, etc as being clinical anxiety, depression, OCD, etc. I know so many people who say they have this and that, but they are under 25 and haven't even made an appointment to speak to a doctor or a councillor. There's also a really worrying trend, especially on sites like Tumblr, where people think having some sort of mental illness fits in with a particular aesthetic, and they are deluding themselves by exaggerating their personal struggles. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing how open more people are about mental health in 2017. You speak so eloquently about your own experiences, Dodie, and you articulate your answers beautifully (your Instagram posts in particular are great). Like I said, I just think you and many other vloggers need to set boundaries for yourselves. It's always best to chat to a friend first before impulsively pouring your heart out online where you can end up dramatising your struggles and effectively make your situation worse than it already is. Keep talking about mental health, keep sharing, just make sure you know how much you want to share and give a thought to how other people could be impacted by your words. (Before anyone starts, I'm not 'hating' or anything here, I'm just giving my honest opinion). Love you, Dodie. x

we all believe in you . we love you dodie <333

I feel like my mood did get worse from watching this video, but not cause of what they were saying. It was because I realized everything I was suppressing.. love you Dodie thanks for just existing tbh ❤️

Don't usually comment online, but thought I'd just add my two cents to the discussion.
First off, I'd like to say that I'm very impressed with this community and how respectful many of them are. I've seen lots of people online tear each other apart over differing opinions, but from what I've read so far, everyone's offered solid points and counterpoints whilst maintaining a sense of decency. But anyways:
1. I think an important question is if, as a creator, one has an implicit responsibility to their audience. So much of what you say is available to and influences a large population of people, so should that audience cause you to filter what you post/share? Its a question I don't think has an absolutely "correct" answer, but should be considered nonetheless.
2. The "branding" of the channel as connected to mental health issues. Would "trigger warnings"and knowledge of the type of material you post be sufficient reason to post without any filters? (Just as an example, I have an allergic reaction to peanuts, but I can't really get mad at a company for one of their food products giving me allergies if said peanuts are listed as an ingredient in the food labeling. If anything, I'd be mad at myself for not paying attention to the warning. If, however, a product contained peanuts but they were not listed in the ingredients label, that would be sufficient cause to file a complaint against a company.)
3. Definitely attempt to share with friends/family about what you're going through more. I know the feeling of not wanting to burden someone with your own troubles, but honestly, it probably also hurts them to see you so down. Its a fine line between being upfront about what's happening in your life and being unduly open, but knowing the difference can be critical for healthy relationships.
4. PHYSICAL HEALTH.The brain and everything you mentally feel is oftentimes directly connected to how physically healthy you are (diet, sleep, etc.), and while feeling good physically definitely won't solve all your problems, I find that it often goes a long way in making progress towards a healthier mind a lot easier.
And if Dodie ever reads this, I'd just like to thank you for making an effort (and succeeding, to a large extent) to be a positive force of good in this world. You've made a massive amount of people (those who suffer from mental health and otherwise) feel like they're not alone, both through the work you post and through this community that you've created. Cheers to a better tomorrow.

I kinda love how she shares how she feels. Because I have no one to talk to. Even when I'm at my lowest it helps me. And I know for some people it's not helpful but for me it is. Idk.

It's all a process :) find out what's best for you. It's nice to hear the things in my head out loud and remember I'm not alone and that those thoughts are not me, it's the crazy

This video came at an oddly specific time for me. I've been in a serious committed monogamous relationship for two years and I am the "clingy" girlfriend. I am not controlling or manipulative but I am clingy in the sense that because my boyfriend has hobbies, friends and an enjoyable life I felt that I didn't need to, that I could bicuriously live through him. I have bipolar disorder so I often feel alienated and alone no matter how often I talk to people about it so I stop living life all together sometimes. Spending days at home doing absolutely nothing when there is people I could call to go hang out with, even when my boyfriend is busy. In my head I convinced myself that people only like me for him but that's not true at all. There is definitely a line of I wouldn't say oversharing, for me personally, but a level of suffocating for the people around me. It's good for me to get my feelings out there but it's not healthy when it's a constant. I had a fight with a friend over this. I was going through a very sad period of two years where I could no longer continue pointless educations courses but no one would hire me for work. I felt alone knowing I had nothing to talk about but my internal sadness and nowhere to go. It got to the point where it was all I could talk about. I'm now self aware that though I love my boyfriend, I can't sit at home when he is busy waiting for him to get back. I think we are the same in the sense we talk too much about our mental health because we feel so alienated compared to others, completely forgetting that everyone has a level of problems we don't fully understand. I don't think you should stop talking about it completely but I definitely think you need to tone it down. When we're sad we often disregard other's feelings because we're so sad ourselves. Next time you want to tweet about it, think, "is this benefitting anyone or am I selfishly blurting out my feelings so I can get empty validation from others?" I love your content, Dodie, and I'm glad you've come to this conclusion in this video :)

I've really thought hard about this and I think the part I find problematic is that the audience knows you have an audience. Yes it's important to bring mental health issues to light because so many people suffer silently or behind closed doors. But those that don't still might not have anyone that reaches out. Even if someone doesn't want to be silent there may be no one around to witness the pain, or no one that reaches out. Odds are that you get a high supportive messages because you have a large audience. But everyone in audience knows that they won't get that same level of support because that network just isn't there.

I really what to thank you for opening my mind and helping me understand mental illness better. I have been in low places before but your snaps were making me question how I feel. So I did have to stop watching and really quickly click through your snaps. I do thank you for your response you just posted.

we never want you to feel as if you're going through this alone dodie, but if you'd be uncomfortable watching it and if you're uncomfortable sharing it then i think leave it. whatever you feel is right we'll be here !

I agree that it seems like a cry for help without actually dealing with the problem but I love your honest blogs about your mental state and I hope you don't stop making them!

Thank you so much for sharing. I'm a beginner YouTuber (I currently have four videos) and I really want to talk about my mental health as a way to, like you said, raise awareness and fight the stigma and as another way to express what's going on?? Anyways, I just wanted to say that your video was really helpful for me and I'll be keeping it in mind when filming my own mental health journey-thing.

Thank you sooooo much for making this video! ❤️

dodie, I watched your snapchat about how the responses are completely varied and I agree but I just wanted to say, you have helped me so much. I'm 13 and I've had anxiety as long as I can remember but it was only recognised when I was about 10 or 11, you've helped me put things into perspective and understand that it's okay to not be okay sometimes. As for the depression side of things I have watched your Snapchats and I now understand (even though I will never truly understand) what it must be to go through something like that and have even been able to learn from it. Thank you so much for always being here for me. Lots of love xx

(Also quick side note, I personally don't think that you're romanticising anxiety and depression and I think that you're just telling it how it is but if it helps other please don't share too much)

Your recent snap chat stories have calmed me down so much and what you talk about kind of makes me feel like I know what's going on. You've helped me through almost literally everything and I've learned so much from you. I understand for most people why it makes them feel uncomfortable and feel worried but I personally really appreciate it. I've had most of my friends feel depressed like this and they've asked for help but I've never really understood, now I know how they see it from their point of view and I really appreciate it cause now I feel like I could help them and I wanna let you know you're so important to me and you have a supportive audience that will understand how you've feeling but yes, sometimes there is a line of how much you should say because some people in your audience could have maybe just got out of a bad state and now are reminded of it but also it is a really big help to them too. We all love and respect you so much and only wish for you to be content feel ok (this probably sounds all messed up but I just wanted to make it clear that we support Dodie) :)

im watching this video for the second time now and ive thought bout it a lot. honestly, it doesn't bother or affect me at all? on the contrary, i think the videos where u open op about specific details are really comforting for me. idk, just wanted to share because most of the comments state a different opinion

I think dodie should share as much as she feels comfortable. For me it really helps and I really appreciate those videos and snap chats.

I adore this video. I feel like this video was very much needed not only for you, Dodie, but for me and others in your audience. I really needed to hear everything that you guys talked about. The putting it on social media as a cry for help is something I absolutely connect with. When I'm low I want to talk to someone about it and I want someone to come and comfort me but I'm just so scared to directly go to someone and ask if I can talk in fear of being bothersome. On another topic, I don't want to say that I'm jealous (??) that you have someone like Hazel living with you who also struggles with mental illness because that just sounds so wrong, but I sort of am. I wish I had a person with me so that we could be in this pisshole together and that we can help each other when we're in this pit. I feel like I sound like an awful person saying that but it's true. This comment is a mess (as my comments on your videos usually are) but I just felt the need to say this. Videos like this are so so so important to me. Thank you. x

i've had to take a break from watching dodie's videos and i've even unfollowed her on social media because the amount of times she talks about her bad mental health online is, at least to me, overwhelming. i understand that talking to people is a way of feeling better but i feel like she'd do much better for herself if she talked to a friend or a professional, not a bunch of teenagers online who are for the most part very uneducated regarding mental health and are easily impacted by the topic. with dodie's audience being so young the whole idea about depression and anxiety is so easily engrained into their heads. i was going to go to her "you" tour in london in october but i decided not to for a number of reasons, one of which was because i don't want to be constantly talked to about how she wrote this song because she was depress and this song because she was depressed and this song and this song etc. personally i don't think i'll be watching dodie again for a while until stops constantly rambling about how horrible her life is and starts seeking help from the people she needs it from.

I think Hazel really has a good point about making videos on the topic when you feel better.
Zannah also has a point, about how no matter how much we love and support you, we can't give you what your friends can, because we only see a fraction of a fraction of your life. Yes, you do indeed have a younger audience and they can be easily influenced by certain kinds of talk. I feel like oversharing details about your mental health has become an issue because it is easier to talk to a camera (based on what you say in the video) Sharing with your audience about how bad its been is easier to do than calling up a friend and talking about it. Mental health is a issue of HEALTH, reach out to your friends, maybe start a journal or an audio journal? record what you feel either when you feel it or can talk about it. You are kind of already using the videos where you have a mental health chats as a sort of video journal. I hope you find an way to comfortably vent but still get the love and support you need.

I've been watching your videos for more then 5 years now and a couple of years ago I told my sister to watch your videos because she loves music and I knew she'd like your music, also I thought you would be a good role model because of your confidence with sharing your music. Lately though, and it pains me to say it, I have been so concerned and worried that she will see your posts and they will alter her thoughts, or think its okay to feel the way you write about and you feel and it worries me because I'm scared she'll think that posting her feelings on line will be enough and she won't come to me, so yeah as a lot of people have said, I avoid your instagrams and snapchat and videos lately, and I'm sorry and I really hope you feel good more often, and i'm really sorry if this made you more sad, i swear I didn't mean to come off like that!

this seems like a really honest and healthy discussion. hope you both are feeling a little brighter soon.

I don't think you're oversharing, you talking about your mental health really helps me. It makes me realise I'm not alone and that it's okay to feel like shit sometimes. Thank you

I totally get the hesitation to watch/ read some of your content when I suspect it's gonna get very deep into mental health issues where I know it's gonna get explicit, but that is a personal choice and I understand it may help people. But, I do take real issue with how you both contextualise creativity with mental health, not only does it glamourise poor mental health in how it may dissuade people from seeking help for fear that they'll lose their creativity, it could also really isolate people who don't feel creatively driven when they're feeling low and can't reframe their ill health in a way that finds a positive like you can, thus causing them to feel worse about it. I really respect your speaking out about mental health and the action you've taken to try to destigmatize it, and given how much you care about the issue I hope this is something you'll take into consideration when discussing it again.

I really appreciate this video. Makes you think about things and that. So yeah. Thanks for this :)

this is actually so SO important to talk about though!! i love reading your instagrams and i don't watch your snaps but i think it's important to talk about mental health. however you should never sacrifice that mental health in order to be relatable for your audience! there's always a happy medium to find and i think even more recently you've been doing a lot better with finding that medium. hazel is right however - people that you actually know are going to give you far more validation than people on the internet who are often there only for their own validation purposes. i am proud of you for finding what you're comfortable with sharing and i'm ever so glad you are honest, but please don't think that i won't still b proud of you if you don't share as much. we're here to support you. please go get some real calories now :)

there's already so much happening here and i want to preface this by saying that i adore you dodie and i only want whats best. i think thats it impossible to discuss mental health on social media without romanticizing it slightly, because in a way your life seems like such a dream and to impressionable people, it might seem like to have the dream you need to fall into a bad state. however, your outlet is important. there's something so validating about watching number of views climb, and i understand how that can just feel like "x amount of people have listened to me. x amount of people are going through it with me" and sometimes i like to join in and watch but i also have a barrier where i can tell that i'm not in a stable enough place to watch. i worry that some people might not have that. maybe a strategy could be to film your whole rant on sc, but save them instead of posting them. then, when you're done, watch it back and see if its something you still want to share. see if there were things you said that you didnt mean, or things that even after 10 min you realize arent what you want to put into the world. (and hey, showing your rants to doctors could help them understand what you were feeling without having to actually explain it in an office, because i find that so difficult to do and end up leaving having convinced everyone nothings wrong) i love u so much and i wish u the best in everything.

It is a really complicated situation... i can understand how for you, it can make you feel better in Ye moment, because you're getting it all out there, people are listening to you and you can see that.

I love you SO much Doddie, and even though you don't know who I am, I feel like you're one of my closest friends... so when I say this I mean this with love in my heart. Putting things out there for the attention (which I love and I'm sure you do too) isn't good for the mental health things. There are much healthier ways to get through the bad times.
When you put it out there on Snapchat like that, it not only allows you to wallow in it, but it also allows others to jump in and wallow with you. And it all just turns out to be a big "poor me" festival.

Again Doddie, I mean this out of pure love and intention of helping you feel better ultimately, not just in the moment.

I have horrible anxiety, but I find the more I talk about myself, and excuse myself it gets much worse. I'm not saying shove it down pretend not to notice it. When I'm feeling an attack coming on, I sit down and I ask myself "am I okay?" "Am I I'm danger?" "I'm not in harms way, I am okay, I can do this. This feels horrible but I want to get better and this is how. So thank you brain for telling me there's a problem, but I'm okay"
See the thing with most mental illnesses, is, doing what it tells you to do makes it worse. Telling it to shut up, and bottling it up makes it worse. Doing the opposite of what it tells you is going to help. And if it's telling you to upload that snapvid then you probably shouldn't. If it's telling you to not call your friends and not bother them, then you probably should.

I love you Doddie and I love how you talk about your mental illness. But sometimes you have to keep things personal for your own sake.
I love you doddleloddle and I wish you the best🖤🖤🖤

Hi so I'm watching this so many years later and keep coming back to this video because of how REAL it it, little did I know that I've actually based my undergraduate Psychology dissertation on the whole chicken-egg-creativity-mental illness discussion. Scientifically, yes, creativity and mental illness are linked, because they are two branches of the same tree - a deviation from the norm. Be it a deviation from a 'normal' way of thinking (mental illness), or a deviation from the norm to be 'original' (creativity), they are two concepts that, although are entirely different, their ideals are so similar. So yes, it may be narrow minded to say that all creative minds are broken, and likewise that all broken minds are creative, but that is not what this video is saying in ANY way. It's asking questions about whether being creatively original comes from a place that balances on the edge of sanity and insanity, or whether having a poor psychological state opens the creative realm as an outlet and form of therapy. Either way, its fascinating and is a topic that shouldn't be branded as romanticising mental illness as a means to be creative, but rather one that should be embraced and discussed and used, whilst respecting and caring for those who delve too deep and are struggling.

dodie I really do love you, I adore you, you're an inspiration to me.

all those things is true, but, yes, I think you're oversharing. I'm not saying that talking about mental illness / feelings is bad, it's good! to help people who is fighting the same thing. buut still there's a line.

I, too sometimes posted too many sad things on my social media, I just realized that was stupid, because the case for me is I'm way too overreacting, and people doesn't even care about me, so for me it's complete useless.

but you on the other hand, you got a wide, large group of young audience. like me (im 17). so not all of your audience is smart enough.

my friend once told me the same thing u said. " life's not worth living " blablabla, and i'm very angry to her. idk i do try to understand, but can you just be grateful? god gave you life, and you want to end it? just because your life is hard? everyone have problems, some are even harder than yours. everyone's life is hard, NOT JUST YOU. yOU are not alone.

I definitely appreciate how open you are but it definitely makes me worry sometimes. I'm the worst for reaching out to others as well but I think it does make us all upset to see you this way. Obviously it's all a part of life and I don't think it's something you can hide because it's just such a bit part of human existence and how you create the things you do but I think it can make a lot of viewers upset because we all care about you so so much and it hurts because we can't help you in the way that would be the best long term. I think there are always positives and negatives to these situations and social media and mental health together can be a tricky balance especially when you have an audience

since the comment section is extremely negative, i thought i'd add my comment: dodie, you turned my life around for the better. you helped me during my hospitalization to speak more openly and honestly about my mental illness. if people don't like your oversharing, can you make a new channel specifically for that? because i honestly find it very helpful to my own recovery to see someone be so open with their struggle. thank you so much, love you endlessly. xx

Here's my thoughts on it:

As someone who struggles with what I think may be depression and self harm, I like it when people who understand talk about it because it makes me feel not as lonely. I love to relate and to listen to the advise people give when they talk about it. I think it's great that you have an outlet. For you it may be social media but for me it's talking to a friend of mine, which I know has saved me from cutting a number of times. However, I belive there has to be a regulation, a line that indicated when it's too much. Maybe after filming a video you can wait and when you're in a better place/mood you can refelct about it. Is it gonna make me feel any better if I post this? Will it be good long term too? Do my audience want to see this? How does it affect them? After that I believe you'll be able to identify whether it is worth posting or not

I've 100% missed the mark of when she reads comments however, dodie if you see this: go to the notes app in your phone and write down all of your thoughts and things that you might normally share online.when you have a bit of perspective on those thoughts and emotions, share them. i think putting some distance between initial thought and sharing it to the world could really help you and us, your audience, so we all learn from it instead of getting raw emotions that could be triggering for those with mental help problems

This is an interesting discussion and I think my opinion and experience differs a bit from the majority (according to a lot of comments I've read)

I struggle with anxiety, it's not too severe but I have seen a gp and I am going to therapy. When I'm on snapchat, most of the time the ONLY story I look at is dodie's because everyone else's is full of the fun things that they're doing and it makes me feel shit. I personally find comfort in reading about mental illness, and watching/hearing other people talk about their own experiences.

I think updates like the treatments and appointments are good because they have educated me about mental illness a bit, and show viewers that there IS help. Maybe where it gets difficult is where some of the treatments don't work for dodie, and it leaves viewers feeling hopeless.

I personally don't think dodie's romanticising her mental illness but at the same time I don't have dpd or depression, so maybe I can only see it from the outside. I can understand how younger impressionable viewers can get a distorted view of mental illness because of dodie's content, but by no means should that lead to dodie stopping what she does. I find it so incredibly helpful to watch and read what dodie posts. Perhaps I'm just able to filter what is useful and what is not?

Maybe filtering out some of the content would help? And tredding more carefully...Writing a diary rather than snap chatting in the darkest moments? Reserving instagram captions for quick updates rather than longer more detailed entires, and putting warnings and disclaimers where possible to remind viewers that it is YOUR experience and if anyone is worried that they may be feeling the same they should try to seek help rather than self diagnosing?

I hope this is a useful addition to the discussion lol. I enjoy dodie's content, but perhaps that is because I don't have the mental illnesses she has, and maybe my anxiety leads to me preferring slightly more relatable content than very very filtered and 'rose tinted' posts from friends...

Just wondering Dodie, do you ever have dreams? I keep hearing from people under the most stress that they don't ever have any dreams. I'd ask my friend for instance how she slept and she would say fine like a rock, then I would ask "any dreams?" and she would always say no. I don't think that's always the case. It just seems like we don't focus enough on them. Maybe because we're afraid of what they show us. But I don't think they're anything to fear. Everyone keeps saying follow your dreams and what I try to focus on is how to follow them. It's hard because this isn't a science that's really widely explored anywhere because the results are highly subjective. But that's the beauty of it.
One of the things I love about this is how empowered I feel when I'm in a world of my own thoughts. In waking life I'm actually really timid but all the time my dreams are teaching me to have confidence in myself. It's possible that your subconscious may know something your waking mind doesn't. If you can learn what it's trying to tell you, maybe you'll feel a lot better. Best piece of advice if you're in a dreaming state, look around. You're essentially exploring a new place. Take in as much as you can. Everything you'll see is part of a lesson. You can then figure out what that is when you're awake. You'll start feeling so much better. It doesn't matter if it feels like you're in the dream for what feels like 3 days or 3 seconds. Every little thing you might see helps. It will take time but you'll be feeling better before you know it. :)

I always assumed that you did your snaps/instagram novels because they had a therapeutic effect on you.The way I saw it, I thought that just the fact of putting what you felt in words helped you through it, and that was why you did it. I have the incredible luck of never having had a serious mental ilness, so these are just things I'd assumed about how you are living through it.

I think perhaps it depends on who's watching and what kind of stage they are in. I've definitely been influenced by things that romanticised mental illness, like Tumblr, and I do think that it tanked me in a way I might not have if I hadn't fallen into that world as much, however I've never been good at expressing myself or my negative emotions and when I started watching Dodie I was in the worst place I've been in my life to date, I wasnr diagnosed because I didn't get help but I was in really really rough shape and hearing Dodie talk about her brain and depersonalization helped because someone was being open about it and it made me feel like there were answers even if hers wasn't the same as mine. I did self diagnose a little with that but the way she talked about depersonalization, like always being in a dream and not being able to really touch or feel anything was how I felt and hearing her talk about how she couldn't breathe past that either helped me talk to other people because I could share her videos and kind of talk about it through a third party. And now I've gotten a lot better through therapy and such and I still watch her videos and I don't relate in the same way becausw I'm not in the same headspace but I still really love watching someone express themself kind of fearlessly. But I could see that if maybe Dodie had of been the person I watch at 15 or 16 instead of 20 that perhaps I would be telling a different story, not to implicate any kind of blame, there is just a different kind of impressionability when we're that young and don't know what's going on.

i honestly love how the comments are genuine and not "FIRST" or "LIKE THIS COMMENT BLAH" and actually like are about the video and real. thank you guys

My personal advice dodie, and I know this has helped me tremendously. Just face real life, the online community can only do so much. Be in contact, real contact with your friends and just try not to care. Just do what you aspire to do and that's all that matters. Pouring out your feelings on the internet will only get you so far. It will just keep you in a cycle and in a bubble of ' I can't talk to my friends so I will talk to a camera and then my video will be shared with random people who care about me' that's not truly intimate. Keep close to your real friends in real life. They will stick by you. Let them in and they'll let you in too

I saw your snapchat today, and I saw that you watched to the bone, I watched it yesterday and honestly it's the best thing I watched. Its so sad yet so funny yet so emotional. 💖

for some the sharing may be a lot, but as i sit here now with a wrenching feeling in my chest all i can think about is how lovely you are and some of the things you have said via your social media mental illness rants/chats. even in this video, for example, when talking about how people are too afraid to be a burden to reach out and how much easier it is to go to s.m. to talk about how you're feeling i can so relate. i realize that those thoughts i have should not be keeping me from opening up to someone i trust and love. so i think a happy medium is where it should be, as hazel said. it's so nice and reassuring to know that i'm not the only one who feels this way, but at the same time it must be so concerning to your friends.

idk what i'm saying anymore but dodie i love you thank you for everything you do i mean it. we love you so much you precious gem you.

It's a really interesting read going through these comments and I must admit it's got me thinking a lot about the topic at hand.

I feel that the videos/snapchats which are posted are very much raw and real and people need to understand that others with mental health will (usually) have more lows days then the average person and surely bringing this to light is surely a good thing?

I encourage my students to always keep open communication and reach out, if that means doing so in a youtube/snapchat/facebook way then I would like to encourage that, not dismiss it as too raw. There will be people that do get triggered by this and they can choose to not watch/follow but for many its a REAL eye opener as to what mental health is actually like.

However we SHOULD also be aware that as individuals we all deal with mental health differently and there will be many which don't wish to use social media for this, that is also completely fine and all I would hope for is that they are constantly seeking some form of support whether that be from a friend, family member or professional service (counselling).

Anyways thanks to you all for the comments, I've really enjoyed reading through people's thoughts/observations/experiences and I look forward to seeing how Dodie and other Youtubers work with this. Social media is never going to go away but we run the risk of people diagnosing themselves and using this to advertise it.

Simple outcome?......not likely.

Here's my opinion: While putting out raw and sometimes harsh descriptions of your mental health, you could potentially be scaring the younger portion of your audience. But personally, I really do appreciate it because I can see that I am not alone. Hell, i haven't gotten out of bed in a month because I just can't bring myself to see the point, but oddly I'll smile reading your posts about mental health because they make me realize even in a dark time that I'm not the only one dealing with something like this. So, while it may be a tad controversial, there are still people that appreciate them. While they're not all that great to post on a regular basis, sometimes it may help someone.

hey dodes! here's my two cents on the whole thing:
you definitely share a lot on social media. however, personally, it's helped me so much. i've struggled with a lot of the same things as you, and your videos and rants have helped me put those feelings into words. knowing that someone as successful and inspiring as u could still deal with this kind of stuff made me want better for myself. however, i understand why people wouldn't be okay with your "oversharing." i understand it can be very triggering to some people, and it has even been triggering to me at times. but whatever you decide to do, know that your words and art have helped people. it has helped me tremendously. maybe putting trigger warnings on videos could give ppl a heads up? i understand the want to share on social media for feedback, so i can't say "don't post abt ur mental health anymore !!" but of course, you are an influence.
love u ❤️💝🍓

these kinds of vlogs you’re doing are so fukin relatable. i’m so grateful i found you. now i know and am very sure i’m not alone.

Okay so personally I am sooo grateful for having you talk about mental health in such detail because it helps me and other people a lot, but obviously there are other people who don't want to hear about it, what if you made another snapchat? So people that find it helpful could watch your stories on the other snapchat all about your mental health and the people that don't want to hear can watch the other one you just keep for fun and happy things :)

I feel like to a certain point, it's natural and healthy to talk about mental health online when you have a large audience. It's important for young people to know that they are not alone and that it's not uncommon for people to struggle with mental illness. I really enjoy your videos where you talk about ways that you deal with your depression or talk about therapy, to me those videos feel very healthy and are proactive. However, your recent videos in which you film yourself in your low moods and talk about it in detail are a lot different to those other videos. I've seen a lot of young people, more than likely undiagnosed, say that they relate so much or that they don't know if what you're going through is exactly what they're going through and it can be extremely confusing to younger people who have never gotten a professional opinion. I feel that those videos are more for your personal coping and should be kept private, it's fine and normal to feel more comfortable talking to a camera and editing it and it is probably very therapeutic, but sharing these videos with the world, in my opinion, just doesn't help anyone, including yourself.
I agree with Hazel and Zannah about the Snapchat, it's just, way way way too much for such a large audience to consume. My suggestion would be to have another Snapchat for close friends so you could communicate how you were feeling at any time, but keep the graphicness of these feelings away from your audience and your brand.
I love your videos and you Dodie, you've been such an inspiration for me and I've always looked up to you and I hope this all doesn't sound harsh or angry. I just want you to be healthy and happy.

I have recently started to get anxiety from being indoors or being in steamy places. I practically have mini panic attacks and now I basically live outside 😂 you inspire me so much. I love you dodie ❤️Mia

Got to get that 10 minute ad revenue great job Dodie you're playing the game

This video keeps getting more and more relatable and spot on.

This video seriously helped me I relate with what you were both saying about like why it's hard to get in touch with friends and stuff sometimes it's like I want support but I don't want pity? Idk it's confusing and frustrating for me but anyway I just wanted to say that I really appreciated this video💕

I love you dodie, you're music is great, you're super pretty, and you seem like a genuinely good person. But it sort of seems that depression has become your brand?? I don't know maybe it's just me, I'm really not trying to be rude but that's my thoughts. I love you and it's totally valid to feel this way but perhaps you should lean more on people in real life rather than the internet. Even if there are people on the internet that feel the same, I think it's healthier to get in touch with your friends and family. I love you dodes, I just wanted my opinion out there.

Thank you Dodie. This really helped me.

Dodie, I think that being honest online is very important, you're so genuine compared to other youtubers. I think you should upload wathever makes you feel better. People can choose what they want to watch or not. But I also think that it could be helpful to film a video and wait until you upload it, so you can realized if it will help you or not. I don't like that some people in the comments blame you for what you shared, when you were only asking for help and expressing yourself. They probably never went through that. What a lack of empathy. Anyway, I hope you feel better soon and I will still watch your videos, no matter what. Sorry for my english, I'm from Argentina. Bye! 👋🌹❤

There's something called a snowball effect. You used the anagram of a well. The snowball effect is where you think of one thing be it negative or positive and then it keeps going and getting bigger and bigger

I feel ya, Doddie so deeply!!!!!!

Art is to console those who are broken by life. Van Gogh
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I know I am late to the party to comment but... this quote is one of my favorite. It says so much but in very few words. I believe that we are all broken or and even crazy in our own way or another from life. Art can come from wonderful times in our lives too from the very worst. We are artist, we create from our feelings and our experiences. We create to make people feel! I love this quote so much because it points out how art is not just for ourselves but for the people around us, helps other people. Not always is the most of happy of ways because life is not always peachy. Even though I founded some of your more recent videos to hurt my heart a bit more. I find it even harder to stomach the idea that you might have to pull back that creativity and hide a bit... So please don't ever sugarcoat the way you feel just because the rest of us don't want to see it... the world is not perfect it can be very ugly. There is so much more I could say about art and artists and how we are broken but for now I will leave it at this. So many of us put on a happy face all the time and its nice to know we are not alone. Thank you Dodie♡

I know this wasn't your intention, but all your sad songs and mental health stories made me think that I had the same illnesses as you. I was going through some tough times (my parents relationship was falling apart), but I would cry myself asleep every night listening to your sad music, and watch your depersonalization video every single day and think I had it. I definitely don't have depersonalization, but I read back my diary from a year ago yesterday and I really thought I had it. I think it's really important to say that your diagnosis is really only for you, especially when a lot of your audience is very young! I watched you when I was 13-14, and I was very very very impressionable. Now, I've stopped watching you and I'm genuinely happier and I've realized that my brain is perfectly fine. I just have bad days. This sounds like I'm bashing you sorry lol. I'm just trying to be honest

This helped me so much because recently I've been putting on Snapchat and Instagram that "I feel like shit, kinda wanna die lol" And I put lol at the end because I don't want people to be seriously concerned. This video brought me to the realization that I've been saying that because I want someone to ask me if I'm okay. Now instead of doing that I'm going to reach out to my friends, so thanks for making this video.

Because of you and your favourite drink, I decided to drink a nice big mug of tea while watching this👏🏼

i fucking feel this so damn hard
i dump so much shit on everyone and honestly this is helping me realize that i do have friends that i can talk to instead of just wallowing
so
thanks guys

Love you two little birdies, I'm so happy you have each other ❤️ really important and complex discussion. Idk some thoughts came to my mind about this situation that you and what seems like many online/public figures go through. First of all, it does a lot of good to the world that you are open about such important issues and talking about mental health in a honest way. You're helping people and opening important discussions like this one. And it must do you some good as well, as you said, you feel better after posting about it and you are clearly handling things much better than if you had not talked about this at all. Yet, I can't help but feel like it does some damage on your younger audience and your own mental health in the long run. It can't be healthy to take your own sickness "to work" and make so many videos off of it. Honestly, youtubers tend to slip into this horrible romantic relationship with their troubles, and sadly it can affect a lot of fragile viewers as well. I imagine you'll be associating the illness with the very core of your online career and the community around it, making your mental state something you keep on revisiting, never getting a break from it. It's very personal to go through dark feelings, and it must be very hard for you to handle it all in front of an audience :'(

Anyways... I should mention that I haven't watched all your stuff so I'm not up to date on what's going on with your snaps and instas or what ever. I'm not really wise enough to have any good answers and I'm rambling so don't take me too seriously lol

peace and love xx

Even if it is over sharing which I don't really think it is.. I still love it. I love that your real. You don't try to sugar coat life and put a filter on it. It makes me feel better knowing that there's somone else out there feeling the same thing. I will say that you may have over shared a few times but it's ok if you do at times. Its only human.

Dodie I think you maybe overshare but for me it really helps cause i feel i can relate and feel s ad together which is sometimes what i need to get out of it <3 Thank you so much

I don't know how you survive spending so much time on social media, but I personally find it helpful to listen to people actually talking about mental health, because it is so hard to be open about it that it's good to start discussions. But if it isn't helping you in the long term, talk to your friends about it like this and consider it a bit more. But thank you for being you and for considering your audience even when everything's so hard for you. Your friends are there for you, and so are we, but look after yourself

dodie I really think it's so admirable you making this video and discussing the oversharing opening the conversation. I have to say I agree with a few of the comments on here about the romanticising of mental health issues. I myself have had a complicated mental health past including depression, eating disorders and anxiety, my issues lead me to do some pretty god awful things and landed me in hospital a couple of times, I know consider myself to be recovered mainly from my eating disorder and able to function in a happy place in terms of my depression/anxiety, I still have bad days ofc but I worry when I see you snaps and videos bc I don't think it helps you or anyone else, when you're so ill you become absorbed in your illness it becomes your everything and it's hard to focus on anything else, it's a catch 22 bc your illness is everything it's in your head it's part of your life every day but when you start to put that out to the public it becomes even more your identity, the image of a 'healthy' you portray is then muddled in with your illness and people confuse the two if that makes sense, it's like the film the perks of being a wall flower where the depression and anxiety are make to look cool and edgy when they're not. I know that this is not at all your intention, I just think you need to be aware. For me part of being ill myself was I romanticised my own illness, now I'm 'recovered' especially from my eating disorder I still sometimes miss being really ill(I know how fucked up that sounds but my brain doesn't work right!) and I know if I'd have had put it out so publicly I would find it so hard to look back and not miss it even more if that makes sense, so I worry this is not only detrimental to young impressionable people but more importantly your own journey and recovery because unfortunately missing being ill is a whole part of mental illness and it fucking sucks! I hope this has no way offended you dodie, sending you all the love in the world, look after yourself xxxxxxx

I really like the way you share with us it feels like we are family and can help eachother and also I suffer from mental illness and hearing someone else talk about something like what you are going through is very refreshing and it reminds you that you aren't the only one going through this so I believe that your sharing can also help and not just affect people😊😊
Thanks dodie for being you😁

I love your videos like this because I feel like (being a YouTuber myself and a person lol) that I can't share, I can never share how I feel with anyone. But idk this helps..

With makeup or without makeup, she's still and angel💕

Reading through these comments, the major themes of romanticization and the harm that results are all things I agree with. However, one thing I think has been neglected in these threads is the extent of tailoring to this image taking place. Dodie, I love your music and a majority of your content. You are a beautiful, kind person, and while I do believe that there is a part of you that genuinely wanted to help your audience, most of your phrasing and actions point to the purely selfish motivations. Even in this video, there are specific clips chosen to give an impression of just two friends chatting with some cute giggling interspersed. That clearly signals intimacy when even you say you don't view the camera as your audience- it's just a void to speak into. Highly edited versions of this can easily be pared down to the informative and positive and you can take the darker aspects and start dealing with them through healthy discussion in therapy or with friends rather than wallowing. So although some people argue that on social media you should do whatever you feel is right, it is important to remember that 1) social media is your job and 2) YouTube is just as edited and romanticized as those long Instagrams or vague Snapchat stories. You have an obligation as a content creator to be responsible for handling the portrayal of these issues. You have an obligation to yourself to begin focusing on addressing them productively so you can heal.

I think if you share when you are in the pits of depression or anxiety, you also need to share how you got out of the pit. That way you can really help people and help them see it is ok to have bad days but there are things you can do to make yourself better. It is in your control, and that it isn't some random thing that happens. I know sometimes you can't explain it, but please try .. I think that would really help your young audience. Thanks for sharing this ❤️

i used to watch your snapchats all the time but for the last couple of months i just havent becuase it does bring up negative emotions. like lets say im doing really really well one day and i open up snapchat and you are feeling terrible, it affects my mood ???? idk if that makes sense. im glad now you are aware of the impact that your words have on your audience who are young (like me!!!!)
the awareness you bring for mental health issues are amazing but spewing unhealthy and extremely negative ideals when you are in a dark place to thousands of young impressionable kids isn't.
maybe this was too harsh ?? ive been watching you for about 4 years now and you are absolutely lovely and deserve only the best out of life.
good things are coming, they always are <33333

I think that it is incredible with how you share your mental health with an audience and that it is important to ensure that the conversation continues and awareness is spread. However, this certainly does not have to be just on you, as many other people are also beginning to have this conversation through YouTube and other mediums. The audience that is reached from this channel however, may occasionally struggle to hear when things are getting really tough and rough and may be triggered by hearing things. I don't believe that romantasising is the right word, but more, for a young audience that may not fully understand the severity of mental health, they may struggle to appropriately process some of the content, especially on snapchat. For your personal benefit, being able to understand when it may be too much for viewers, and also personally unhealthy for you, is when it may be better to physically talk to someone. As was said in the video, this benefits more in the long run. Certainly, it is not sunshine and rainbows, and you shouldn't have to put on a facade of that to filter for the benefit of the viewers. That too, would be mentally draining. Stepping back when it may be better to talk to a person, rather than a screen might be a way to help. :)

I used to be deep into depression. However I am very lucky to have recovered from that. I didn't use any drugs and I did all by myself. It's a fact I'm very proud of and feel really good about. So when I'm feeling very anxious (I still have massive amounts of anxiety, but I guess I need to take it one step at a time. ) I like to talk to people about how I did it all alone. How I didn't get help. That I did it entirely by myself and independently. It makes me feel stronger. If I can recover from the lowest point in my life then I can recover from this. However the problem lies in the fact that a lot of people don't like to listen so I'm still a little anxious ball of nerves. The point of this tangent is: Dodie if talking is an outlet and it helps you then go for it. It may help to put warnings tho.

Social media saved my life. I had an outlet to people who objectively saw my situation and gave me support. As long as there is trigger warnings and you remember you do have people who love you, I think social media can be one of the best tools in recovery and self care, not a destructive one.

September of 2016 I became very depressed because of a certain event that took place and the depression carried on for about 4-5 months and I COMPLETELY understand what you guys are talking about in this video. I cried and moaned and poured out my feelings to people (usually the same people) so often that I sensed that they were starting to get real sick of me talking to them so much about that one thing. I felt as though they were all so over me being sad all the time and talking about how depressed I was. So, to avoid annoying my friends, I dumped all of my thoughts online. Granted, it was my second account, but it was still on the internet. I started talking so much online that It seemed my friends got even more annoyed and over my "complaining" than they were before. It was like they started to doubt that I was actually feeling this way and that I was just faking it so that I could be the center of attention all the time. And that sucked. I'm not depressed anymore (thank god) but it still hurts to look back on. I'm glad I can look back on your videos and relate.

I just freaking love dodie so much.

My two favs in one video thank you x

I appreciate you’re trying to get rid of stigma and it’s great if it’s helping someone out but I have a feeling it might be doing more damage than good and honestly I had to stop watching your videos because of it, glad people are bringing it up to you.

What I think (which I know is completely irrelevant to you and everyone else) is that straight away, mental health and social media are never really a good combination. Now I completely understand how social media and Youtube can be amazing ways of people sharing their experience with mental illness, therefore making themselves and their viewers feel less alone or as though they are not the only one going through what they are experiencing. Zoe (Zoella) being a big example of this, when she first shared her anxiety disorder on Youtube, opened lots of people's eyes to anxiety and mental health, and also helped many people who were possibly struggling with anxiety themselves. However, (let me just point out, I love and respect you, dodie, and will support you no matter what) I think that the problem arises when huge, detailed captions about feeling extremely depressed, are paired with 'aesthetic', 'themed' photographs on Instagram. It gives the impression that the person posting is romanticizing the mental illness. Or like when the paragraph is written with similes or metaphors and made to sound tragic like a piece of literature. Obviously, mental illness is tragic, but it's not the type of romantic tragedy you'd find in a book, it's raw and painful and disgusting, and I don't think that it is truly possible to show how horrible mental illness is, to it's true extent, via social media. Now don't get me wrong, I think it is hugely important to share how you are feeling when mentally ill, and dodie must not view the comments on this video as though they are telling her to stop sharing how she feels, but I think there are more sensible and productive ways of doing so. I am afraid I had to stop watching dodie's snapchats, as they were just making me feel completely shit and really very low. When I feel low (I will not say depressed, as I have not been medically diagnosed with depression (diagnosis, a thing many young people and teenagers seem to forget the importance of, when it comes to mental health) it is sometimes completely random, and based on nothing, but sometimes the impact of a thing or another person can cause it, and watching dodie's snapchat story definitely did not make me feel great. When some of the time I think that life is not worth living, hearing someone say it so often was not beneficial to me whatsoever.
Conclusion: I think Dodie just needs to be careful that she does not come across as romanticizing mental illness, but also makes sure she doesn't completely stop sharing how she feels or bottles it up.
I am glad I got to share my opinion. :)
(If you disagree with me and are going to reply to this, please do it in a sensible and polite way)

i don't identify you through your illness. it's a part of your life which unfortunately you have to deal with. i love you so much and i understand why you're being cautious about how much you share - but that's your decision and no one can tell you what you can and can't do. if people feel you're over sharing and it's changing their perspective of how they're feeling then it's their responsibility to click off. but plenty of people love and support you. i love you so much. ❤️❤️

It's much easier to say "why didnt I just reach out?" Than it is to actually reach out sometimes. So sometimes the sarcastic 3am tweet is a god send.

Dodie we all love you and we want you to be able to talk to us all I have bipolar and depression and talking about it really helps and I understand that when you're at your lowest that you don't think straight like I don't either when I'm really really down and you just need to talk to someone it's always easier to talk to someone who's going through the same thing I wish I could talk to you irl and I tend to not tell people when I'm down I don't like to talk to people about it because I always feel like I'm just a problem and that I don't want people to think of me as the sad person and I feel like people wouldn't want to be friends with someone like me so I just hold it in and never tell anyone close to me because I'm too scared of scaring them away 💛 I love you dodie 💛

This was really interesting as someone who is definitely an under-sharer. I always see your ig posts as really honest and I admire that because it's something that I could never do. But as someone who's not easily triggered I can't really speak for how it affects other more vulnerable members of the audience. But it is your personal channel and if you feel like documenting this aspect of your life is useful to you then it's really on other people whether they should watch it or not. However, I don't really see the romanticization that many others are talking about. For me, a pretty pic doesn't detract from what you're saying & the horrible-ness of mental illness bc I know, I've been there.

Dodie, I have watched your videos for over two years now (obviously watched all your videos before that as well). I fell in love with your videos because I related to your music and you had a good and realistic view on life. You were (or seemed) cheerful but then again sometimes you talked about your hard times. That helped me. Like your asmr videos, they were made to make people feel good. I felt like somebody really cared. Those videos I loved. But once I added you on snapchat... The image I had of you changed, you changed. You stopped posting videos and when you did and it was a mostly cheerful video, I felt (like you said on your snapchat numerous times) that you were being fake. I got the feeling that you were romanticising mental health issues. To me the cheerful but realistic Dodie turned into the sad and unrealistic Dodie. And I completely understand (for as much as I can) that what you are going through is horrible. I have been diagnosed with and anxiety disorder three years ago and I am still trying to learn how to live with it today. And at first I pitied myself and I kind of wanted my friends to feel sorry for me and be worried about me, because I was worried about myself and I needed help. Luckily I got an amazing therapist who taught me that I should help myself and not pity myself but respect myself. I try to think positive and be strong for as much as I can. And if I really am having a terrible day I have amazing friends I can talk to, who now respect me for being strong instead of pity me. I am not trying to bash you because I can see you are trying your best. I just wanted you to know that I looooved your old videos and I still love you and your music. But I miss the strong, cheerful and realistic Dodie who helped me a lot. Your snapchats (and videos) now make me feel sad... And I am scared that it might influence a younger audience of yours by making them romanticise mental health problems or thinking that they have the same thing as you do. Be careful love and take care! I will always support you! You will get through this! Xx

I think part of the reason it's easier to talk to an audience rather than a specific person is because if you say it in general, nobody specific is obliged to reply--if you talk to one person, then it feels like putting pressure on them specifically to respond and help rather than being able to let whoever wants to come to you. when it's an open invite, people who don't want to help don't have to.

"describe to me how you're feeling"
"oh fuck offf"
honestly me if I ever went to a therapist or anything

Perfectly posed, sad looking, tumblr-esque photos with poetic stanzas and elegant words is not the way to discuss mental health, it's the way to romanticize it

I think, I love both of you more. ❤️
I love and appreciate your honesty, your support of each other and the love and respect you have for each other is palpable.
Now just hug, and be thankful that you found each other in this time and place amidst this 'open air looney bin of a planet'

A little bit of crazy keeps you sane.

and Love
Always love.
m.

There are times when you just want to scream out loud to the world and sharing it with someone close has the issue of "what are they supposed to respond to you" when you are simply screaming out loud at the world. Getting what ever is inside out is the point of screaming at the world, not finding a reply for it. It is part of learning how to deal with ourselves and the world. <3

I just want to write about my experiences and opinions on this. I myself, really struggle watching your snapchats and whether it's unintentionally or not I feel like you treat your snapchat audience as your therapists. I get the impression that you know if you talk about how sad that you're feeling you know you will get an overwhelming amount of love on Twitter etc because your audience loves you, it's just not healthy or fair in my opinion.
I'm sure you're not trying but I feel like you use being a popular youtuber as a gateway to love and compliments like when you said in the video that if you're sad you will go on snapchat instead of just talking to your friends unlike what anyone not in the same profession would do.

In my personal experiences, as said, I find it very hard to carry on watching the snapchats everyday just because they make me upset myself. If someone with such an amazing life as you gets upset then how are we (your audience) ever meant to be happy? I have 2 friends who have encountered these Snapchats and the very little mental health videos that you actually post of your channels. As soon as you made a video about depersonalisation she began to say that she felt "spaced out" and as soon as you spoke about the symptoms on snapchat she began to say that she was feeling all of these symptoms. I'm not trying to say that it is fake in her case, however, your audience look up to you they want to be like you. It is no different to your audience wearing yellow or cutting hair short or wearing eyeliner, you influence them and that makes them want to be like you. In the second friends case, he is also a fan like me and I won't go into detail but has had problems with mental health before and he's said that watching your snapchats make him upset it brings him back to when he was going through those hard times.

Lastly, I don't really like how you claim that you don't want mental health to be your brand. Other creators brands are their brands because they talk about it a lot or do it a lot or make it a visible thing about their appearance. Examples like, Luke Cutforth repeatedly making the joke that he 'smells like milk', if you keep saying the same thing your audience will latch onto it and that will be their 'brand'. It's the same as talking about mental health (more specifically depersonalisation or depression in your case) your audience will make it your brand. I'm not trying to be mean or leave a load of hate but I just think you aren't properly thinking of the affect you have on your audience and your friends around you. As Hazel said she feels terrible when you go off and talk to your audience about how your feeling instead of your literal close friend and roommate which is very understandable. I'm also sure that other friends see your snapchats about how bad you're feeling and then feel like bad friends for you choosing your audience over your friends.

Im sorry if this came across as mean I just want to get my opinions and feeling across. I wish you the best with dealing with this and I hope that you begin to realise the effect that you have on others, both on a personal level as in family and friends, and also your audience. ❤️

I'm saying this to be constructive as i really do like you, but i agree with the idea that you may be slightly romanticising the struggles of mental health and that its becoming i bit like a brand. Mental health is important to talk about but not as a feature that makes you creative even though it can sometimes be inspiration. Also this video said to me that only creatives are struggling with mental health issues when that's not the case even if you did not mean it to come across that way.

I think it can be good for both you and your audience when you share a bit of your struggle with mental illness. Doing that makes you seem more human and it can remind people that they aren't alone; life is not perfect for anyone. However, I do agree that you've become incredibly dependent on social media and you have been oversharing. In your "I am depressed today" video you talk about how you aren't usually mean to yourself and you try to make things as positive as possible, but what you show your audience completely contradicts that. I think sharing your struggles is okay, as long as you post helpful and positive content far more often than your negative content. Unfortunately, lately that has been flipped across all of your social media platforms. I still love you, your music, and your videos, but sometimes it really is a lot to take in. I think you have an audience that truly has started to care about you, and it almost hurts to see you constantly hurting. Also, I'm sure there are a lot of much younger people who watch your content and pay attention to your social media. Initially, you talking about your issues will help them not feel alone, but after a certain point it may prevent them from seeking help themselves or learning to rely on others who can actually communicate back to them.

Making this video and having this discussion shows tremendous growth and maturity. The fact that you're willing to pull back after seeing the effect you have on others shows that you truly are a good, caring person. We all just want to see you heal and be as happy as you can be.

To start off Dodie I love your channel and am a massive fan, hoping to see you at summer in the city this year! But there are some things that have upset me and doubtless other fans in light of your recent use of social media.

Medication helps so many people and doesn't work instantly, and although it wasn't the right choice for me I am aware of the fact that it is immensely helpful for other sufferers. I did not appreciate how you talked about it on snapchat as if it was a pointless treatment that crushed creativity. This is where I believe the romanticisation of mental llness is coming from, you do not need to be a 'big feeler' to produce art. This notion implies that you need a mental illness to validate your art.

On top of this it is equally harmful to imply that creatives must be mentally ill in some way. This feeds into the lie discussed above. It only adds to the proliferation of artists that were apparently mentally ill and made 'better art' opposed to those who were not ill. Also this idea is harmful to non-creatives who are mentally ill as it implies that they will never have a real outlet for their suffering. In a way it says that they are suffering wrong.

It particularly affects my 2 sisters and I who are all creative people who do not consider any mental suffering we have undergone to be the reason we are creative. Suggesting that has actually been harmful to us, we worry that good mental health (obviously a good thing) would lead to a lack of imagination and poor creative output.

Basically we feel that mental illness is being used on your channel (and some others) as a badge of honour. Portraying you as a cut above those who do not have a mental illness. You are an invaluable spokesperson for breaking down stigma about mental illness, I hope you take everyone's advice that they have left in the comments. You still have a faithful watcher here!

Hey Dodie!
I think while its good to have these chats about your thoughts on mental illness, talking in offhand ways about things like mental illness and creativity and on a public video where younger impressionable teens will see it and misuse, its not the best idea.

I totally get what you said about it being hard to reach out to people close to you but posting online from so many others to see is even more passive aggressive way of talking about it as your friends and family may see it and think well why are they not talking about it to me and it may seem like showing off or wanting a pity party. Trust me it looks a like a pity party. Its like those people on Facebook who have to document their feelings regularly. Its not pretty it doesn't actually help you and it puts off those who see it because it looks immature, embarrassing and attention seeking (sorry for the harsh truth but it is what it is!).

Seeking help from a trusted friend or family member a good listener is SO MUCH MORE HEALING, and in the present, than thousands of sweet helpful comments which are like sugar give you an energy boost but make you want to keep reaching out for more. And most of these sweet comments will eventually mainly be from those impressionable young uns, as the more mature have left the building feeling that you haven't taken in advice on actually fixing your problems. Not that we magically expect you to, but you definitely need to take control of your situation rather than staying the victim.

I definitely for one would be happy to talk to you privately one on one over email or something if I feel I can help you get through your bad times, as I have had experience in both anxiety and depression and meds, CBT and talking therapy. And I'm a good listener and have also helped my friends on occasion. So the offer is there.

But the key to this is privacy and yes the online platforms encourage a gratuitous amount of sharing and it becomes an addiction. I totally feel that. Im glad you are asking your audience these questions, and I hope that you can take a step back from whatever comments we say that may feel hurtful to you initially but mean well in a way to snap you out of it and towards a more healthier way of dealing with it.

Your content has always been something I adore and admire. I am a creative myself and there is a sense of not being good enough or not having things perfect which can lead me to spiral, but I've realised that making sure to be grounded as much as possible and change my pattern of thoughts and how I see myself and the world is important.

I pray that you see that you can be so much more, that you can be so much more content (with less highs and lows and more bearables) that you can reach out to people who genuinely want the best for you and have the best advice for you, and that you can take healthy steps in your life that help you heal. Much love xxxx

I just recently confessed to my friends completely and my friends are convincing me to confess to my family. I’m so fucking nervous about it, but I’m ready and willing.

Dodie I would like to thank you for showing the bubbly and bright side of you that's as warm as a cup of tea, but I also thank you for showing us the side of you that's a cold and bloody awfully made cup of tea that's sad and melancholy. I love both sides of you, and so do all of your amazing and lovely fans. Thank u so much for everything you post and for your honesty and humor and for giving so many people a smile of their face❤️

I never realised the amount of young viewers you had. Yes you share a lot but it seems to help you and I think it actually does help others too. I personally like to watch your videos and stories because you are honest about what you feel. But I'm not ok with the fact that your young audience has access to all of "it".

I am a 13 year old girl.. well turned 13 in April and I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety but before I even knew you had mental health problems as well, you're videos (mental health ones) help me realize other things about myself and help me reflect and look back at myself from a different angle your videos don't make me worse but I am not everyone else; dodie I love you so so much but you really should think things through so much more I understand your intentions but people are people and are not all the same you may already understand that but maybe not as deeply TRULY deeply

hope this was good advice. will always watch your vids, best of luck and love you x

Personally I find the stuff you put on Snapchat and Instagram very reassuring that I am not the only one who is feeling a certain way. However, I do understand the other point of view about it being quite triggering. You are always so honest and raw and it's really great to see!! Sending my love xxx

Ok so I'm probably late but I've been thinking about this and I might as well share. You mentioned on snapchat that here in the comments everyone is either one extreme or the other, but I find myself kinda in the middle? Because I'm happy that you share your feeling because as someone with anxiety (though I haven't really suffered since I quit school, hooray) it makes me feel less alone and like "hey, look at this person, they deal with this, maybe it's not what I'm dealing with but they know what a mental illness feels like!" so that's cool, but I also find myself freaking out sometimes because "I'm not really feeling anything right now is this how Dodie feels" and "wow, that must be terrible" and I then spend the next hour questioning life and freaking out over tiny things.
SO, what I'm trying to say is: it's nice to see someone else talking about a mental illness being totally open and honest, but sometimes it's a bit to much and it get's a bit too heavy and scary.
So maybe film yourself talking about how you feel when you feel down but wait to post it and maybe react to some pieces when you're feeling better to express your true emotions?

IDK THIS PROBABLY DOESN'T MAKE ANY SENSE I'M SORRY

I'm currently doing my Masters in Arts Health and Wellbeing and this is a dialogue we have constantly in terms of general talk and just art; is it more helpful to put out into the world, details of mental health, even the deepest darkest parts of it? Or.. should we be focussing on putting out images of flowers and 'happy things' to encourage happiness? I've always chosen the former because when you are down in that place, then seeing someone's artwork (mine is based on my experiences of having depersonalisation/borderline personality disorder/ocd), it can create a kinship and a mutual understanding that you often might not be able to find when you are feeling so low. From my experience, the images of flowers and happy families seemed mocking and condescending rather than hopeful. I've kind of gone of on a tangent cause I'm basically just regurgitating my essay, but yeah.. it's a constant dialogue in my field of study and work and it's confusing but sharing your experiences can be good because other people can find comfort and solace in knowing that those dark thoughts are not necessarily exclusive to them.


Anyway, if anyone needs any advice or support, I run a lil mental health blog. If you would like the url, let me know.

But yes yes this is a very interesting topic to bring up and it's so completely subjective that it's often confusing trying to settle on a singular answer.

You're all rad. Make yourselves some tea because tea is good okay bye pals.
X

this made me cry, I don't cry much when I'm watching/reading stuff

I think that while its very very good that you talk about and raise awareness of mental illness and its affects on everyday life and how it can crawl into anyone's brain, you and Hazel have made it clear in this video that spilling your thoughts into snapchat posts isn't constructive, even if it makes you feel better in the moment. I, for one, enjoy watching your personal videos a lot and like to hear about what you're going through and experiencing to better understand mental illness and sometimes even see how you cope and try it myself when I'm feeling particularly anxious or self-destructive. I also think you should continue to share your thoughts with the internet. But, I think refraining from late-night snaps when you're really at your worst would be a good idea, and to make sure any videos you make or anything you do post has trigger warnings. I can't really say what to do about the effect this all has on your younger audience members, one of which is my 11-year-old sister. I think that children are going to need to be taught at younger ages about mental illness and that you are a good way to start that conversation, but I also don't want to encourage self-diagnosis. You are in a position of power, and therefore you should be wary of this effect and how you can use your power to educate about mental illness and advocate for awareness.

I think that it’s really important to recognise mental illness online, everyone is saying how it needs to be discussed, but when you do they say that it’s too much, how does that make sense, if it makes you feel better to share your feelings, do it! And if it makes it worse don’t, do what makes you feel good, so you can be happy!

I don't think you overshare but I do think, and this may seem a little savage, that your approach to discussing your mental heath comes across as more self-pity than self-help. And, of course, this is a symptom of depression, but to constantly make videos about what an awful time you're having and how it isn't getting better seems more triggering and dangerous for someone with such a young audience than anything else. If anything, I would say carry on sharing as much as you do but try and have a more constructive approach. Other than that I have always loved your videos and will remain a loyal subscriber x

I think my take on this is that when dodie was uploading lots it was a time when I had no one and the "oversharing" helped create an essence of trust and of even though ik that sounds stupid it still rlly helped me utube made me feel like I had freinds and so did videogames I had something to be passionate about, communities I could join, places where I couldn't be judged
Yes as a side effect I now have anxiety and depersonalisation but that's fine better that then dead :/ how jolly

I'm not sure where I stand on this topic, but I thought I might suggest something that helps me: stream of conciousness writing. Just type whatever thoughts you're having, unfiltered, without thinking too much about it. It's like telling someone but without having to share anything. I find that this method sometimes helps me discover underlying causes for my shitty feelings or what I could do that might help a little bit.

I'm very very empathetic and very emotionally sensitive, so although I'm not deeply mentally ill, when I see anxious people, when I hear descriptions of depression and see someone I love very depressed I too feel, in my own way, low and not for the same reasons as you or as others but for my own reasons and then I've dived down into the dark parts of my own brain and for hours I'll stay low simply because I've been reminded of the shadowy parts of MY brain. Also I think it's interesting about the creative thing because I'm very creative and am always making things and I'm now thinking about them and they're all based off of my anxious times and low days and a lot of my art is like a head and then a hole in the head and thoughts leaking out of it (oddly specific but I've used that format multiple times) and also I write lil songs and poems and they're often about my brain but I think that that kind of art can be selfish and we should look outwards and focus on others and not swim around in the shadowy parts of our brain searching for inspiration, instead swimming around the good parts of our brains and the pretty things outside the window to find things that will bring joy and rest and encouragement not only to ourselves but to those who interact with what we create.

I doubt anyone will read this whole thing but if you do thank you
Dodie , I'm almost 14 and I'm scared,I'm attracted to girls,and boys so if you wanna label it I'm bi and the only person that knows is a friend of mine from year 10 and she found out because it just kinda slipped in a conversation but she's really supportive and has told knowone but I don't wanna be a year 9 loner that people are scared to be friends with because they automatically assume that you're attracted to them and one of my friends said to me once that they would be friends with me no matter what my sexuality but I'm scared that if it comes to it then my friends won't know what to do or they might hate me and I tried to tell my dad and he said that whatever I choose he won't care and he'll still love me ☹️ thanks to anyone who read this whole thing I just needed to say something because I feel like there has to be someone online who can help me ❤️

You definitely romanticize and overshare quite a lot. This is totally okay especially when it's just talking to your friends, ya know, but you have such a YOUNG audience, and it's very scary that kids that don't know what depression is see you talking about it and suddenly want to be special "like DODIE!!!". Definitely not your intention, and you are validated to talk about your feelings and yourself, but perhaps you definitely should rely on your friends while you're in the throes of it and then talk about it online LATER, when you're not as sad and spaced out. I know this can be really hard, especially if you're sad ALL THE TIME, but sharing it with your entire audience is a bit much. I know this is very strange, because if I were to share something about depression on social media, the only people who would see it are people I actually know, like my friends and peers, but if you were to do the same thing, it would show up for ALL of your fans. Maybe you can try a private instagram to share with your friends and people you know? It could let you release emotions without them taking a toll on your audience.

Best of luck!!! Thank you for addressing this!

i think it's good that u have an outlet, i appreciate u bringing awareness and not making so 'taboo' to talk about your mental state. still, sometimes i need to skip thru ur snapchats sometimes cuz if i'm having a good day, seeing u really down saddens me. ur an inspiration to me and i'm SO GLAD U HAVE AN OUTLET BUT PLS USE UR FRENS. like u said, maybe distance urself from social media when ur at ur complete worst and have a day with your frens :) love form puerto rico 🇵🇷❤️💎

I get both perspectives a lot. I have really shit mental health days and tend to pour my heart out to myself in the car instead of talking to peoole, but the analogy is very true. It feels nice to get it out, but i never feel actually better. It's just enough to get to sleep usually.

I have a question, do you guys think you should make a video about something while it still hurts? ... like is it important to move on from something first to look at it objectively and see the full picture?... there is something I really want to make a video about because I feel like it might be helpful to some people who are in the same position.. but every time I script it out, or start thinking through it, it still aches.

This is a really interesting video, because (like Hazel said) I have had to avoid your content a bit despite the fact that I love you and care about you and how you're doing, and I feel guilty. But I can't really read all of your instagram posts and your videos because I find it can be very difficult, especially when I'm going through something similar and I'm unable to help.

zannah is so wise beyond her years damn

Please keep sharing, cause I feel I can relate and feel more connected and less alone

I'm conflicted about this. One part of me begs you to continue opening up as much as you do because it doesn't make me feel so alone and it's a moment of oMG SAME THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I FEEL. But because you're famous, you have a million + subscribers and each one of them care so deeply about you and my comments of how much I thank you for being honest with you're mental health because I can relate on such a deep personal level are just lost in a sea of comments. It's difficult because I feel like I can connect to you so much but I'm so detached from you at the same time and it makes me feel so bitter because if I made insta captions pouring my heart out or if I message people I know I am turned away so easily. I have to suffer in silence. Please realise how lucky you are that your friends are offering and telling you to call them or tell them how crap you are feeling or telling the world how shitty you feel and having thousands of comments that tell you how great and wonderful you are. But tbh I'm not against you oversharing it's a coping mechanism for me to hang onto someone that is going through the same thing or a similar thing as me ♥

9:21 "Suffering is a part of human existence, we weren't intended to just exist and be happy all the time, and if you didn't suffer you would be able to tell the happiness apart from it." Thank you

such a humble video. God bless you guys

hazel's and zannah's opinions are Everything i've been feeling and why i've unfollowed dodie on twitter, snapchat, and instagram and took a break from her videos. i could not deal with her constantly detailing her depression so Intensely. like i already had issues with thinking about death and then to be bombarded with graphic descriptions of how horrible she felt all the time? her content was literally becoming damaging and i had to do what i needed for my own sake. i liked dodie's songs and her honesty at first but i don't need ANOTHER voice in my head talking about how bad everything is all the time, i've already got my own.

do what's best for your mental health, kids. sometimes it means not listening to unhealthy people until they can develop perspective.

Definitely not oversharing, in my opinion. I find it very helpful and uplifting when people are honest and candid about mental illness.

We all cry for help without actually confronting a person but from a viewers standpoint I do appreciate your vlogs. I suffer from depersonalization and up until you posted that video about it I thought I was going insane. I had never even heard about it before. Even your very personal vlogs help so much (for me at least). But on the other hand, it could be hard for other people to hear. Also, I know for me that purging of emotion is extremely important. I hold in all of my feelings because most people in my life don't understand mental illness, so when I do pour my heart out, even just in a tweet, it's very satisfying. And seeing other people do the same is comforting. That being said, if you find these vlogs even more draining then cut back. Because in the end, your health is the most important thing.

First of all, this is such a great topic, and I'm so happy everyones being so honest about mental health and their opinions on it!! Second, personally, I don't mind your rants and snaps, but I think that also has to do with me as a person. I can relate to some of them, and I also can't relate to lots of it as well, but at the end of the day, hearing peoples personal thoughts and rants about how they are feeling (even on a very personal level) don't make me uncomfortable or make me feel depressed. I obviously feel a lot of empathy and sometimes I also get kinda sad listening to them, but I don't mind it or think its romanticizing mental illness.
That being said, I can also understand the viewpoint of others who are more easily influenced by these things who believe this is oversharing. Sometimes (more often nowadays) your snaps can trigger a large amount of your audience, as well as worry others. Remember, you have a large audience of those who are easily influenced who you have to account for as well!
I think if you feel like its easier talking to a camera, and if it helps relieve some of what you've been feeling, then obviously take advantage that outlet! However maybe review some of it to make sure its not too triggering before posting it. Better yet, sometimes just recording yourself might make you feel better, without having to post it. Aside from all that, I suggest you talk to friends and family, even if it seems embarrassing at the time. They can really help! Finally, I strongly recommend talking to your therapist or psychologist (I'm not sure which you go to) and always take your medication! If you aren't feeling any better, see if they might be able to prescribe you something else that might work!
Finally, I DO NOT think you should completely discontinue all your videos on mental health, and your rants, because you are breaking the stigma on mental health and that is something to be proud of!
Take care, love!! We love you :)

I can totally relate to when you're at your lows and crying for help, but then someone comes and you shy away cause it's hard to talk sometimes

your choices are your choices, but just be mindful that no matter what u do you can't please everyone. you see youtubers who never talk about mental illness who finally get the confidence to make a video, and they get tagged as "attention seeking" "doing it for money" "new youtuber trend". and then even you, and you talk about it all the time, get tagged as " taking it too far" "romanticising" like you can't win. do what u want, as long as it actually helps you.

I tried to commit suicide in my life and this sort of things help me. Your video makes me feel i am not the only one feeling similar. And yes it is super hard to talk about it, esp to family or relatives. That is actually the hardest part and i dont even know why.

I tried snapping you but you'll prob never see it. Please dont come away from social media when ur at ur worst. The people that say they had to stop watching because it made them question how they are feeling are only doing what they need to do for themselves and you talking openly to social media is clearly what u need to do for urself when u are feeling so low. If we all did what we needed for ourselves then the world would be a much happier place. Lots of us need ur bravery to pave the way for it to be normal and ok to speak so openly during bad times. I appreciate ur honestly so much and seeing u the other night feeling low exactly when i felt like that made me almost feel like i had a companion in this. Please do whats best for u and leave the others do whats best for them. And thankyou for being you. x

I just love you so much I really want u to know that not because i think you need to hear it because you know everyone is obsessed with you but this video must've been so hard to put out into the world and I'm happy that you did even though the reaction to the video must've been nerve-racking. I don't know about others but I want to help you even though I'm young and not that experienced with mental health, maybe that says more about me being a freak who puts the happiness of others above my own but I still want you to know that I think you share a lot, but I don't believe it's over sharing because guess what it's how you feel and why you have such a raw connection with your audience and although people might mistake it for attention seeking and complaining and it's not the healthiest way to out ur emotions it has many positive sides as well.

i used to be like you. i would vent every time i was sad on a platform where i knew my friends would read them. i fixed it by, firstly, moving to a platform where none of my friends were (the app 'vent') where there only were strangers, so i didn't rely on the validation of my friends. it is kind of more "private", like a diary and you are still getting the 'hey u ok?' Messages. i started getting more and more mature about my mental illness and as i vented i would write "i feel like [this and that] but i think i might be able to feel better by [doing this activity even though i'd rather kill myself]"
because recovery is about doing things you don't want to do. it's going to school when you don't want to, it's getting out of bed when you'd rather smash you head in, and it's talking to people and enduring the small 30 minutes of awkwardness. that probably sounds like the most neurotypical thing ever, but it's the truth. you are not going to recover if you don't do things that are not fun. depression is not fun, but rotting away in bed is only nice for a moment.
and i saw your snaps about the fact that you didn't think that your antidepressants worked. they won't in the start, you have to give them a few weeks, not just three days. they are not miracle pills, they are pills to help YOU to be able to work with yourself. it's not a band that helps you through depression, it's not taking a pill, it's you who helps you trough it. give it some time, and while you are on it, work on creating new habits. get out of bed, get into a routine.
there are hard days, there are days where it feels like your mind is gonna explode and you can't get out of bed. that's okay! it's not your fault, it never is. it's important to spill your feelings SOMETIMES, but other times you need to work on what's important for the long term!
i'm sorry if this sounded rough, but i wish someone had told me these things when i was in the worst part of my mental illness. don't worry about people not believing you. you don't need physical proof, we believe you!

I feel you so. I do so much, I'm a very creative and busy and productive person, but I also struggle with depression and anxiety - resulting in feeling like I'm failing even though I am doing so many things; or I feel like I can't do anything but everyone only sees how much I do and their expectations and my expectations often vary; and sometimes I just feel like people won't believe I have these issues because I seem to be doing so well? yeah.

I love you so much Dodie. 💕💕

I think that mental health is a really important thing to talk about, knowing how many people suffer. I know a lot about it because I did a whole theatre project on it. 7 million people worldwide suffer with diagnosed depression and more who are undiagnosed.

I feel like sometimes you do overshare but also maybe to have more of a balance, try to post some, somewhat positive things about mental illnesses. More about your high times not low and about how it's true you can get better over time.

It's just when you overshare I think people feel upset that they can't help you Dodie because we are only followers. Like on snapchat maybe open some messages so people can chat to you once you've posted a long talk.

You wanted suggestions and some are going to be hard to take on but we all want what's best for you and maybe going into your YouTube or snapchat and looking back at all the lower times, could make you feel worse in a way xx

Dodie all of us love you so so much and care for you too xxxx

From Scarlett xx

ngl i got a lil anxious at the end there just cause it felt like you were being convinced to not talk about mental illhealth. i work with suicide prevention and positive mental health promotion and our ground rule is to always talk about it. i think you're using your platform to document in a really raw way what it is like to be suffering. i understand that it is your responsibility to be mindful of your audience, but if doing that turns into a self-conscious habit about trying to pretend everything is okay online then what is that benefitting? i've been there i've said goodnight to people and then gone onto tumblr and reblog shit which leads my friends to ask how i am. the thing is, in those moments i don't want anyone to tell me it's gonna be okay, i just want to wallow in my brain. for me it's a huge thing of respect because like you say i don't think that anyone believes me. talking to your camera is that. at the end of the day, do what will help you and we'll support it❤️

If anything, I believe bettering ourselves, especially when we have a mental illness, comes from being able to differentiate between what we can accept, and being responsible for changing the things we cannot. Being a creative person, usually comes from delving into our pain, but we have to try our absolute best not to dwell in it.

Once the creation has been made, where you've explored the darkness and actually let yourself feel those feelings of pain, try your hardest to move on and accept that that's where you were when you didn't know better.
If you can't move on by yourself, find someone who can be an outlet to help you move on, be that a friend or a therapist. Just be sure that the person you lean on isn't trying to make you feel better, but give you a new perspective.

Suffering from depression isn't fun, that I can promise anyone who doesn't, but it's getting better for me. Hopefully this can help you too <3

I think what Zannah said was so great. Everyone needs that friend. Also its so nice to know that everyone else is mental too 😂😭

Hello Dodie! {knowing you might never see this} I just wanted to say that I hope you remember that you are doing your best. Some people are going to shame you, say rude things, unfollow you, tell people you romanticize mental disorders, and so on and so forth. But you always need to remember that you are human. You are doing your best to make it day by day, step by step. Being human isn't easy, you have to choose what's right and wrong to you, what you should and shouldn't do, what to believe and not to believe-people know how hard it is, people understand, so don't forget that you still have an army behind you to love, support, and encourage you. To remind you that it's all going to be ok, that you are going to be ok. And to remind you to not let the harshness and darkness of other people get to you. You've got this, you are doing great. You are human-but an amazing human. I hope you remind yourself of that everyday 💛Sending all my love xoxo
@doddlevloggle

"I DON'T FUCKING KNOW YOU TELL ME" is my response to every question my family ask me about my plans for the future

Until i watched this video and read these comments I didn't realise how much you are oversharing, because in my mind you are (were) perfect, as are many public figures and celebrities, especially to young kids like me (14). And now I realise how dangerous overshadowing to this extent can be, and how dangerous it can be to look at public figures such as yourself as through rose-tinted glasses, and make you seem more than human- as if you are above and beyond all of us. I'm not saying you intend for us to look at you as some superhero, but that it does happen, and I only realised how serious this problem was until you actually spoke out about it, which is kinda scary because it means I wasn't thinking for myself and I was taking everything you said as gospel, which is very, very dangerous, and also damaged my mental health considerably in the past year or so as I convinced myself that I would never get better and that everything you said was true and right and perfect and nothing else came close to the truth. BUT, aside from that, I have also found your videos on mental health very comforting when I am having particularly bad days because I can see someone who is so much older than me with much more experience, who feels similarly to me and is confirming that everything I experience isn't just made up and in my head and fake and commercialised. But I definitely do think that you should tone it down quite a bit, or if you write and film videos when you feel low, don't post or upload or send them anywhere or to anyone until time has passed an you're not so caught up in the moment anymore, and you can look back on it with a new perspective when you might have a more optimistic and sensible mindset, so you can make better decisions and be more careful. One more thing - don't fall into the trap of putting our opinions over those of your close friends. Because as much as you may try to be authentic and real in your videos, it is human nature to change yourself slightly from positions like yours, and we don't really know you as much as people who see you regularly in real life do. I know it's comforting to throw all your problems and the million people who are waiting on you hand and foot and get hundreds and thousands of comments full of love and support thrown back at you within seconds, but it's no real love, it doesn't really help. It gives you an empty taste of what you could have, and makes you desperate for more, make you cry louder and ask for more and more attention and open up about more things that you know you shouldn't, but you can't help but do it anyway because you love the rush of fans who care about you. But when you find a real person who cares about you deeply and truly, and is there for you when nobody else is, it's that same rush but even better, and it lasts a million times longer than watching a notification appearing on your phone and then watching the screen fade to black again. Just be careful. We love you, but we can't support you forever. ❤️

Here's the thing. Oversharing can be bad and good. I love exposed to sensitive people, because I'm sensitive and I'm never exposed to sensitive people. But to others it's too much. Honestly I don't mind, I have ADHD dyslexia and have extremely high anxiety levels. I relate to being judged for mental Heath, but some other are scared by it and want personal things to stay personal.

I relate to this so much lmao. Always post things on Instagram that are depressing as fuck and then it makes me cringe as soon as I see a friend has seen it and I regret it so much...also I kind of just did the exact same thing that you're talking about 😂😩 shared this video on Facebook knowing I'd regret it but I doubt anyone will watch because I bet people are fed up of my constant cat videos lol. Whoops 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well, after reading some comments I see the issue even if I don't have that issue. Me personally I have been diagnosed with depression and was in a suicidal treatment center for nearly six months yet I find that your videos, tweets, snapchats and all of that actually helps me in a way that none of my friends or family could. In my mind whenever I express myself (rarely) they always say that they "understand" when really they were just sad for a bit and are just trying to make me feel better, although I appreciate their efforts to make me feel better it ends up making me feel worse because they are lying and really don't understand, but because you have no clue who I am and what I am going through whenever you express yourself I feel like someone actually understands me. I respect the fact that some people can't handle the constant negativity but I just want you to know Dodie, that some people who are constantly in a low do appreciate how open you are so not everyone is against it. Though again, I respect the opinions of others.

I don't know where to stand on the oversharing online thing - when I'm feeling low I have a private Twitter that I can rant on that only one or two close friends follow but I also know that you can feel like you're being such a burden by laying out your real emotions when they aren't as pretty as you might like. Thanks for talking about this though, and I hope both Hazel and you are doing alright xox

yeahh dodes you've been oversharing, but you've also been making art. Beautiful art

I think that it's great that you share because I feel like people don't talk about it enough and that can lead to people feeling like it something to be ashamed of. The thing I struggle the most with is opening up, as none of friends know about my mental health issues and when I see you tubers and even people I know being so honest about how they are doing it makes me feel relieved that I'm not the only one and it also inspires me to talk to someone about how I feel and they are being so brave by posting these things.

Okay so. I havent finished watching this yet but im so eager to comment.

Whenever i hear about your struggles its reassuring that things might be okay and it really highlights that friends can help!! Talking can help to realise things and put how you feel into words ???

ALSO you do post good things too! Going on trips, going out, general good things. It makes things real.

HOWEVER we love you and we worry or some people may search for the same thoughts in their heads. Im probably talking poo. But eveyone has a bit of sad in their lives i guess.

FINALLY, you talk about therapy you have and stuff, maybe if you go more into that to help others will give you more of a point of being so open about mental health, like whats going good whats going bad etc etc :)

Love u xo

a relatable one. im a senior right now and my friends and i are all struggling mentally. i find it hard to reach out for help for a load of reasons. firstly its kind of a competitive thing to have more reason to be stressed/anxious/depressed? like i think its just a high school thing idk if anyone else gets that, i hate it personally and i try really really hard not to compare my responsibilities and workload to other people's. i also dont want to be a burden on them like we're all busy we all have assignments etc. even though i should and they probably wouldnt mind at all i dont expect my friends to spend time talking to me about it. i also am a tiny closet baby and the only person im fully out to is the person causing me the ol lgbt-unrequited-long-term-crush-that-you-have-to-hide-for-a-year+ blues :/ i also get the embarrassment thing as well. ugh what a time

I understand how posting on social media can be helpful, I do it a lot but of course, I don't have a large fan base. I would find it hard though if I suddenly wasn't able to post my real feelings about my mental illness. Well I do get that maybe you have been oversharing a bit if people are triggered by your content then they can not look at it. I personally find it comforting that there are other people who feel the same things I feel but are still alive and still creating. Most of the talk I hear on mental health online is talked about in the past, "when I was depressed" it's nice to hear people speaking up saying "I'm dealing with this right now!"
A lot of the comments on this video seem to be blaming you and picking apart what you and Hazel have said, but I find it refreshing to hear people talk about mental health in such an open and honest way.

I want to just hug her, and just that, she can cry on me, she can hug me back, she can look at me like in mental, I just want to hold a little bit, so she feels secure for a brief moment, cause that is all I wanted when I felt like this, I just wanted to be held even when I didn't want to be touch, so Dodie if you ever see this, I love you, and I hope you get through it like you help me get through it.

I never have anything to the intensity but when I can't figure out my feelings I found a friend that literally understands my bumbling and flailing and knows exactly what to say and how to give me advice. I think it's important to try and find that person because I never knew she could do that until I finally talked about it with her.

Aw dodie. I'm easily triggered so I'm glad I don't have a snap but it broke my heart to hear you admit to yourself that you've turned into this mental health black hole. I'm sorry for all of the guilt and shock that comes your way because of this, but just know that you'll be able to make it better now. I think it's great that you're documenting all of the elements of being someone whose gathered attention by over a million people. It's part of your brand really. I was honestly starting to see you as a person drifting towards all of the other 'hides away until they have something perfect to share' youtubers, which really made me sad. Hopefully when you gain the motivation to make personal yet positive videos, you can rediscover who you are

This video helped me understand your posts/vids where ur down a lot more, thx dodie

I appreciate the road you have helped pave for openness and honesty about mental health, but I also am concerned about the younger viewers of course like many are. I wouldn't say don't speak up about how you are doing anymore, but maybe counteract it as well, like show and speak of how you are going to your friends or how you're battling your darkness. I think when it comes to mental health, the "trick" to surviving is counteracting every shitty thing our brains try to tell us. So if you talk about how depressed you are in a video, maybe talk about how you're going to try and reach out to a friend or express how you're trying to be proactive. I know mental healthy is touchy, and I battle with depression myself. But when it comes to something that affects so many people, I think we need to take responsibility and not share so much or change how exactly we share, so that we don't do more harm than good in the name of mental health awareness.
TL;DR--
I appreciate what you've done Dodie and I support openness about mental health 100%, but I think it needs to be backed up with proactivity and promoting good coping strategies like going to friends.

tbh i've stopped watching your stuff and sort've removed myself from your life in a way? because i couldn't cope with everything you were expressing and i don't want to dictate what you do so you can continue to share as much as you like. i think it's up to the people around you to help you in these times, to you to recognise when you need to speak to a person and have them speak back and up to your audience to decide whether or not they personally can handle the emotions you're putting into the world. people cope in a variety of different ways and while maybe what you're doing is helping others, i think ultimately what you should consider is if it's helping you. mental health is incredibly important and should be talked about, but it should be done healthily and i'm not sure you've been doing that. of course it may be helpful to you to speak your mind online when you're so low, or maybe you're forcing yourself to do so because you feel people need that from you. i hope you make the decision that is right for you. truly right for you, not for your audience. if people are too deeply affected by what you share, eventually they will leave which is something i think you must be aware of. i personally had to leave because my mental health is already in a bad state and i felt it was becoming worse everytime i watched any mental health video. i had a similar situation with Becki0 i think her name is? her constant state of sadness was affecting me too much and as much as i appreciate her, i can't watch her content or interact with her.

that said, i love you and i wish you the best in the world. you deserve it.

I've always thought of it as: if humans didn't suffer then we wouldn't know the difference between happy and sad, so all feelings would be smushed together and just sort of numbed...

Their chat about the up and down thing with friends and mental health really resonates with me, I don’t think my friends know how much I’m hurting, so they rely on me to hold them up, which brings me down. I don’t let them know though.

This is one of your video that i go too when i feel like i need to hear someone talking and.... when i just feel like it... but it’s relatable and calming everytime ...

I LOVE YOU BOTH SO MUCH <3

i think you just have to make sure you're talking about mental health in a way that can have a positive outcome. spreading awareness and removing the stigma is great. but there is such a thing as oversharing, definitely. but when you're (in general you plural speaking) feeling at your lowest, sometimes tweeting or snap chatting how you're feeling makes it real and can help to make you feel better? I've definitely done this myself, but i don't have the same platform as you do dodie. people with platforms do have to be a lot more conscious of how they affect those who see and can react to their content.

it's 100% ok to figure out how much sharing is good and healthy along the way nobody should expect a person to know this just because they have a large following. you grow and learn and im sure you help different parts of your audience every step of your way, dont feel guilty about being you and/or trying to figure out who that is

Well maybe you can start journaling and instead of telling it to the whole world just write it down and you can read it the other day again and then really understand how youre feeling and over time seeing what personal progress you've made :)

i kinda do this too and this video really made me think. i don't have followers who i don't know, but still. my friends or sometimes even my mom will ask me how i am, i'll say i'm fine, and they'll go "no. i saw your story or Instagram." i've never thought of it as a bad thing - putting things out there. this video is a very good one for me. thank you for talking about these things. i hope you feel better soon. (easier said than done, i just mean that you deserve to feel good) sending you my love. ❤️

I haven't used Snapchat for the last year or so, and I don't remember ever watching anything too intense before then. I also don't have problems watching some of your heavier videos, e.g. the depersonalization ones, depression ones. That said, I'm 17 and a lot more understanding of myself than I used to be. BUT.
If my 12-14 year old self was watching your videos, I do honestly think it might have been bad for me, partially because it would have made me feel sad and partially because I would identify myself with your illnesses instead of finding the real causes (whether we like it or not, mental health is a trend that everyone wants to adopt). You do have a large audience that alongside actual mental health patients, consists of young, impressionable, want-to-be-trendy teenagers. While I am self-aware enough (and not mentally ill) to filter out bad content, younger people might not be.
I don't know how to solve this problem. I personally think your videos are fine, as are your insta captions. If your Snapchat really does get too heavy and you really think you need that mental outlet (although by what you said in the video that Snapchat doesn't validate you because it's not like a conversation with people it's like talking to yourself), then put up some kind of warning that this will be a bad mental health rant.
Still, in terms of Snapchat, I do think you should talk to your friends, not your audience. Snapchat is bad in that it feels like a more personal media, but it's just as distant as others in terms of popular creator / audience. Think about that - both from creator's and audience's side - before posting mental health rants there.
Take care of yourself. I love and support you. x

You are the best,realest, and most beautiful youtuber out there, Dodie! Never forget that. Love you ( ˘ ³˘)♥

Love you doddle! I understand what you're talking about. The only thing that keeps me going these days is my baby. I talk about my problems when it gets real bad on twitter but I don't have any friends so no one really talks back. And I don't like to burden my family because they have there own problems.

So high note or not your videos always help #relatable...

(Now, should I post this or just leave it unposted in my notes till I get a new phone and loss it forever? Maybe risk it...)

I love you dodie ❤️❤️❤️

I've definitely had a hard time watching your videos lately. I've honestly thought about unsubscribing to this channel. I'm young, only 13 actually, and i saw your videos as a place to be happy. But now, i simply see it as a diary of your emotions. I've unfollowed your instagram, I did that a while ago. It was tough. When I saw you on tour, all I saw was you, faking happiness. It was horrid. I'm glad that you've came to a realization of all of this.

Hello dodie! You've already read a lot of different opinions and I'm guessing you won't read this one, but I just wanted to add mine (which is a mixture of some things already said in the comments and something I haven't actually seen). SO, first of all, I myself have not been diagnosed with any mental illness, and I don't think I have one as such, i just think I'm a very thoughtful and VERY sensitive person. To me, dodie, your work and creations have been very present in my life, and the way you open up about mental health has been really important to me, because it made ME aware of it (even more than i already was) and it really put me in the mindset to help the people I know who need help, and they very much appreciate it. As well as making me aware, I have related to you like no one else, because I have been through really tough times with events in my life which I do think have impacted my brain maybe a little bit. I've always found myself coming back to you, and actually feeling better. I gave you a letter, idk if you read it, but I had some pretty serious family issues a few weeks prior giving you the letter (i didn't specify that in my letter hah), and a few weeks before that I literally could not feel ANYTHING. At first I was very sad, but then i was just kind of in robot mode, like i didn't want to do anything, i didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone. The only thing I could feel was disappointed at everything. But I listened to Party Tattoos for the first time, and just your voice and the words and everything in that song made me feel something again. Not only did i feel comforted, but i also felt human for the first time in a long time. I felt alive, and you did that. And I thank you for that. So, dodie, you do help a lot of people, you raise awareness and to me, you actually show how mental illnesses actually are and you gave me and a lot more other people a completely different view of it. I saw how difficult it is, how blocking it is. I don't understand people saying you romanticize it, because in my opinion pictures don't always match captions, and your captions to me are very raw and real. To me, you show a very real side of it all, and it really helps raise awareness.

THAT BEING SAID, i do want to add that maybe you are oversharing a little bit. I think you've showed us how things can truly get, and that has raised awareness itself, but some people are starting to find it triggering. Not everyone, but some. I think the best thing you can do is what hazel said, maybe talk about it not when you're at the bottom, but when you're on your way back up. Maybe it's those very detailed descriptions that people find triggering. IF you want advice, my advice would be to yes, if you're sad and you want to share it and ask for help, you can do that, and know we're always here to help. I think the only thing you should be careful about is being descriptive all in public. Maybe say that you ARE not okay and reach out for help, and then when in a private conversation with someone who isn't vulnerable at the time, then you can talk about it explicitly. Another thing I saw was that you can record a video when you're feeling that way, because talking to a camera helps, and not upload the video until you have given it 24 hours past being filmed. Think if that would help your audience, and if you decide not, then you don't have to upload it. AND THEN, feeling better, you can talk publicly about how you felt and how you recovered. That way, you get to raise awareness, tell other people that it gets better, talk about it explicitly with people who are willing to listen, and help yourself find your way. Another thing I'd recommend would be just a complete break from social media, especially twitter and instagram. Maybe a month, and see where you get.
Regardless, i really really thank you for everything you've done and I'm very sad and very sorry that your work has been getting these kinds of misunderstandings. We all can find a way to fix this and find a middleground, and you being open to discussion is really really helpful and important. Again, we are a very helping community with each other, and i really do believe we will find the perfect spot of help, recovery and communication. I love you so so much, and please know we want you to be happy.

I respect you for doing this Dodie. I don't really watch your snapchats with sound, but when I do it affects my mood. i do think you need to cut back, get professional help. it helped me so much. love you dodie, I hope you take the advice of hazel and everyone in the comments.

Dodie I heard you on Radio 1 for the 10 mins I turned the radio on today!

instead of criticizing you for something that seems to be quite common, i will give some suggestions:
1) trigger warnings! these are pretty easy and allow people to consent to the content in the video instead of getting clickbaited. you can get creative and make the thumbnail the tw that looks dodie-esque in its design.
2) video journaling. it can be exactly what you do on youtube, just without posting the video. i'm not sure if getting feedback is part of the urge to post, but i thought this might be a good idea regardless.
3) continue seeking help and communicate with close ones. i know how hard this one can be, but it's important to remember that even if it doesn't feel like it, getting help is worth the effort. it's hard and convoluted, but it's so much better to get help than it is to continue struggling. remember, you have people that care about you! and while it is important to make sure they're comfy with letting you vent to them, it's ok to talk to them.

i won't tell you to make more positive videos, because all that will do, especially at this stage, is make you feel fake, as well as increase the intrusive thoughts. it's your channel, and while you may be able to influence people, they are not your children. you don't have to get rid of or significantly change the content you make because, while you may be a youtube influencer, you are not actively telling anyone to do anything. that's why i think doing one of the above will allow you the freedom to do whatever you want and still be able to protect anyone that might get negatively affected by your videos. (i know dodie will most likely never see this, but i feel this advice can be applicable to anyone having similar issues)

Reading these comments are really helping me think clearly.. I relate with wanting to post in the heat of the moment and hoping someone will reach out to me, but it never goes how I expect. I've made a habit of confiding in strangers instead of my real friends and family. I don't know how/if I want to break this habit yet. I'm scared to not use social media because what would I do in my free time instead? I'm scared of being alone, but with social media, I feel less lonely and I don't have to try as hard to reach out. There is some relief with posting how I feel, but it doesn't make those feelings completely vanish. The feelings are still there, but at least I'm not the only one suffering. It feels like a lot of being are getting into this habit of being distant and staying at home all the time (I could be assuming this). When will we break this habit? Will it only get worse? I'm scared for myself and others that we'll continue to stay hidden behind these screens and devices instead of the real world. That's why I'm glad I finally got a job which forces me to socialize with coworkers/customers. I suggest for people to do just the same (if you're the right age/have a license) or reconnect with friends you've lost touch with ! We need to start doing healthy normal things again or else we won't get better. We'll stay in this limbo of depression if we don't try to reach out for help for real.

i just want to say that, as someone who has struggled with BOTH physical and mental struggles, that it isnt easier to be physically sick. at least, not when it comes to serious physical disability. i live with multiple rare diseases and have been told that i'm a hypochondriac or that im faking by ignorant doctors bc its so hard to prove that my illnesses are real. the term is "invisible illness." tests come back clear and i LOOK fine but really i could be on the brink of death and no one would know. dodie i really love your videos but there are some definite ableist undertones. please, don't forget about disability in your activism. comparing mental and physical ailments is toxic and very damaging. there is a massive stigma among chronically ill people that if you dont look sick or seem sick then you cant be sick. saying this sort of thing to your audience furthers that stigma and makes it harder for us disabled people. i've been watching for ages but hearing that sort of thing said (+ the oversharing bit) hurts a lot.

I feel so shit at the moment. I have a massive problem with opening up and saying how I feel. Even my best friend who I trust with my life is so worried because I bottle it all up and just keep it to myself. The thing is, I go to say how I feel and then there's a barrier stopping me and I physically can't say it. In year 9 I self harmed but I didn't really know what I was doing. I was clean for over a year and I've started again recently. It feels so good to get the pain out without using words. I understand how I am but I can't convey that to anyone else. Mainly because I feel like they're going to judge me and tell me I'm stupid and attention seeking, but also because I'm scared that if I get help I might find out I have something seriously wrong and spiral out of control. I love you Dodie and you're so lucky to have so many friends that understand exactly how you feel without you having to explain it very much xxxx

THIS IS SO HELPFUL I CANT EVEN ❤️

It's funny cos I feel YouTubers who share too many fitness posts are over sharing/triggering etc. As someone who suffers from depression and anxiety I always appreciate your honesty and frank approach to it xx

this vid and all the comments are so interesting bcos its making me realize how much i myself overshare about my problems and mental illness on the internet (though ofc i don't have to deal w the consequences of having a large audience so its not exactly the same as dodie's situation) but i think that the bottom line is that when someones not doing well mentally, talking to a trusted friend or even better a professional who's equipped to deal w this stuff is the most productive thing to do, even though it may seem intimidating to some!!!! i'm definitely guilty of livetweeting my fuckin mental breakdowns and depending on validation from ppl and it really is so unhealthy and ultimately doesn't do much to help in the long run, if that makes sense

For a long time I was really big fan but recently I really reconsider the effect that watching these videos and snapchats (especially the snapchats) was having on me. Dodie, I know that your intention was never to romanticise mental illness or anything like that and in my opinion I don't really think you do. The problem is that a lot of young, impressionable people that watch your videos want to or have wanted to, be like you (myself in the past included) and that's just the way it is. They'll think they should have these problems or try to force these problems on themselves. But more recently I felt the problem with the Snapchats was that it almost promoted negativity and that's something personally I'm trying to get away from. Anyway, that's my two cents on this, I still love you and your music Dodie but it's probably a lot more beneficial, for me anyways, to distance myself from all the negativity.

I feel like this is your outlet, no matter what this is what helps you so it's going to keep happening

but a responsible way to do this would probably be to give warnings beforehand, to tell people to go to A+E when they are in crisis, go to your GP

bc at the end of the day, if someone had a broken leg you would tell them to get help,
mental illness is no different

can't lie sometimes watching your mental health video's gets to me a little i love you so much but it does tend to make me start self diagnosing my own moods and feeling. Like I do know when not to watch but yeah i can get you do overshare at times but at the same time Dodie you do give alot of awareness and you share what you do to get through this like going to doctors and counsellors and stuff which is helpful. I myself see a counsellor when it gets too much although i know your situation is a little more then just feeling down but yeah.

All my friends watch u and they all think that depression and mental illness is something that should be romanticized. If u need help its good to talk..sometimes sharing ur feelings makes us feel much better but sometimes its too much oversharing.

I think it's very important for you to be honest about ur feelings but I completely get if you feel maybe ur sharing too much. Just do whatever you feel is right and stay well :)

I definitely get this! I will put stuff online for support because it takes two seconds to text my friends, and yet I don't because I convince myself that they won't understand... 😔

honestly, someone who goes through a lot (actually diagnosed, not self) and seeing dodie this way actually help me, because I don't feel so alone (I know I'm not, but seeing someone like dodie, who emotionally I can relate too kinda makes my brain understand) maybe if dodie made it a side video rather then a big thing. With a trigger warning or age restriction because like everyone says, she has a large audience and not to be rude but from experience people under 14 shouldn't be so exposed to such a raw description to mental health

I think if you were to approach it at a different angle, because sometimes you do talk about it in a helpful way and sometimes it is good to spread awareness but there's a fine line. If you look at your song "secret for the mad" for example, that's a good example of relating to your audience in a positive way. You express your concerns and worries but you use your experience to help other people get throught it without making it self centered.

what I feel helps is just recording stuff on voice record, or just filming yourself but not putting it out in public. I don't know if that will help, especially since you might WANT people to see it, or at least feel like people are seeing it, but it might be another way if you don't want to talk to your friends. I'm sorry if this sounds ignorant, I honestly have no idea what you are going through.

OMG why do you make me so happy?

you help me,thank u dodie :)

dear dodie,
I have been a huge fan for yours for many years. when i first became a fan I wasn't struggling with mental illness in anyway. but as the years past I began to struggle with anxiety and depression. at first I was extremely confused and I constantly told myself that I was just blowing things out of proportion. I basically denied having any form of having a mental illness. this of course made things worse. finally I did realize that I wasn't just sad or stressed or even a little nervous, I realized that it was something much more. but like any teenager who realizes that your ill, it scared me. having a mental illness is so much different than being physically ill because when you are physically ill you often find out what it is, the cause, and your treatment options and this makes your brain at peace knowing what you can do to solve the issue. but when your brain is sick you have no idea what to do because usually you rely on your brain to tell you what to do. through watching your videos and listening to your songs you have helped me come to terms with my mental illness's and accept them for what they are. you have taught me so much and I am so grateful.
I personally don't think you are oversharring. seeing mental illness raw and seeing exactly what it is helped me and I think more people need to show what mental illness really is. I understand that there are people who don't enjoy seeing the way you show your mental illness but in my opinion I think it is because it scares them, mental illness is a scary thing and many people really have no idea what it is actually like and you showing it scares certain people. but for those that it scares I think an easy solution for them is to just steer clear of the mental health posts. sharing your story and talking about your mental health is an outlet for you and has helped me soooo fucking much. please don't stop sharing your story and showing the world what mental illness really is like. love you xoxo

This is a difficult topic and I really commend you for engaging with criticism in such a public way. That in itself shows a lot of care and compassion and, ultimately, respect for your audience. This has been brought up already but I wanted to add to the conversation about associating art with mental illness. I'm a writer who has both an anxiety disorder and depression. At different periods of my life I have been so debilitated by anxiety that I've been unable to leave my room, I've had to leave jobs because I couldn't make it through a day without a panic attack, and I have many times struggled with daily suicidal ideation. During these times I could not write. I couldn't do anything. The thing that brought me closest to losing hope was feeling like I had failed at the thing that comprises one of the most fundamental parts of my identity. It is the worst I have ever felt in my life, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone in the world. There may be a correlation between art and mental illness, but one does not serve the other. That isn't to say you can't create art about your experiences, but you are doing so in spite of your illness, not because of it.

I'm really not trying to scold you here--if anything I wanted to tell you this because figuring it out had a massive impact on my life. There were times in my life that I thought my mental illness made me interesting, or gave me the emotional depth to be a good writer. It doesn't. And neither does yours. You're talented because you work hard, because you're smart, because you have something that no one else does. Your perspective matters because you choose to share it. Your story matters because you're taking the time to tell it. None of these things are inextricably tied to the levels of certain chemicals in your brain. So keep making what you want to make, but get treatment too. I promise that the other side of this valley is going to be amazing.

This was really interesting 😊
We're all here for youuuuuu

as some people find your oversharing triggering or upsetting, i find it kinda reassuring because i relate to the things you say and it makes me feel just that little bit less alone and like it's not just me feeling like this although i would ask you to put a lil warning before snapping or posting videos or tweeting etc if you get what i mean, love you X

Honestly, I usually just write what is going on in my notes and just think about whatever that can contradict all the negative thing i wrote. Lets say i said i dont have anybody, i would look back at the text and think about my friends and people who care such as parents,grandparents,siblings,etc. Just what i do and usually helps.

hey dodes - I... don't know if you'll ever see this, but I understand. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry both of us have this thing in our brains, and I'm so proud of us for dealing with it. we both have a long way to go, but we're getting there. Thank you for making feel like I'm not alone.

When you show your deepest points, I just think like 'wow my mental health is fine, I don't need any help' which is not a good thing because i actually do need help... Or sometimes you scare me off and then I don't want to scare anyone else so I keep it to myself. But at the same time I do think people need to be honest and open about it... I just have mixed feelings about this...

as someone with social anxiety, i find it so so difficult to watch your snapchat story or look at your other social media platforms as it immediately makes me tense, anxious and distressed. However, as thats how you seem to be dealing with whats going on, i just removed myself from the situation (it did make me sad deleting you off snapchat but i just couldn't cope). Its also distressing cause (and i really don't want to sound harsh when i say this) it doesn't seem like you want to help yourself? it seems a lot like 'woe is me i want to stew in my sadness' rather than 'I'm in a shit situation and i need help or to get it off my chest so i can move on' - which is totally fine obviously because we've all been there and had moments like that but its hard as a viewer to watch because you don't seem to be finding the stairs upwards. you seem to just keep going down into the cellar of your mind where there are a lot of dark thoughts and gloom and boxes that shouldn't be disturbed. I really hope things start to get better for you Dodie cause its the absolute pits feeling like theres no up. I definitely wouldn't say stop sharing because its important people talk about the ugly side of mental illness but i would say maybe take a different approach to how you present it. All of the love Dodie, i hope this doesn't come across as rude or mean because i don't intend for it to sound like that. Don't be so hard on yourself x

I wanted to say a few things in response to this....
1. I think a reason that a lot of Youtubers post such videos, like Jack's bad brain day video, is because they have a very LARGE group of people following them who worry, wonder, wait, and also have expectations for the Youtubers they're following. It's like having to communicate with your boss except to the level of thousands and millions, because if that audience disappears, then a huge chunk (or even all) of their income can disappear. Plus, Youtubers do have some sort of relationship with their audience - at least that's what YouTube as a platform has always looked to me.
Yes, those videos could be a way of venting and a "cry for help," as it were. (It's not like I can know why they actually put their video out there.) But there's also an element of communicating WHY there isn't any new content out there, or even just letting the people who care about you but have no personal relationship with you know what's going on to some extent. There are a lot of variables there. I see why for you all, as friends, it can be scary though.
2. Yes, mental health is hard to see and communicate, but saying that physical health is always easy seems somewhat insensitive. I have a sister who's almost always bedridden and feels as if she can't communicate what she needs because she feels embarrassed of what her body is limiting her to. And to many friends, family and doctors, it just looks like she's being lazy - like mental illness. I'm not trying to shame either of you, because I've learned so much about mental illness from Dodie especially and appreciate that so much from her sharing, but there are physical illnesses too that act in a similar way and downplaying what many people are going through - just like many people with mental illnesses have to go through - isn't very sensitive. Maybe you just meant if someone had a cold or the flu, and I'm sorry if you did only mean this and I brought any offense, but I personally felt that there should be awareness brought to this, as you both are typically people who try to be aware and sensitive of such things.
3. Please take care, both of you. I'm sorry to hear that you both are in this place and struggling and I hope you find a way through it sometime soon. I can't begin to really understand it all, but I'll hope for the best for you both. Much love sent your way.

I legit read the title as "am i overSHAGGING too much" and thought wow Dodie is getting real creative xD

I have only watched your YouTube content, but I don't believe that I've seen a video where I feel like you were saying too much. In fact, a good amount of the time I have felt so lonely in how I'm feeling. And I feel guilty for burdening my friends with the same pain or guilty for bothering my mom with a therapy visit. Sometimes I'm just low, and I don't feel like me. Sometimes that lasts for a while. I seek you in my times of loneliness. Your videos make me feel whole. Your music, insight, and happiness bring me so much life. I'm so sorry you're hurting and I hope you seek help, but I'm also so grateful for you.

I love you Dodie and I love your content, but I totally agree with what was being said about empty calories and the other comments here. You're right that there's really no etiquette for this. But the line between sharing and over-sharing on social media is starting to blur. I noticed a lot of people in the comments saying they're avoiding your content because of how much you share online. I hope this lil chat with Hazel maybe helped you realize the impact you're having on impressionable teens like me. We still love you and support you Dods <3

i have a feeling that every time i feel even a bit shit, i'll be coming back to this video.

Dodie i want you to remember that you are a human and feelings are feelings. Sometimes it fells wrong to tell somebody that something is mentally frustrating you. And sometimes over sharing is a bit to much. But what I wanna say is that you need to maybe take a break from doing to much maybe (I don't know if you are doing it but I will still tell you ) make a journal and say when something is a burden and find out if it's only at night is something to talk about with friends and family. Sometimes a break from what you are doing will help, and I care about you and your health I wanna see the sparkling dodie I've seen but if it's a barrier from having a bad day and portraits it to be a good day instead for your followers I would like you to be open and tell people what's going on instead of faking it.
I want you happy and healthy because I love you, so please take care of your self and find something that can help you
Xoxoxo Ann ♥♥♥

i dont think you are still reading comments but in hopes you are:
i remember finding you so long ago and i kinda liked you, then i definitely liked you, then i adored you, then i legit worshiped you. that shows my mental instability aswell as other fans who fall in love with these people. i became like a little parasite, whenever my host (dodie) was sad i was sad. id then be sad until dodie posted something happy. i never had depression, i have atrocious issues with obsession (dont worry id never stalk you or anything i just wanted to be you so badly) and i think thats something awful when you decide that the person you want to mirror is often depressed

i think this whole thing is WILD.. im sure people thank u for being such an inspiration. recently i feel like you've been inspiring me to fall into depression again because that's where i've spent most of my life in recent memory. i feel comfortable there. i've been getting better i've even felt happy with friends who i can be myself around and not feel like i'm performing in front of. but u remind me of the place i feel like i belong in. that muddy flat place that i strived to escape from. i didn't realise this was what was happening. i might need to take break from u for a while and sort my head out. but i appreciate this video so much! it's always nice to see people struggling in a way that's familiar even if it hinders more than it helps. love u guys. sorry for oversharing

Before I even clicked on this video I knew it was gonna be about 'mental health'. I'm not saying it's bad to share but literally every video on youtube, nearly everything in the media is about it. I have my own experiences and sure it's nice to know I'm not alone but I just don't want to be bombarded and reminded of the things I went through, I just wanna get my shit done you know. Don't mean to offend or attack, just saying how I feel about all this mental health stuff. It just pisses me off is all. Literally everyone in my school now jokes about killing themselves and how their life sucks. It's something we can all experience but why constantly talk about it? Isn't it good to focus on the other things? We aren't our minds you know. Our minds are just a part of us. We didn't have the same mindset as we did when we were 5 right? Of course. But it doesn't mean we are different people. Fuck this, seriously. No hate to you dodie

This is just something I need to get off my chest. I feel like we, the audience, blindly follow Dodie's every action. I only ever see compliments validating every facet of her being. While that is very nice, you don't really owe her anything. (This is coming from someone who is usually one of those people)
I do love Dodie, but I think she relies a bit too much on her doting audience and her "disturbed artist" character.

okay, i didn't wanna comment until i watched the entire thing. while dodie's openness about her mental health has extremely helped me, i do agree that you are oversharing a bit much. i thought i was alone in some of the things i was experiencing and that it was just normal, but when dodie opened up about her mental health i realized that i really needed to talk to someone because i can't deal with this on my own. i have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and i plan on reaching out this time. so thank you dodie. however, i normally binge watch people's youtube channels and watch all their videos in a span of time and then move to the next channel. i've slowly noticed that in the past recent times when i binge watch doddlevloggle (not so much of doddleoddle) my mood changes. i kinda feel heavy as if i'm bearing the weight of someone else's issues. these topics tend to stick on me as the day goes on and i can't seem to shake them despite me having a good day. god forbid i binge watch your channel when i'm having a bad week or day (since youtube tends to be my safety place). i mean, i don't want you to stop sharing and close this outlet, but maybe it's gone too far. i do worry about your younger audience, and if this type of heavier content impacts them far too much. i'm glad we're discussing this though since i also know lucy moon talked about oversharing on her channel in the recent past. it's comforting to know that sharing about mental health and things we are personally struggling with is not as taboo as it once was but since this is new territory for so many creators, we've yet to really draw the line in the sand that states it's too much

I respect whatever you choose to do with your life and I hope that it eventually will lead to your happiness but I would respectfully like to ask that you continue making music about your emotions and feelings. Whilst reading the comments I have been wondering what would be best, and based off of my experience I feel like it could be very helpful to some but I recommend making a separate channel for it. When I listened to "6/10" and "Sick Of Losing Soul Mates" I actually began to cry out of relief that someone understood and was able to put it into words, something I have been trying to do for a while. I have sent some of your songs to my loved ones as an act of expressing myself because truly I have no clue how. But if stopping this means helping yourself and your audience then I will respect your choice to stop.

This is such a difficult discussion, because you deserve to talk about it. Many people do that, everyone wants to pour their heart out for someone to see it. But what the difference is, most of them don't have an audience. I'm a part of your audience and i think it's okay you're sharing so much. It makes me feel i'm not alone and it's okay to be not okay. But on the other hand it makes me so sad to see you sad... It's really good and important to talk about mental health and you also help many people with it. But please be careful, you are what matters. And in my opinion the best thing to do is waiting until you feel better and then share it. But i don't really mind you posting snapchats or tweets when you're feeling sad. Because i'm still a doddler and i'll always be there for you. Even though i can't do much, if listening helps or replying to your tweets helps, even when it's just a little, I'll do that. I love you so much dodie, you're loved by so many people. Don't ever forget that. (And the same goes for everyone reading this comment, you are loved!!!) ❤

as someone who doesn't have any extreme metal illnesses like depression or depersonalisation, I actually find your videos super interesting. I know people who have the same sort of things and it's hard for them to open up and how in depth you go it can help me understand these sorts of things better and can help other people understand these that don't have depression or anxiety etc. However I think there's always a cut of point of how in depth you can go because your brain is always in a different state when you're in your lowest and highest moments. (Also glad that you now know the depths you can go into) ❤️❤️

I enjoy feeling that I'm not nutty for feeling... well, nutty. I can't even ask for help when I'm physically sick, much less anything else, so sometimes it helps to know that lots of people have their own problems.

Personally, I don't think you share too much because it makes me feel understood, less alone. But on the other hand, I do understand that some people might get triggered or something (without your intention) by seeing someone else struggling. Mental health & illness is for everyone different and I think you should find some sort of comprise between sharing a little, but not too much. (Idk I'm trying to help but English is not my mother tongue so I'm not very good at explaining what I'm trying to say 😂💕) Love you <3

okayyyy damn i don't know how to feel about this.
i've been on both sides of this, as a creator who likes to share my life and as a viewer.
tbf i think the only time when 'oversharing' about mental health is unhealthy is when:
- it's not helping the person who's sharing it (they regret it later, it does nothing to help, etc)
- it romanticises mental health issues

one one hand, talking about mental health is so so important because of the stigma around it. i guess it's just important not to go the other way and romanticise it or put ideas into other people's heads. as an example, i once heard a youtuber talking about something that made them anxious which had never occurred to me before and henceforth i was anxious about that thing.

on the other hand, if it's not helping you, why bother? i totally get the desire to share (i've done those 3am tweets too) but if it doesn't actually help, then there's legit no point. you might do better to find some coping strategies that actually help, that you can call on in that situation, or find specific people to go to. i have one person i can go to about stuff like that which means, when they're not around, i have no one to talk to which is when it becomes an issue.

the main reason why i feel like i want to 'overshare' online is to make me 'more real' in the eyes of the people watching me. the more real i seem online, the more real and alive i'll feel- or at least that's what my flawed depressed logic tells me. it doesn't work though. people online will never truly know you and they can't validate your existence. only you (and the real people around you) can do that.

aaaaaagh this is difficult

Dodie: I should stop over sharing and having mental health as my brand
Dodie a day later: puts on Snapchat that she went on the radio and to talk about depersonalization

The response to this video makes me - honestly - so confused and upset. It seems that so many of the comments are trying to either tear Dodie down for sharing her honest to god feelings about something, claiming that she's suddenly a 'danger' to her audience, or criticising her for linking mental illness and creativity. And I'm not going to lie, I don't have and didn't see the aforementioned Snapchats that seem to be the turning point in all of this, but I can pretty much imagine what they were like. So the first point is - stop making Youtubers put up barriers between themselves and their audiences. In the beginning, Youtubers could go out for coffee with their viewers, chat to them at meet ups, add them on facebook - there was no sense of celebrity or 'other' that now seperates the creators we love and the audience who love them. By tearing Dodie down for sharing the same thoughts and feelings that she would share with a friend with her audience, she was inadvertantly breaking down that barrier. And now it seems like the comments are determined to build them back up again. Essentially by criticising Dodie for oversharing, it seems like more people want her to keep secrets, to lie, to pretend to be happy on camera, to clam up about her real self and speak to her audience like children. I love that Dodie is honest. I really truly love that, and it's such a huge comfort to me knowing that I'm not alone, that there is someone out there who can understand what I'm going through with my own mental illness, and to remind me that even though things inside my head are bad, I can still become something amazing despite all of that. That should be why Dodie is an inspiration - not for lying on camera or guarding her real feelings to the point of self-censorship and falseness, but because she admits when things are shitty, and then produces something beautiful despite it.

dodie u can share whatver you are comfortable with. i think that it is great that you are comfortable enought to share about your mental health to thousands of people because mental health isnt talked about enough. you are an inspiration keep doing what youre doing

Noooooo you arent oversharing it helps me a lot to hear someone else going through the same thing so i dont feel crazy. If it doesnt help you to share though, i understand!!! But i promise you, no one is bothered by you and everyone just wants to give you love and support!!

hey dodie :)
im going to talk to my guidance counsellor at school because i think i need help. im scared what they will think and how i will tell my parents. any tips ? 💛💛💛

I respect those who say that dodie is oversharing and it is damaging but... I would just feel unsettled if dodie didnt speak about it. Lately, it has been bad with the oversharing, but every single depression video that I watch every time im in a depressive episode is the only thing that helps. In a weird way, the aesthetic sides of the posts about depression help to take the sting of it away for me, and calm me. I would feel worse off if dodie didnt post. If she decides not to because she doesnt want to, thats fine. Im just saying that they are majorly helpful so im actually for them tbh x

On the one hand, I think you're very real and you don't pretend like everything is fine all the time, or have this forced positivity thing going that I see a lot of people on youtube doing. And I think that's important to people. On the other hand, it seems to me from what you wrote in your description that you yourself feel like this is a coping mechanism that is perhaps unhealthy for you. And I think that maybe you should, for yourself, find other coping mechanisms that are better for you. Like reaching out to friends instead, for example. And then when you've taken a step back, you can be open about it but with a bit more of a distance and a filter in place for what you do share.

I think a warning on the snaps are a good idea! The vidcon one was the only one I couldn't finish but I think if I was in a worse place I could see having issues with a few of them. BUT this time last year I was in a bad place and you posted a video about abusive relationships (which I've had experience with) and I watched it and ended up having an anxiety attack later that day which is kind of a negative response to that video but I don't think it was! I think it was good for me to see. It helped me recognize that I had been in an abusive relationship and also was good to see someone who is my age, who was in a similar position as me and who lived through it and is dealing with it, I needed that in my life to feel less alone and to remember that I am okay even though my body and brain sometimes disagrees. I think you sharing can be really good for a portion of your audience but starting your snap by saying "hey I'm going to talk about my brain right now so please be aware that it is an intense mental health topic" would help the people stop watching when they need to but allow the people who need to see it, to see it. Also I think the empty calories idea is important and that it really might not be healthy for you. I think that changing the format so you make a video pouring your feelings out and instead of posting them on Snapchat, you send them to a counselor could be much better for you!! I don't know you personally but from what I've experienced with my brain and what I have seen watching you for the last year and a half I think it would be better for you (most importantly, helping your audience is important but not to the level it hurts you) to find a different way to handle the harsh lows. Don't stop talking about mental health but adjust so that you aren't hurting yourself more in the process

this video feels so..... idk what im trying to say. but seeing 2 friends talking about their problems together... like confronting experiences & thoughts, i could relate to what you both said but also, it felt genuine... like a talk with a friend would feel. idk what im saying. but i really liked it
im also really liking reading the comments & seeing the criticism ppl have, cause its important also to see how damagin what we think is not only to ourselves but also to others u know... and like sometimes we dont realise it, or we do but the thought is already so deep that we cant stop thinking about it. its important tho to like, stop and reflect on what we are saying and the way we talk sometimes.

this comment makes no sense anyway thnx for the video i was feeling like shit and now ill still feel like shit but. maybe ill be honest to my friends too about it

Dear dodie, i see how the replies vary a lot and for me its also a mixture. You being vocal and outspoken about it has really helped me realise that its not all sunshine and rainbows on the other side of the screen and that i am not alone in how i feel. however, watching you talk about how you are bored of life of seeing you in that really dark place i was only a few months ago really makes me sad? thats not the word im looking for but idk it just makes me feel shitty again. so thank you for all you've done and know that your audience will be here to suport you but i hope you seek help in your friends instead of snapchat. (i dont intend to come off as rude or hurt you in any way, apologies if i do 💖)

I find the information you put out to be very helpful, not only as a person who struggles with mental health, but also as a person in an intimate relationship with someone in the beginnings of therapy treatments and trying to see their perspective. I am similar in the way that I throw my emotions into the void, knowing people will see them and knowing they won't address them, which leaves me feel almost partially satisfied and overall lonely. So, in some form or another, I see you as a bit of a reflection, or in the light that you can't take your own advice but if someone recited it back to you you'd listen. I also understand the difficultly and discomfort people may have with graphic descriptions of poor mental health, but I also never see it from any other outlet where it isn't fragile and soft and dainty instead of being horrific. It is hard to please everyone.

I like hearing so much about how you're feeling, but you should maybe chill sometimes. Personally, hearing about your problems really help me, because I realize that other people are going through the same stuff as me, but at the same time it might just make the mentally healthy portion of your audience feel sad. I trust you to pick what's right for your channel tho

I have to say I learned a lesson from this video, I felt extremely depressed this past school year. I didn't have any healthy friendships at my school and because I feared burdening people and being told my problems and anxiety are fake. On my Instagram I posted rather dark quotes about a burning hate and an overwhelming sadness inside me. Although no other piers reached out I felt it was a release but it just drove people away more. But I can see now I have people to talk to.

I loved you because I saw my self in those posts, I loved you, and felt fear for you. I wanted to be the person I didn't have But frankly it was scary for a kid. However we understand and love you.

I actually shy away from dodie's social media as well. I try my hardest to go through everything she writes on insta (because that's what i follow her on) and i try to be a supportive follower, but sometimes i just cant get myself to read it and just leave a like to show my support without going through the whole thing.
I think it's mainly because I cant relate. I haven't had any mental illnesses so it's very hard to empathise and i try so hard to because I'm so scared that I'll fuck it all up if a friend confides in me about similar situations or just to be able to send love to dodie, and i feel so guilty when i cant understand what she's going through, but i just end up reading her words without being able to understand how she feels but also feeling helpless because theres nothing i could do about it.
I'm terrified that one day a friend will come to me for support and ill end up blurting the wrong thing, and i want to raise my awareness about different mental health issues, which i HAVE because of dodes, but ive reached a point where i feel like if i end up continuing to read her messages too much ill end up making it about myself and my inability to empathise instead of it being purely about dodie.
And i hate to admit it, but sometimes i skip past purely because i dont want to feel sad and just want to act like everything is right in the world.
Idk does this even make sense?
(The only thing i felt i could do to help was sign up for mental health first aid workshops at my uni. Tried last sem but couldnt get in because all the spots filled up immediately. I really really hope i get in this time. I dont want to be helpless at a time when there are others who need my help the most. I have a dear friend who might need help and i dont want to let her down when she's already been let down by everyone else she's with.
If this doesnt make sense or is a ramble im sorry. I just dont know how to vocalise what im feeling. I feel selfish and guilty, like im thinking about myself when im the one whos privileged here, but i cant help it)

It might be considered over sharing but personally you talking about your mental health and writing music about your mental health has really helped me get through some really tough days. when I get down in the dumps and can't get out of it and I see a snapchat of you talking about you going through the same thing, it makes me feel like I'm not alone in the mess of it all. It's nice seeing someone who has a big following be so open and so unfiltered when it comes to mental illness. I know that some people are saying that it might be you romanticizing mental illness because your younger viewers might see it as an "aesthetic" but I know for a fact, that I'm not the only one that gets comfort knowing that other people are struggling with this internal monster too. I don't know, those are just my thoughts <3

I can understand that people feel as if you're oversharing or romanticizing mental illness but I honestly find a huge sense of comfort in these kinds of video's. I suffer from depression as well and where I feel as if the people around me don't get it, your video's comfort me because it makes me feel like I'm not alone in dealing with this.

Again, I get what a lot of the comments are saying, especially when it comes to your younger viewers and people who think they have a mental illness watching your video's but don't have one when they think about it. But rather than to stop sharing these things (because it's so important to talk about mental illness!), maybe you can take a different approach when talking about it?

I don't have depersonalisation and I don't have depression. I completely understand why you're sharing this stuff bc I do the same when I'm lonely and sad and feeling depressed. I don't know if sharing it all online is helping me or not but when I feel better I regret it a lot, especially when ppl ask me about it later. I feel like a lot of other people probably do the same and I think it would be best for a lot of your audience and yourself if we all made a promise to avoid social media when we're at our worst and instead talk to ppl we are close with. Maybe even for a month, just to see how it works out. Obviously it will be easier for some ppl and harder for others but it would help us all I think. ❤ love u girly and I hope that things get better and the good starts to overweigh the bad both irl and in ur head

its quite odd for me. i didn't know (somehow??) that you had a snapchat until a week ago. i added you and was kind of suprised to see the first story i'd watch of your's was about lying in the same spot for hours. it felt nice to hear and sad to hear. i like that you are honest and it does feel more personal when you share how you feel. i know you'd want that for us all, so when it comes from you as well, i feel like we know each other, though we do not.

but on the other hand, seeing so vividly your hurt, made me ache a little. i'm okay with that, because i am in a pretty good place right now. but, others aren't. they watch your stories because they love you... but they don't know all they might see. and that's a risk they take, however, if you didn't put such depictions out there, there'd be no risk to take. so for those in low places, in valleys and not on summits, it's unhealthy.

and yes, i have been hesitating to click your story; i think we all might be. talk to your friends, dodie. even make new ones you can have a blank slate with. there will always be kind people to carry off a little of your darkness on their back. but, for those who already have a pitch black sky on theirs, adding to it just might engulf them before the sun comes up.

Dodie I'm in exactly the same place with sharing I seem to have a found balance recently (or at least aimed to do this). Writing blog posts only when I'm in a better place. And i still do Instagram posts. But I'm trying to stop the snapchats and tweets because I feel like they feel more temporary / less important. I don't know if that would help for you but I hope this helps xxxx

Hi doddlevloggle. I love you v much and I relate to this video so so so much. Most of the stupid little songs I write are about feeling crappy or saying goodbye to a very important person to me. I've been diagnosed with stuff and I'm forced to go to a lot of evaluation and shit and I hate dealing with it. I used to write stuff on my computer but my school basically stalked it and printed it out to someone in the school office and some lady wanted to send me to a mental institution in another town. I hate living but I love you thanks for making me feel like not the only one

Regarding the mentally ill and creative jobs discussion, another important part is also that it's quite difficult to uphold a regular, 9-5 job when you suffer from mental illness, because it's unpridictable, some days you feel okay and some you feel shit and can't work. If you have a creative job you can usually choose your own hours and days to work.

Your Snapchat helps because personally I feel less alone in how I'm feeling, but it also kind of brings back emotions that went away. I was far more not ok (I'm not really sure how to say it) but it kind of brings up old emotions that I worked past. I'd say filter it a little bit, but don't be scared to share how your feeling.

Can we talk about how the length of this video is symmetrical (10:01)

You've got to be very careful when you have an audience (especially of young people) that you don't romanticise it.

People are too sensitive Dodie, you say and do what you want. This is coming from a person with depression

I suppose I understand a bit where a lot of you are coming from, but honestly I do not at all agree that she's "totally oversharing". Dodie speaking out about her mental health and "oversharing" is not only important for those who may need help dealing with their own struggles but it's also so important for Dodie. Making these videos and talking out her feelings is obviously extremely important to her because once her thoughts are no longer thoughts and her feelings are verbalized it helps her put everything into perspective and sort of work from there. Her videos do not at all make me sad or uncomfortable to watch like I've seen some of you have been saying and I think that her showing that even an icon of positivity has rough times is extremely real and important. If they make you feel sad or upset then I get that you may want to distance yourself a bit, but at least for me I see it as an opportunity to unite as a group and spread positivity to Dodie and to others who are going through similar situations. Dodie deserves support and love and I feel that if you see what she's going through and have an empathetic mindset you should try to give it to her!! I do agree that at times Dodie does post more personal things on Snapchat like her direct unfiltered thoughts that are sort of things that would be healthier for her to share with her friends or family but at the same time when you're dealing with depression it's hard to remember that your friends and family are so close so you reach out to other sources in order to not feel like a burden. I hope this helped to put things into an understandable light.

Hey Dodie! While it is healthy to talk about mental health with people you trust, it can get unhealthy to start over sharing on social media. Stuff that you post is forever, and it can keep you in that negative mindset for longer because what you've said is constantly surrounding you on YouTube, Instagram, and Snapchat. On another note, people have a tendency to self-diagnose. Someone might see your posts and think that they have depersonalization or depression when they really don't and they get themselves in a rut that's really hard to get out of. My best advice for you is to force yourself to talk to someone. If you're like me and prefer emotional support instead of advice, let them know that before you start talking. I talked to my parents when my mental health was at an all time low and made the decision to go to therapy. It was one of the best decisions of my life.

i feel like, yeah, sometimes you do overshare, and maybe it's a bit too much for the audience to see sometimes, but i feel like u sharing, just keeping us updated and in loop of what u might be feeling, in general just makes us feel closer to you??? if u get me? like idk if u like that people who u don't know feel close to u, but i think it's just nice because it lets us get to know u a bit better than just "dodie clark" "singer" "content creator on youtube" and i kinda like that idk

for me, I prefer a general post/tweet/something that anyone could see because that way there's no pressure on any one person to respond if they don't have energy, whereas if I message a friend (especially one who has their own mental health stuff) they might have absolutely no energy to talk to me but will drop all their OWN healing and care to help me.
if I tweet then people who are in an okay place can reach out and those who aren't can carry on focusing on themself

This is such a great video❤️

I loVe dodie sharing her fealings on snapchat because i think it helps me, someone who has never suffered from a mental health problems, understand more about them.

I think that the important part of your instagram is that you also discuss what you do to pursue recovery. Your posts about trying antidepressants and about how your friends help with your issues / vice versa are beneficial;; seeing your adventures with trying to accommodate mental health issues while traveling and pursuing ambitions has made me feel so much less alone. I do think that you need to make sure to filter some things...

What I've seen in the video and what I agree with is that videos and posts should be sent after the event or episode. Like-- you should recover from an anxiety attack before you talk about it because then viewers are seeing that it ended and you got through it and that's what you want to show. And it's what YOU want to see. When you log in and look at your own videos-- as I'm sure you do-- months from when you post them. It becomes your support system; when you're in the middle of a low point you can look back on a time you got through a low moment. But if you only log when you're low or high you begin to see life as that black and white and that can be dangerous.

Speaking as someone with many younger friends with mental health issues, I personally try to show only issues I am getting through. If I need something specific I might say "could someone help me ground myself", but I'd never say "I can't ground myself" because that just creates this hopelessness....

Try to blog / post about accommodation and recovery of mental illness. It reminds you and everyone else that you have recovered from things in the past and any issue you're facing now is something you can get through. You're making huge steps--
- trying medication to see if it's a good fit for you
-listening to your friends' advice and reflecting back on it
-keeping up with doing what you love and traveling
- keeping track of ups and downs and being honest with yourself

You have to give yourself credit for these things. And you have to place more importance on handling and dealing with mental health than you do on suffering from it, even if you're struggling, because success builds on success and hopelessness builds on hopelessness.

2 years late but here's my own take, largely compiled from other people. Mental illness and creativity are connected but only for those who vent/draw inspiration. Getting your feelings out is important but at a certain point you're feeding into your own desire for validation and bad mental health. I don't think dodie is trying to romanticize her struggle but when all you post is highlights and mental breakdowns it all blurs together.

I just remembered this video... I have it saved now, I think I need to hear these things more often, like, A LOT more often

Please don't go the other way after seeing people's reaction to your use of social media. There have been too many times when people around me have gone into themselves and only shared the good when they are in a world of pain. You will find a healthy balance. It's unfortunate in a way that you do have such a large social media following and have to think about yourself as a brand but that's kind of what it's like. I'm definitely not saying that this backlash is your fault in any way because you are well known, just that you do unfortunately have a responsibility to protect your fans, especially younger fans, from triggering and unhealthy themes. Please know that you are loved and that your wonderful, supportive friends are always there ❤️

I enjoy you sharing this side so much your so much more raw than most and I enjoy how much I relate

you're so beautiful, i wish i could meet you in person and give you the longest hug possible.
good night (or morning or noon) to everyone reading this, you are worthy x

was i just laughing at dans video?
yes
did i come over here knowing just by the title that im gonna be sad and existential?
also yes

im fine, doods we love you very dearly, hazel you as well and i honestly wish peace upon you more than anybody else i know and thank you for the discussion.

I hope you will always have sb who care and support you even if you are in a bad mood. 💕 Friends are often helpful even when they are just sitting next to you and listening bc you are not alone!

I understand that it might be too much for some people but it can also help so many people. I wish i had seen those snap chats because sometimes it does get hard and its nice to know that other people feel the same way and it almost feels like they are here with you, helping you

To our dear friend Dodie,
I really felt moved to comment on this because I think it is important to talk about things like this.
I don't think you are oversharing Dodie. What frustrates me is that when people talk about mental health from a neutral or 'upbeat' state of mind, it is easy to talk about and no one has a hard time. Why does it become a problem when people are ACTUALLY suffering? That is when we need to be there for people, to listen, love, and learn. I have friends who have anxiety and depression, and we will talk for hours until they feel calmer, lighter, or freer. I care about the people in my life, and I want them to have someone they can always talk to. I have gotten those 4 a.m. calls before, and I answer every single one.
If you are worried about triggering other people, perhaps a visual or verbal cue may help. That way people can avoid the post if they are not in a good mental state to do so. Obviously, people will come and help you, but you don't want to draw in people who can't handle it. Should some posts be age-restricted so that it doesn't reach a younger audience? I am not saying we should not talk to younger people about mental health (we definitely should), but perhaps it should be done from a better frame of mind at first?
Depression, derealization, and anxiety are all real things and they need to be shared as much as people need people to help them through those tough times. Life is not all sunshine and roses, and we need to know when people are hurting so we can help them through. What makes me the saddest is when people shut me out emotionally. I want to help, be there, listen, and do what I can to aid in recovery because I care about people. Reaching out for help is not weak, not selfish, and shows great strength. We love you Dodie, and we want to be there for you!
Feel free to share with us because what you feel is real and so is how we feel about you! If it helps you through a difficult time, I encourage you sharing. Perhaps just warn your audience first!
Love from the United States East Coast (Connecticut),
Andrew :) <3

People must think I'm a maniac because I have a ton of recordings on my phone of me just venting and spewing out all of my emotions. I agree, it's way easier to talk to a camera than to talk to people face to face because then there's room left for judgement or feedback in general. No, I am not fed up with all of these mental health videos because it makes me feel less alone. So thank you Dodie and Hazel for "over sharing". x 😊

Around 3:50 I realise an alternate to therapy 2 times a week- talking to a camera is easier just going BLEH, but just keeping it on your phone so you see how you feel and what your triggers are. Or even how you got out of it

Dodie, 

When you said you were pouring things out and wanting to have someone comforting you.
I thought of myself
I ask for the impossible
Just know I'm younger than you. And watching you pour your heart out makes me have this warm feeling inside. Like I am being comforted and that someone understands my anxiety.
Dodie Clark, You. Are. My. Idol. I look up to you. You are amazing! 
~Another person in a sea of of other persons

this helped?? even though it was heavily pessimistic, it was also raw and honest. Thank you so much

I have watched a fair few of your videos. So many are very emotional to the point when I see the thumbnails come up I can’t re watch because I know they will make me cry. I am very emotional and empathetic. I feel your pain, it seers into my heart.

I love you so much I came out with you I found out I had depression with you and I recovered from suiside with you and i thank you so so much. Btw my name is Alice ;)

when she said "we should probably end on a positive note" i was so surprised because i had no idea it has already been 9 minutes

I was bedbound for 5 years during my teens and I developed depression because of it. I didn't realise I had depression but my paediatrician recognised it and described depression as effectively overthinking. Letting your thoughts gain extreme power and focusing on them too much. You get dragged into a cycle of overthinking, and if your thoughts are mostly negative or fearful it can really effect your brain chemistry. To help regain some balance (as well as getting professional help and taking medication) it can help to do things that don't involve much thought or emotion. Physical things like baking, gardening, washing dishes, going for a walk, etc. You may have to force yourself to do it and it's likely you won't feel great when you do the things but keep doing them, more and more. You are more than your thoughts. They don't control you.

I strongly believe that your youtube videos are perfecty fine the way that they are. They ave helped my so much thorugh their honestly and relateablitly. I do not believe that they are too depressing or making me feel negative in any way. Other social medias, well you know you should maybe kick it down a notch, but that doesnt mean what have been posting isnt okay or harmful. We don't want you to feel bad for saying the things you have said about mental illness because they were feelings shared and its okay. I really hope that you don't feel like you have had a negative effect on your audience and that you feel guitly now because thats how you coped with it for the time being and now you realize there could be better ways and that just may not have been the best, but it is okay. Please continue to talk and make awareness of it, even in detail, but don't drown yourself ir your art in it lovely <3

Maybe there's just a huge difference between asking for help and crying from not having help. Even if you share something personal online, there are people who want to support you. You already said it, you've gained a huge audience and you can show how you're not better then us and how we all deal with something uncomfortable, but that's the point where you have to decide, am I posting that because it's a way for me to talk to these people who experienced similar stuff, or is it just my own unhealthy way to get it out of the system. I would prefer you to do the first, no matter if 'You' are Dodie or just someone in such a position, cause yes, there are people here to support you and if you want to share you're problems online, which is completely okay, be open for help and try to be the person of help. That's just one wonderful thing you can reach online, let yourself and others explore the help of strangers, because yeah, we all go through similar struggles.

the first thing I want to do when I feel down is so post on social media so I totally understand!! and ok me feels totally different about it than unhappy me!!

why not a sad Dodie account?? you can have an outlet for emotions while still protecting people who don't want to see it :)

reaching out to ppl is hard!! and then it becomes a Big Deal which is scary?? and posting things which sound poetic is a gr8 way to try and build meaning out of something which feels so meaningless, it can come across as glamorising, because u are, but you're trying to glamorise it for yourself because it all feels so unglamorous and it feels better to be sparkly and sad instead of just plain sad.

Never associated you with mental unhealth but as a person who is so fricking real and alive and humane ❤

i was dreading watching this video. I didn't want to watch because I love dodie a lot and hate to see her so low. today I watched her new video so I came to this video & im glad I did. im glad dodie is open about it but learn!! to!! talk!! to!! friends!! not!! the!! internet!! i love you dodie <3

Lol, had the same irrational response on the phone with an operator. My mom cracked her head open and I was running around in a blind panic, thinking she wasn't gonna survive (she did just fine.) I apologized to the operator as the EMTs came into put my mom in the ambulance and apparently, like 90% of people do the same thing. I already worry at the most benign stuff, so of course, when you think the worst thing that could happen is happening, it's only natural to react that way.

I don't know if I have actual diagnosed mental illness or not, just as like a precursor to this, but I definitely understand this feeling of talking into the void, of empty calories, that sort of thing. So, I read this book where the main character was dealing with a frick ton (dad left, schizophrenic mom, paralyzed sister, homeless, always in danger, etc etc) and she never felt like she could talk to anyone about it because she didn't have anyone besides the people who depended on her, so she put everything in this "vault" in her head. And I was not in the best place at the time reading this, so my head thought, oh that's a great idea, let's make a vault. So just on my phone I made a little note called "Vault" and whenever I had bad thoughts, going through a crap time, I would just type it into there. And keep in mind at this point I was sharing some things with friends, but I always felt I was sharing too much, taking up too much of the conversation, bringing them down, that sort of thing, so I would just say like a tiny portion of what I was thinking to them maybe and then burst it all in my Vault and I knew it was unhealthy, like I could feel it just making me feel worse and go down the rabbit hole, but I didn't know what else to do? And my friends did find out about it and they actually said, "nope, not happening, if you want a vault here it is" and they legitimately made a groupchat called "The Vault" where if /any/ of us (which was important to me, that any of us could come in and not just me because I hated feeling like our friendship was circling around our problems) could come and say if we were having a hard day or thinking something bad or anything like that. And honestly it's been SO MUCH BETTER because rather than just shouting it into the void or even going on social media and trying to get a call out ot people for help, it's going directly to people who love me and want to help me. So, yeah, sorry, this was long, but I just wanted to say that while oversharing and getting it out in media and talking about it at all is probably better than shutting yourself down and holding it in, it's so so so much better in my experience to either just go straight to your friends or pair it with something that actually allows you to get another opinion and help rather than a one-way, that "empty calories" as you said.

Best of luck Dodie <3

I've found similarly with getting things out over snapchat like you do, I do it on a private twitter account. I COMPLETELY overshare in graphic detail with how I'm feeling. About 7 or 8 people have access to my account, all of whom I'm friends with. And I think sometimes I wish someone would reach out and maybe thats why I do it. It feels good in the moment to type and rant and scream but sometimes it really does just feel like you're screaming at an empty void with no feedback. So in a weird way you end up feeling lonelier and lonelier.

i feel like it's worth noting through all of this that "romanticizing" doesn't always mean explicitly saying "my depression makes me beautiful" or expressly encouraging your followers to adopt ill or disordered behavior. you can unintentionally romanticize.

"thinspiration" blogs are obviously romanticizing mental illness, but the curators of such content aren't trying to encourage other people to develop disordered eating habits. most of those blogs say in the bio "this is just for me, I in no way encourage anyone to starve themselves" or some variation of that. they don't explicitly tell anyone to do anything. but they are no doubt romanticizing.

i just think it's important to be careful. especially with very young audience members. honesty is strong and raw but i worry that if struggling 13 year old me had see all of this, she would have come to the conclusion "dodie is beautiful and everyone loves her and feels bad for her, so if i submerge myself in my depression, if i adopt the same unhealthy coping mechanisms, everyone will love and feel bad for me and think i'm beautiful and tragic too."

i love you dodie, and i wish you the absolute best. i really truly do hope you feel better, i just worry that you may be going about it in a way that is unhealthy for both you and your following.

9:21-9:45 Hazel just spitting out the meaning of life

I guess my thoughts are its very easy to romanticize depression. And when youre in a very dark place after filming those things its easy to put them online and hope for something to lift you up.
I have a friend who does something similar but she believes shes the only one in the world who has problems. And she does not want solutions, or comforting, she wants to throw her problems at you and then be mad at you because theyre not fixed right afterwards.

I have the same conditions as she does but I prefer to stay on my own and i dont talk about my problems. I feel better that way and its what i do, but i understand she needs to talk but its so emotionally taxing to talk to her and be her friend
And she ONLY talks to me and treats me as a friend when shes vulnerable
And then she leaves to hang out with her "friends" that she complains to me about
I want her to be okay, but i cant help her the way she wants me to and i dont know what to do

I think that your "over sharing" on social media is quite a good way to show people that mental health is real and that if you feel that way you are not broken, theres just something wrong with the brain chemistry. Personally, it makes me feel a lot less alone with what I am currently going through. However, I can see how it may be too much for some people. Hope you are well, I love you xxx

I like to think: If someone I look up to, like dodie, has mental health issues and can make it in the world then so can I. It's important to me to remember that they can do great things even though they're struggling with anxiety, depression, etc. because it helps me to realize that my mental health won't get in the way of me succeeding if I don't let it
With that said- dodie, you help me everyday to not feel alone. Do whatever you want to help you with your mental heath, even if that's pouring your heart out on social media because I will be there to cry with you over a screen and understand some, if not most things that you're feeling/ going through. You're not alone, no one is.
Much love xx

Mental health is such a misunderstood disease. You are doing very important work sharing your experiences. I do understand the overshare issue. Yet again people have to recognize that mental health is important to recognize. Many times mental health issues create physical health problems, they go hand in hand.
The other side is if I am extremely mental or suicidal I have only four people in my life that understand me and have seen the ugly mental health face. They are the only people I trust. The public never sees me on bad days because I literally cannot function.
My mental illness is genetic. As a child I saw my familia drink away their pain which led them into dangerous life challenges.
Now that I have been educated and diagnosed, and taking my medications. I realize what was going on in my family. It goes back four generations.
Blessings to you and use your music as a therapeutic release. Music helps the soul heal, for you and your fans.

What i do is record myself talking as a voice recording on my phone on an output so it doesn’t go to anyone but I still get it out

I honestly think it comes down to feeling like if you share a intimate thought to one person they might feel like they are pressured to help you at the moment and then they're making sure you're ok 24/7 which is really nice but also something some people dont want so sharing to an online community everyone can talk about it together and then you dont have one single person feeling pressured to understand how you're feeling no matter how close that person is.

I've been thinking about your situation and came up with idea that maybe you could create a second snapchat for those that feel genuinely helped by what you say on your current snapchat. Obviously you don't have to create a mask on your original snapchat, still be yourself but when you want to truly discuss what's going on you could take it to the second account - a bit like both your YouTube channels. Just an idea 🙂

I think that before you post snaps about your brain, maybe watch it through to make sure it's not too much. If you feel you really want to post something, maybe add on text that says "depression talk" or something, so people who don't want to watch it can click away. I don't have depression, and it's hard to watch your snaps sometimes because they go into such depth, and it makes me wonder if my friends with depression also feel that way. Definitely call your friends before snapping. Maybe talking about your brain should be kept for occasional snaps talking about why you haven't been active on social media, or videos showing your progress (a more positive approach?)

I'd also add that since talking on social media can be a helpful outlet, writing it all down on paper could be just as helpful. But instead of being able to watch it back or read it all again, throw it away. Get it out so you feel a bit better, but get rid of it so you won't be tempted to reread it and potentially make yourself feel worse.

I've seen a lot of comments about how you should stop sharing on your Snapchat, you overshare etc. And maybe you shouldn't post as much on your snapchat, as it can affect the people who see it, but if making the videos helps and let's you vent, why not make a second snapchat? One where it's just for you so you can make these videos when you're feeling down, and then if u want to post one on your main Snapchat you can (after time to reflect). So it means you can still make these videos which seem to help you a lot but you won't get the oversharing issue. <3

you are art

I'm not sure what I think. I haven't really thought that you were over sharing but the times you've cried on snapchat and stuff I did wish that you'd reached out to a friend because they properly know you and can respond to you in a way that we can't. I defiantly think that you should keep talking about therapy and the different pills you've tried and etc bc it's nice to see that you're doing something about it! hope you feel better one day xx.

Dodie, just know that I love you and have personally never thought about you oversharing, but maybe you could film videos where you feel really bad, and just send them to your friends? Wait until you feel better to show them to everyone. But maybe your friends would like to see them, because really want to help you. That way you can talk to a camera AND to your friends, and not sharing it on social media. Also, there's this app called Vent that you could download. It is literally made for venting. I think that could help you a lot, and you can be anonymous too.

I understand the pain, I think we all do to some degree, but there is such thing as spreading negative energy and poisoning the air around you. When the thing you choose to share becomes this low lonely state of emotion you constantly feel, it's hard to fall out of that pattern. I applaud you for sharing and breaking that unspoken barrier. Words can only go so far when you seek attention and physical connection

To what you said at 8:45 --
I think we create because we are mentally ill. It's an outlet, a way to cope, something else to do, a distraction. It's different based on what we feel in that moment.

I'm really glad I wasn't the only one who had to go into an ambulance due to an "allergic reaction" (allergic reaction equaling panic attack)

"We're all mental, woohooohooo" - Dodie 2K17 ❤️❤️

I haven't been actively following your different social media accounts, but from the comments here it seems like it's been pretty rough lately.

That is the "celebrity curse" I guess. When you're delightful and cheerful we - the audience - want more and more because deep down we want this positive life for ourselves. But when you're down and just want to reach out "please just share with your close friends and don't overwhelm us with your problems."

As someone who has to deal with mental crap on a daily basis, recently I find myself cringing whenever I see a super positive post or a post by someone successful who seems to have everything they want. I ended up unfollowing +400 accounts on instagram. Seriously I was just getting fed up with all the people doing much better than me. Yes there are also people with bigger struggles than mine and yours, but that doesn't mean our struggles aren't "real."

Sharing the struggles makes the person more real and relatable in my opinion. Especially with the social stigma and all, mental illness is like this booger that no one wants to see and they definitely don't want to listen to people talking about it.

Not enough people are so resilient that they won't get affected by someone talking about mental health issues, or watching bad news, etc. So I can understand where they're coming from. But again for me personally, I like seeing content that shows me that I'm not alone.

As for the whole "depression = creativity", that is not entirely true. Because it could reach a point where even the most enjoyable activities are no longer enjoyable. I'm living this nightmare for a year now.
And although I'm not even a celebrity, I still let people's opinions about what I "should and shouldn't do" get to my head. I'm now stuck and have no idea who I am. I'm having to rediscover myself at the age of 28. It's an interesting but difficult journey, but it's also very private because I don't want any outsider opinions on this.

Just listen to your heart. If your heart wants to tell the world then tell the world. If your heart just wants to share with close friends then do that.

I feel like when I'm at my lowest my mind draws me to post on social media to actually see who cares n to know where I stand with certain people

i got so many good life quotes from this video wow thank you for enchanting my soul

9:27 this has the same energy as "if you were all the time you wouldn't be human. You'd be a game show host"

Hey dodie a small bit ago you mentioned bullet journaling and making a full video about it (if you have kept up with that) I would love to see that and think it would be a wonderful idea for vedia

On the topic of delving into yourself and bringing shit up with you, it's really important that everyone does that. If you don't do that then you end up with problems that sprout from that. Creating is a good way of doing that, it helps you notice what is already wrong. Every problem must eventually be dealt with,if you just bury everything and stand on top ignoring it all then you'll experience /so/ many more problems. Allowing yourself to feel bad and becoming comfortable within your discomfort is ridiculously important. No one should float at the top all of the time, that's just not how it works

okay wow these comments are different than I thought they would be. Whenever I see your videos (I don't watch your snapchats) about mental illness they make me feel less alone in what i'm feeling. I relate to what you're saying and a lot of times you still try to have some positive thoughts to help. When you're talking about these things, you're mostly explaining what it feels like and i'm so bad at explaining this lol but it feels like your saying thoughts that I have and it's almost comforting to know someone else feels this way. I probably make no sense but basically, your videos help me. I think that if sharing is helping you, then it really is a good thing. However, of course, if you think sharing these things with your fans isn't healthy for you then you shouldn't.

"you're worried you're being a burden" me every single time i say anything about my bad mental health to anyone ahh

this is realatable. the whole time im thinking of those moments where you and your friend are in such a bad and depressing state that you cant stop laughing because you know if you do youll break down.

Omg thank you so much
I've done the exact same , I started taking a new medication and I was so convinced I was having an allergic reaction and dying , I couldn't breathe, I had heart palpitations, so I got my girlfriend to drive me to A&E and i was just having a panic attack
I've called an ambulance so many times because I've been utterly convinced I'm about to die only to be told I'm fine and just having a panic attack
And I always feel so pathetic and a drain on resources and just worthless so it's so reassuring to realise other people do the same

I'm a little late to this party, but I believe that what Dodie says is true and important about art! I do not believe that mental health is always associated with mental "disease." I believe mental health is the same at times as our bodily health. We are at any time either in good or bad condition. I also believe a person is always seen in their art. A person reveals what they admire or what they want to communicate in their art. Not many admire or believe the same things. And so every artist experiences constant rejection. Not everyone is affected the same by rejection, but rejection hurts everyone. An artist continually opens themselves up to criticism by sharing their art. And rejection really takes its toll on a person! So I believe that more often than not, mental health and wellness are both the product and the condition of an artist's work, at different times. I do not believe it romanticizes pain, but helps to explain the difficulties of being an artist.

why are you just the great, cutest, sweetest human being?

please don't take this too hard... This is my opinion.
I agree with that person who text you and hazel. I really don't like watching your Snapchats when I am in an ok mood or a bad mood because they put me in a worse mood. I loved your Paris Snapchats cause it felt like it was the first time in a long while that it wasn't something to do with low mental health. They were enjoyable. I understand that your mental health is a major part of your life and right now it's kinda taking over your life. But oversharing gives negative feelings to others.

Thanks for this, mental health problems are so overlooked. Employer's are not sympathetic. I suffer from fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Fibrous Dysplasia, Frozen Pelvis, Polyarthralgia, Polymyalgia, Arthritis of hands, arm’s, shoulders, neck, back, hips, knees, ankles, corpal tunnel syndrome, Restless Leg Syndrome, Achilies tendinitis, hemiplegic migraines, Stucco Keratosis, Functional Tremors, depression, grade 3 chondromalacia of the left patellofemoral joint, night terrors and anxiety. All thanks to the swine flu in 2008. But thank you for your words. In 2007 I attempted suicide it didn’t work I planned it for weeks and picked the August Bank holiday weekend. Your music is fantastic and your words do help.

here are all my discombobulated thoughts on all of this.
1. i think it's super important and great that you're so open with your mental health online. i've learned more about the realities of being depressed and living with depression from watching your videos and snapchats than anything else.
2. however, it is a little...i don't wanna use the word "triggering" because it's not triggering for me per se, i don't have depression and i only have minor social anxiety, but there are some times where, like, i'll get sad after watching a particular video or series of snapchats where you talk about it. i can't think of any specific examples, and idk why i get sad, idk if i relate to some of your views on being lonely, or if i just feel really bad and sad for you and i don't want you to feel down on yourself, but yeah.
3. i see your thoughts on "it's easier to talk to a camera or to type it out to strangers on the internet" because i've been guilty of doing things like that before and it's gotten me in hot water. so i agree with the whole "empty calories" idea and that in the long run, i think it'll be better for you if you talk to your real friends about it. i am here for you, of course, but i'm just some fan in new jersey. you're not a burden to your friends--they care about you, that's why they're your friends. and if they do really care about you, they'd want to see you okay and will be supportive and there for you if you hit these bad spots.
4. i definitely don't think it's romanticizing anything. i just rewatched your "i am depressed today" video and it got me down, like i explained before, but it was so REAL and it's something i don't want to see happen to anyone i care about, including you. so things like that show the reality of it and that it sucks but there is help and it's possible to not feel that way all the time.
i hope this helps at least a little

I like the honesty in the non performance of this video. it's almost like the old youtube community video's. when people just made video's not for views but for personal reflection like a video diary.

your snapchats do make me sad sometimes. I get that you are spreading awareness for mental illness and how bad it can make you feel, and if venting to a camera helps, then so be it. but it can get a bit depressing, love!

I think this was really important insight on the topic

hi this was great i’m 100% sure this is what it would be like if me and my friends shared an apartment we are all fuckd too lmao idk why this was comforting i loved the tone it reminded me of my friends

In my experience it's always better to talk about a problem than it is to ignore it. I personally don't think you're oversharing. If you feel like it's becoming a problem then try to find another way to vent and work through your problems. If you don't feel like it's a problem, keep doing it. You do you bub

I love u doddie and thankyou for not sugar coating anything but saying it how it really is

the discussion about the creative people's dilemma was REALLY GOOD

Can you please please cover Harry styles song sweet creature. You're voice would be perfect for it. Also good video. Love you <3

Honestly, like it's really never bothered me. I have anxiety and depression, so I can relate, but I also don't find it triggering. My main place of concern is that you seem to be threatening close friendships in your life. There must be an effective way of managing your mental health that doesn't sacrifice those. xxxxx

What I tend to do is create when I'm happy because that's the things I like to surround myself with. It's not the next at times because I'll be down and still want to create. But, I'm not always going to be happy, and the things I make don't have to be positive. If I write a sad song and I'm left feeling better afterwards then it was worth it. But, I think that even when I'm at my lowest, I will still recover and get back up and in order to do that I have to give myself a little break. That doesn't mean that I can't create anything in that time, but I'd like to think that the things I make while I'm in that mental state don't define who I am

i really appreciate these 💙

Zannah is a gem, and very intelligent. I think it also takes guts to say something your friend will not like hearing, and I admire her a great deal for that.

I, personally, like the videos where you talk honestly about how you feel when you're really low, but I have long worried about whether it was healthy for you to be constantly churning out this content where you feel like you have to 'prove' how terrible you're feeling. I know that things like that can sometimes help you let things out, but more often they get in the way of doing the practical work to get to a better frame of mind about things. It's like... sometimes you can 'prove it' so much and so often that this becomes too much a part of your self-identity, and then it becomes more and more entrenched, and then eventually that 'healthy' version of yourself feels more and more alien. Whereas, of course, the version of yourself that's the healthy one is actually what you should keep in mind as the 'Yourself' and the thing to try and get back to. In my case, it's less about the effect on your audience from oversharing (which can be both good and bad, as these comments show) and more about the effect it has on you.

Dodie, you're wonderful. You're funny, and honest, and whatever is happening in your world doesn't take away from that. But for your sake, I want you to feel like it's OK, and that doing what you need to do to feel better and OK (like trying to stick to a sleep schedule, making things that make you happy) doesn't invalidate anything. The world's opinions, at the end of the day, don't matter (however much you've come to believe that they do). It's you, and just you, and whatever you need to do to be healthier and happier, however that 'looks' to anyone else.

Good luck on your journey. Getting to know yourself, it's a difficult thing and sometimes exhausting and weird and everything else. But you can do it, and get yourself to a much better place that you're at know - I really believe that.

I've been watching you for maybe 2 years now and i've always looked forward to your uploads, especially the videos about mental health. I don't see your videos or your snapchat stories to be romanticised AT ALL. I suffer with various mental health problems and your videos honestly help me so much. I personally don't want you to stop "oversharing" because i think they really do benefit a lot of people. Maybe from now on add trigger warnings before you post anything that could be triggering.. that way the people who don't want to watch it don't have to, and people like me who really benefit from those videos still can. <3 don't ever feel ashamed to talk about your health, whether it be mental or physical x

I don't know if this is true or even coherent but it seems like something to add: is it maybe easier to talk to 'us' your generalised audience than the people you know, your friends about your struggles because we don't know you? It seems like the people who find your snaps and long Insta posts therapeutic and encouraging for the most part are people who don't know you well, and it's easy (speaking from my own experience) not to like, think of you as a whole person and worry properly about it because for your audience you're
an important but smallish and removed part of their everyday lives but for your close friends it's difficult to watch not only because they're often going through similar things and it's somewhat triggering but also because they're close friends of yours, they actually know you, (which we don't, we know a lot about you but we don't know you) . Idk, rambly and confusing but isn't it all. We're all doing our best and this life shit is tough. You're doing great things, both of you! Keep on keeping on xxxxxxxxxxxxx

HAZEL'S DESCRIPTION ABOUT THE PLATES IS SO RELATABLE

9:20 Also we're fine - suffering is a part of human existence - we weren't intended to just exist and be happy all the time - and if you didn't suffer you wouldn't be able to tell the happiness apart from it - and we do create and we do make cool stuff - and a lot of that has to come from kind of bad places unfortunately

I had to stop following you and watching your videos because I just couldn't handle it. Everything was just so dark vivid and intense. I use social media and the internet to try and distract me from that part of myself and you'd just bring it all backup. I'd get angry at you for sharing everything just because it would make everything so much worse. I didn't want another voice in my head talking about how bad everything is when I've already got my own. It did feel like you were romanticising mental health and I just had to distance myself from that (it wasn't just you though, I deleted my tumblr account and stop following other people). What you were doing wasn't healthy for anyone your audience or yourself, I'm glad you've finally seen that because I did love your other content. Also your creativity is completely separate from your mental illness. You can use it as fuel for your creations, but your depression isn't what makes you creative.

when Hazel says 'aww dipple dopple' soooo cute

Maybe if you had 1 (or maybe a few) designated days when you publicly talk about your mental health that would help. This way you are spreading awareness (which is very important) but you might not be oversharing as much if you keep it to a few days each month.

This would 1) give a warning to those who might not want to hear about mental health and 2) let you continue to have an outlet.

Sharing your feeling and talking about them and needing others for that is definitely something humans need, but please don't let it be your ONLY NEED. I know when we feel lonely we desperately search for someone else, in any way. Oversharing on social media, being too emotionally dependant on other people, being desperate for anyone's attention, etc. I used to do that SO much when I was younger, and at least for me it was very, very unhealthy. I realized later that if I felt like that so often, there must be a reason behind that, and I actually found some of them. A lack of self esteem, a lack of confidence on myself, a lack of activities that made me feel good while needing only me, a deep hope for the world to change for me but no will on changing myself, for myself, and the list goes on an on. What I want to say is that it's not on other people, it's in yourself. Please take more take taking care of your other needs, not just on your need of feeling others care for you. Maybe you need to eat healthier, to exercise more, to stay longer (or less) on your pajamas, maybe you need to grow as a person, or as an artist, maybe you need to focus on some other things that make you feel good like, idk, paiting a wall a different colour, cooking something new, go for a walk and draw the plants you see, listen to happier songs, wearing your favorite dresses, whatever! There's so much you can do instead of being stuck in your social media... And maybe your soul needs to see beauty more than all the horrors you see now, and that only depends on you. Please take good care of yourself, whoever is reading this. <3

bless you guys 💛

Damn I felt what hazel said, ‘when you send those mental texts when you’re down and then you look at it the next day and cringe’ like ommggggg. I lost my best friend because of it. Which sucked. But I feel like I’m better off without her anyways; I’ve grown so much more without her. But I feel so much guilt for some of the stuff I said to her

Hey dodie! Thanks so much for making your snapchat more positive lately. There was a point in time when I had to stop watching your story because it really wasn't good for my mental health, but now they make me smile! So thank you :)

When people think you have to be mentally ill to create or that people with a mental illness are more creative etc, i fear for myself because i dont suffer from it and i dont want to. But i wanna be an artist, i want to create.
Please dont romanticize mental illnesses, people, please.
Just wanted to say that.
Oh and btw "a bit of madness is key" from Audition, is not referring to a mental illness necessarily, i think it is about artists having different POVs that allows them to see the world differently, and that that helps them create something worth sharing.

When I was in really bad places I would ""rant"", overshare online, and wallow in it so I was visibly a mess essentially as a cry for help. On one level that was how I felt, but on the other it wasn't doing any good to me or anyone else. I was triggering some friends, making others feel guilty, and I had some friendships that were essentially built on me being sad and them feeling bad about it which as soon as I recovered we became increasingly distant and those friendships ended as they weren't built on anything real. I've grown up a lot and have new friends but now I'm a lot more private about when I do have episodes and I'm in a much better place because of that. Equate my friendships to being your viewers - before I sort of felt I had to be sad for those friends to care, which kept me sad and oversharing about it because I felt like that was the only times they cared, instead of now where there's more to stop me saying things like that. As a result I've become much better at dealing with it quietly myself instead of relying on others and causing them struggles, which ultimately made my struggles worse as in a way I indulged in the attention from it. There's a fine balance between being ashamed and oversharing and although you shouldn't feel ashamed for mental illness, I think, especially as with me it was just a relatively small social circle whilst with you it's a whole audience of impressionable young people, you may have gone too far the oversharing way, like I used to. I'm saying this as a loving viewer, thank you for opening a discussion, sorry if that doesn't make much sense xx

Dodie i'm a massive massive fan of you and your music and you seem like a wonderful person, but you are definitely oversharing too much on social media. I've had to distance myself from your videos and social medias, because I do get frustrated at the amount of sad things you post, especially when you say you don't think life's worth living. as someone who has bpd, depression and anxiety, I've been there, i've posted depressing things, and i know how horrible the world can seem when you're in that place. So I get it, I really do. But I don't think posting as much as you do is healthy for your recovery, and i just can't help but think of your audience. I'm 20 years old, but when I was at your concert there were so many young girls, and I'm so afraid that they will see their idol saying 'I have to be depressed to be creative' (in so many words), and see depression as a fashionable, artistic thing, when we both know it's nothing of the sort. And when you talk about your antidepressants, and stopping them very soon without saying what your next course of action is, I worry that people will be discouraged from trying medication or sticking with it. I know none of this is your fault at all, you can do as your please with your own life and body, and of course I don't know you and would never think to tell you what to do with your own life. But as an online personality you do have a responsibility to the audience you have created. Maybe a private twitter account would be good for you? Hazel is definitely right - talking about mental health is excellent and necessary, but please wait until you're in a good and healthy place to offer some insight and advice, rather than posting rashly in the heat of these feelings <3 love and support to you xxxx

Also:
Just reading through some of these comments it seems like a lot of what people are saying is: "Don't talk about how sad you are because I've had it worse than you, here are all of my bad experiences." I think that pointing out the hypocrisy in statements like this is unnecessary, but it might do well to point out the fact that other people's bad experiences in no way invalidate yours. YOUR FEELINGS ARE VALID. DON'T LET THESE ETHICAL QUESTIONS MAKE YOU FORGET THAT. YOU'RE ALLOWED TO SHARE ALL YOU WANT.

I agree with a lot of the comments below about how the sharing in this way is damaging.
Also, something to think about is perhaps youtube and other creative lifestyles have the potential to feed mental illness a little. You don't get given a routine, and having to create your own deadlines and schedules is harder than when someone else does it for you. I see it a lot in people who I know who are self-employed and such. It's so much pressure, and routines to keep your mind busy are so so important when trying to combat mental illness and a lot of people don't realize that. Creative people often have time to indulge their unhealthy thought processes (not out of choice.) I think that might be part of a reason for the links between creativity and mental illness, which I don't believe is fully true. Also, the people who are creative are the people who are more inclined to share their experiences hence you hear about mentally ill people's experiences with mental health more.

Showing vulnerability is a really healthy thing in some ways, but I'm sure when you have massive audiences of people who don't truly know you, that must be really difficult too. It's must be an awful lot more difficult to edit yourself off camera with people who know you really well, who pick up on everything, who read what you're not saying, just by being around you in person. Maybe there's a bit of a safety net being completely honest on camera, because you know you'll never meet 99% of you online audience. Maybe if it's not too daunting or scary - when you're in a "good place" think of yourself in 5 or 10 years. Who from your life now, do you hope will be in your life then? Who would you be able to chat to about stuff at 4am? They are the people you can rely on now too.X

I also think the sentiment that mental illness and creativity go hand in hand may be true for some- but those who aren't creative, who don't make art, or create, experience mental illness. I think creativity should be taken out of the equation. I have many mental health issues, and I am not creative. I purely enjoy others creations, and I don't make my own. I can't. I sometimes see things like this and think "wow, I'm just sad and there is no silver lining. I'm ill and I have nothing to give."

This was sadly relatable.. 😂😅

To the people that say dodie has gotten too much with the depression videos, I suppose it's like the analogy of depression really does push people away from you and wanting to see you as much ( im speaking from a general standpoint) , and that's really sad when youtube is sometimes the only space a person may feel comfortable with their expression at the time.
You can't win in a way

I definitely get where you're coming from Dodie, but I think there's a big difference between letting people know when you need support and letting people know the really deep depressive thoughts that you can have. I know I used to rely on other people way too much to deal with the dark depressive thoughts when really, thinking about them and working through them sometimes just made them worse. At a certain point it just becomes a romanticization of mental illness and an indulging of it, which isn't healthy at all.

I used to follow another YouTube who suddenly started posting only about depression/anxiety, and she lost a mass amount of her audience. I'm not saying that will happen, but I do think you should be aware that it could happen.

I know everyone is saying you share too much and it's sometimes not healthy but I just want to say that you have helped me tremendously. My friend (she's the one I always go to when I need someone to talk to about my anxiety and just brain stuff in general. Mental health, little facts, her dyslexia, etc) sent me the video of your song "Secret for the Mad" during a particularly bad bout of anxiety and it helped bring me out of that pit a little bit and helped me feel a little bit better. After that I started watching your videos on this channel. All of them. Sad ones, happy ones, old ones, new ones, random ones, any I had time to watch. And they've helped me so much. It makes me happy to see you still making these videos that make so many people, including me, smile, even though you feel like crap sometimes. And it really helps me to watch your videos specifically on mental health, like this one, when I'm having a bad mental health day, or just whenever, because I can see that I'm not the only one who feels like this. I can relate to you and it comforts me. Thank you Dodie Clark. Thank you for cheering me up, comforting me, being there for me, providing me with distraction from the never ending thoughts in my head and for so many other things. Thank you. ❤️❤️

Dodie it's one second over 10 minutes you're turning into Pewdiepie

yes. this is the content i live for

While your snapchats don't personally affect me because I have found a way to distance myself from things like that, I can totally understand that some people can be negatively affected by them. I love you so much dodes, and I know that its your outlet, but maybe keep recording the videos, but wait like a day before uploading them? I think after getting a clear head from whatever's going on, you'll be able to understand what is and isn't too much to put out there. Definitely don't stop sharing though! I know that your openness (even if it was a bit much sometimes) has definitely helped me on a lot of my darker days. We just want to see you healthy, dodie <3

Dodie I love you, but sometimes I do think you overshare. I like when you talk about mental illness and I do like the way you portray it in your songs, personally I think that it does help, but there has been times where I have to skip your sc stories because they make me feel worse when I'm already in a bad place. Although I still want you to talk about it on sc but maybe not as "raw"

I think that instead of using of snapchat or putting all of your thoughts online for everyone to see, you could try journaling! Maybe check out Overall Adventures' channel, and her video on Reason why you should Journal. I hope this helps xxxx

my queen is backkkk

I think the only thing that has upset or frustrated me in this whole scenario, is people's reponses to this video etc. There seem to be these ridiculous unspoken rules about what can and can't be said about mental health to avoid triggers. It confuses me that people are encouraged to talk about mental health, but then censor and debate about what is appropriate. The comment section of this video truly disappoints me. The nit picking and political correctness comments have me so confused. Hazel and dodie are having a honest and in depth discussion about something important and people want to police that? Why do people seem to think mental health has to stay in a therapist's office? We need people like Dodie to talk freely about mental health. I do agree that specific details can be a little intense as mental health often can be incredibly dark and those thoughts can be very concerning and scary for a lot of people. But to be honest with you, its real and raw. This is the shit so many people have to put up with their brain producing and its painful and exhausting. I think policing mental health acceptability is a step in the wrong direction. There are always boundaries to everything, i understand that. But for fucks sake, just chill out a little.

Wow, I'm not really sure what my response is. I think that maybe recently it's gotten too much, to the point that I avoid you're snapchats because I don't want to deal with that, but then I feel bad that I'm avoiding you're snapchats because I feel like I'm avoiding it because it's about mental health. But another reason is because the things you say sometimes really scare me, the way you talk about how you're feeling sometimes makes me feel nervous about what you are going to do next, and it's the fact that there is nothing that I can do except leave a comment or a reply that you probably won't see that scares me. I think you should try work on backing off a little and texting your friends because they can help, they can talk to you on the phone or in person, we can't. For us it is a one sided cry for help that we can't answer which can make me feel a bit shit even if I was feeling good just minutes before. However at the same time I don't want you to feel horrible about making me and other people feel that way because the truth is, it can help people and you are spreading awareness, I think your audience is attracted to you because we are similar to you, and as many of us are younger, you can explain feelings that we may not understand yet, which makes us feel less alone. So I don't think you should stop talking about mental health because you being so open can really help so many people that don't understand it or don't know how to deal with it, like a sort of safe haven for people struggling. But at the same time, sometimes just showing you're complete raw emotion and feelings to us and not someone who can help can feel a bit overwhelming for the people watching on. I didn't watch this video last night because I was feeling happy, and just didn't want to watch you being sad which made me feel selfish but that's just how it was. I really hope you feel better soon because all we want is for you to be happy but for now please try work on showing your emotions to someone who can help you and talk to you, rather than thousands of people who can't.

i think it's brilliant that people talk about it publicly, it's a common issue that if isn't talked about nobody will recognise.

i reckon you create and share things like this because of what hazel said- you use so much of your life experiences to create. because this is such a big thing in your life atm, and because you use your life to create, this happens. there will always be a bit of the input in the outcome.

'am i oversharingggg too much' just misread that as:
'am i overshagingggg too much!'
and I was like, that doesn't sound like Dodie!!! unless she's finally lost it and gone mental!

I like hazels end note with a broader / maturer perspective

i feel a bit better knowing im not alone, when im in a not so bad place for my mental health, like a peak in a line graph of my brain but sometimes i dont dare to open up the content of the more open people because its just a graphic description of how i feel in a low moment then i just spiral

Reading a lot of these comments gave me a new insight, but I'm still comfortable with your sc and insta. As someone who is 22 and has spent weeks in mental recovery facilitations with little to no prevail, and a lengthy list of mental problems (as does everyone here??) (god help us all, can he just Let Us Be :/) I find what you say relatable, kind of like when you find a sad song, and you're like, THIS, I want people to listen to this. I have and probably will never post about my mental health online (except for now, damn) so at first it was weird for me to see you being so open about it. But after seeing your struggle, you became more real to me. Sometimes when you're feeling like life is so pointless, you want to yell loudly, "hey, life is pointless guys!". How your brain works makes it hard to focus on anything but the storm in your fucking head, because it's Your life. You're constantly living it, so not talking about it or thinking about it, is hard. I think filtering yourself would be an odd change, you've been so open, you have shown you need to keep working. You hear all the stories. "It takes a while, but it happens!" But we are seeing it, and we are gonna see it. We are gonna see the day when you wake up smiling and happy and when you can go to bed soundly. I understand that people are uncomfortable, and I totally respect that, and they definitely shouldn't watch if it makes them feel bad in anyway, but I wouldn't stop. You making art or talking about it too much isn't romanticizing it. It's your outlet, you're creative. Be true to you, ya know? Depression and depersonalization and the shit ton you deal with, makes it hard to even make things. You want to create, but... it's just something that's harder to do now. And if you want to talk about mental health or anything, you should. Love u mah man

Personally, I find it very difficult to listen to people talk about mental illness, even if I READ a book (like All The Bright Places, romanticises mental illness a helleva lot would not recommend) it makes me feel bad. I feel like shit after I hear this sort of stuff and I understand it's healthy to tell people about your problems but I can't deal with it be uses it makes me feel really horrible. My brain is fine by itself, it functions well and I don't have problems with myself, heck I hardly ever have bad days unless someone else is telling me about how shit their life is and I feel that sometimes, social media is not the place for venting if you're using it so often for that reason, it does effect other people.

I love Dodie but it is hard to hear stuff like this and I can't offer any alternative ways for you to share your emotions but I do honestly hope you find a healthier way to let your feelings out and I pray you don't have struggle with mental illness like you do💗

I think you should take a break from social media, because it's a lot more damaging than we realize and go back to taking your meds. Medication takes time to work and you kind of just gave up and then made light of it on Twitter which honestly helps NO ONE! we want you to get better, but it seems like everything you're doing just directly goes against that.

Can anyone tell me what Dodie said in the particular SC story they are discussing, I don't always check Snapchat but the stories I have seen don't seem too dark so I'm not sure what's being discussed!

I still love this video and watch it regularly.

Dodie, I'd like to advise You something. Please try not to indulge in your head and mental health so much. Don't check if you're feeling ok or not. Set yourself some little aims for every day, make a list and stick to it so as to focus on what you do rather thank what you feel. Try it for a couple of days so that your brain could work differently for a while.
Also, I do believe that you can change almost everything with your decisions. You can decide that you're gonna be positive, successful etc. It is difficult to switch to such a 'mode', I know. But I also believe that every barrier is in one's mind and feeling powerful to overcome it by changing the way you think might truly help you.
I hope that you read it, Dodie and I hope that what I wrote makes sense. I'm with you, Julia from Poland. 💕😽

I have never seen it as oversharing. But that may have a lot to do with the fact that I haven't been able to to verbalize my own struggles to anyone and it feels like by someone else sharing stories of the same issues that it makes me feel better because at least I'm not alone. I don't know if that makes sense, I'm sure it's not healthy. I also think that it is easier to talk to a stranger because there is no follow up if you don't want there to be.

When men are surrounded by and have taken on toxic aspects of masculinity its also really hard for men to reach out to get help with mental health. Noone is an island (who copes well, anyway). I wish our education or expectations were better for this.

Um... I appreciate you being real and authentic with your mental health, because people are struggling exactly like you are and you don't know the comfort it is to see that im not alone, when you're so open with what you go through, it helps me feel not alone. You have made a difference already.

I love this video so many times because I love it!

I think dodie is so, so so brave. Talking can sometimes be the hardest thing and the fact that she has found doing youtube a help just shows how strong she is. It's not 'romanticising' mental health because you can tell it all comes from such a raw and real place! My whole life then mental health of certain family members was sugarcoated to the extent that when I finally found out it hit me so hard and that was something I can't come back from. I have always found that it is something which is seen as shameful and so to find dodie, and for her to speak so openly and honestly has just been the relief I need. Obviously I am speaking from a personal perspective but comments saying that it can be damaging, or is irresponsible because she has such a following simply aren't true. The reason there is such a following is because the way dodie is has drawn us all in in one way or another. From a personal point of view, her talking about the way she feels and how it affects her helps me to think more about myself in ways previously shut away by the way I was brought up. On a more general scale, I think it is so, so important that more people understand mental health and realise how it can affect people! In the end, your views are your own but just try to see all the good things, and how strong and brave dodie is to show us the harder times. Life isn't all just happy pictures on instagram, so it is equally important that the other side is recognised, however hard that may be to think about. From where I'm sitting (or lying, actually) the content dodie puts out there has contributed so positively to my life and I would hate to only see the 'happy' bits. Love and skittles to all xox

Ahhhhh I'm so early!!!!!! Love youuuuuu!! Been a fan for years xx u have an amazing voice!!!!!

Okayyyy...I have the absolute opposite tendency of you about sharing my struggles in life. Partially from seeing facebook posts of people I barely know telling the world dramatized stories about their life that just seem like a plea for attention when everyone is going through stuff. But mostly I shy away from sharing tricky stuff like this because when I was in high school and DEEPLY depressed, anxious, and mildly suicidal, I opened up to and relied on my friends, who brushed off all my cries for help. Once when I told my friend I wanted to die she responded with "everyone feels that way sometimes." Luckily I've moved past that point in life and, although still struggling lots, I no longer wish to die nor do I cry every single day. But that experience has made me wary in sharing my vulnerable self with the world. My close friends and family always know what's going on but I tend to paint a perfect picture of myself online and to the general masses not because I want to appear perfect, but because I don't want to make a fuss.

Honestly, when I first saw the video and started watching it, I thought it was called "over shaving too much" and I was very confused😂😂

also, I feel like Zannahs' txt was VERY good advice (that's basically what I was talking about in the long as comment that I wrote), there's a limit, I think, to sharing things on social media, to sharing things with friends, family, and people who can actually help. It's helpful to people to be able to see videos of urs and go: "Oh, someone else feels like I do" but there is a lot of deep stuff on ur snapchat that; I like..(?) hearing about(not because it's good) but because I want to help, but I can't (i am just a humble doddler :D ). However, friends, family and counsellors can, so that would probably mean that it's crossing the line of: "Oh, I just want to let my viewers know how I'm feeling" to "I'm letting my viewers know.. BECAUSE it's easier to talk to a camera."

Take care of urself Dodie!!! Find the line, so that u can know what is good for ur mental health <3

It's ok to have online rants sometimes, depending on their severity

i do find it difficult to look at your snapchat sometimes, suffering from bad mental health myself. maybe using trigger warnings before your snapchats/instagram posts could help? because social media can be a healthy outlet, but it isn't always healthy for others to see. love u

I love you dodie

I definitely relate to trying to find that balance of being open to people about how im feeling, and just venting here and there, and realizing im being crazy, and regretting that "late night text" when i was in my worst place, that i shouldnt have sent. Its hard to find that balance of reaching out to people when you are hurting and being completely closed off when you are hurting. Its true, there isnt a "right answer" either.

I'm on sertraline, which is the antidepressant dodie was taking, and at first I was like 'yay dodie is going to realise that antidepressants really help and she's taking the same one as me and it's normalising medication and I don't feel so alone' however when she started saying it wasn't working and stopped taking it I was like 'should it have worked for me?' 'Am I really depressed if my medication makes me feel better?' 'What if I was just making it up?' Which is super unhealthy and I don't know how to feel anymore. I want dodie to normalise mental health but without triggering others which is so hard to do I suppose, and I'm awful at avoiding triggers even when there's a warning so it's so difficult for me.

This reminds me of the way my best friends and I talk at the middle of the night at sleepovers

this video made me cry because it's just me. it describes my behaviour when i'm depressed so well. i like... i talk about on my instagram, but it in the caption of a picture i'm posting and just hope that someone will ask "is everything okay?". i don't want to like... text my friends "i'm in a bad place rn, can we talk?" because i don't want to be a burden. i don't... i don't wanna make their lives harder than they already are. i'm like afraid that they don't understand me or tell me it'll pass soon. that's not helpful in the moment though a while later i lool back on what they said and i know that my friends were right. i am this weird combination of needing validation and attention to function properly and to feel alright, but at the same time i want to be left alone and have my space. and i feel like when i reach out for help i... lie to people? idk how else to describe this feeling really but it's basically the only way to put it into words

U probs won't read this but Take all the time u need dodie, I love ur content but I don't want u killing urself over making it

The amount of people in the comments that are bashing dodie on how she processes her thoughts, emotions, and feelings have most likely never been mentally ill themselves. It's so much easier to talk to a stranger or to a camera or post something online than it is to talk to someone you know because you don't know how you'll be received. It's exactly like she said: it's embarrassing, you don't want to feel like a burden, and you don't think people will understand or believe you. The reception some people could potentially take from this could be one of a romanticizing of mental illness, but by talking about how she's feeling, dodie's not going to magically transfer her mental health issues onto someone else. If anything, dodie talking about it and her feelings might make someone, who otherwise would've been hiding from their mind, realize that they might have something going on too and hopefully get themselves help. I've been struggling with my mental health for years and dodie is one of the reasons I've finally started seeking help

Dear Dodie,
I know that you have problems too and you know how to handle them because you have help,but I'm scared that I'm depressed and I have mental problems or I am depressed. Please Dodie,I hope that you even see this comment, it will help me so much if you would talk to me of you would give me some advice. Can you tell me what to do or help me? I feel empty and I feel that everything that I do is for nothing and it's not helpful and just boring. I feel like at the end of the day, everything is for nothing. I feel like no one will understand me and there is no point in living if I'm not happy. Dodie,please read this.

It's really weird.. because, here we are, trying to get noticed by one of our "best friend" our inspiration and all, but we know thats not really going to happen bc we are strangers.
And here is Dodie, kinda just like us, trying to reach out to the people or a person she loves, just like a "fan" and here its us who is like "take a step back, we are happy to help, but this is really too much, we are still here for you, but this is too personal When we are just strangers"

Here's the thing, you shouldn't have to censor yourself to make your content. This is your channel, your space, your creative outlet. Do what you need to do to not feel like a fake or a liar. You do have a young audience, but what does pretending not to have flaws or struggles do for them? Does idolizing you as a flawless person help them better themselves?

The opinion will always vary. 'If you talk about suicide, someone might be suicidal.' 'If you tell them you're depressed, they might become depressed.' 'If you don't talk about it, people will feel they struggle solo, never finding an emotional connection to help them through it.' Damned if you do, Damned if you don't.

But if you never talk about the hard things, you never get the opportunity to express them. You are always hiding a piece of yourself. And for some people that's fine. But it doesn't have to be fine for you simply because you fear it may harm someone. Nothing is inoffensive. Anything has the potential to hurt someone. Does it mean enough to you to risk it is the only real question. And it should.

My personal opinion is that leaning on social media can be a blessing and a curse. The distance from personal connection makes it so easy to talk about. Strangers on the internet allow you to say things you fear saying to your close friends/family. Things that may scare or worry them when you're having a particularly low moment. It also in a way allows you to say it to them indirectly. (You addressed all this in the video, I know.) And maybe pulling back from the internet a bit to have more in the moment one on one conversations will help a lot. Maybe medication will help. Maybe pulling back completely for a while will help. These decisions are yours, us as the audience can only support you or stop watching. I've read a lot of comments from young people saying you 'tricked them into thinking they were depressed or had depersonalization issues' But I don't think you romanticize it by addressing it. I don't think you cause depression in your audience by having depression. You can't blame yourself if someone over-identifies with you. Or if they lean on your struggle to avoid theirs. You, just like everyone else in the world, are allowed to be human. In fact, at least from those of us who understand relating to an illness and having it are two different things, it's encouraged. Do whatver you have to do to feel better. I'll still be supporting you. ♡

nonono please don't stop talking about your mental health, i need someone talking about this since i deal with a bunch of the same things everyday and deal with trust issues and stuff and dodie you make me feel like im not alone and it doesn't trigger me it helps me feel loved. for a while i had no friends and you were my only friend and hearing about your mental health helps me, so please, if you feel you don't want to open up online anymore, that's okay. but you help me through a lot

People are mad when you overshare and allow people to see you down but people would also be mad if you were pretending not to be down. I don't see how you can ever please everyone. Live life for yourself, Dodie.

I think something that would be beneficial to you but still help the audience would be to film videos talking about how you feel, but not post them. You'd get put how you feel, which always seems to make me feel better, but you wouldn't be forcing your feelings onto such an impressional audience. I love you so much, dodie, and I know that eventually you will feel better. I used to be so depressed to the point where I attempted suicide, but now I'm in such an amazing place. I truly hope your pain eases soon.

i have never felt you romanticise mental illness, obviously that's just my opinion, and i think it can be tricky as a creator to make art surrounding mental illness without it being interpreted as being romanticised.
i personally, have never gotten anything but help from watching and listening to dodie speak of her mental health and even at times physical health issues. but of course, some days it can be hard to listen to and some days i skip out on videos and snapchats and instagram. you do still need to take care of yourself, no one expects you to always watch/listen to her content.
i understand sharing to people who won't give you reply is a hell of a lot easier than sharing to friends/family who care and love you, my only hope is talking to your audience and sharing online isn't your only escape or whatever and that you do still talk to your friends/family. some issues and problems can be solved by typing something and just leaving it but sometimes there are things that need to be talked about with people who can respond and try to help.
i understand you have a large audience, you are in a position where you have a lot of people following you, but you are also human. like any of us we share and do things out of anger and just pure frustration. i saw a lot of people talking about you and how you felt on medication and honestly. i've stopped talking medication, i've stopped therapy, i've stopped going to the doctor altogether (none of which is your influence). the medication didn't really help, the therapy made me feel worse and the doctors just feel useless. obviously this is all said when i'm in a bad place and i know i need help. but i also know that it can just feel pointless and i understand where you are coming from.
you obviously don't want to make people feel worse, but you don't want to stop talking about mental illness because people and yourself find help from it. i don't think there will ever be an easy way to tackle that. i just saw another comment and i agreed with it, even though you have a bunch of people saying 'you sharing helps me' (myself included.) please only share for you. please only share because you want to share not to cater to people because it helps them because ultimately it's your mental health.
i hope you do take some of what people said and try and navigate your way through this. i hope you don't stop seeking help.
maybe i don't understand where people are coming from, i'm not a new viewer nor a young viewer. and i don't know how i would have felt watching this when i was 13 give or take a few years.
anyway i could be speaking out of my ass, have a good day kids and reach out.

ilysm you are so cute and sweet💕💕

i feel on that 3am tweet thing and then when they actually reply "are u ok?" i regret it instantly lmao idk why i have that mindset

the thing is, I don't want you to see all these negative comments and then withdraw yourself more. Depression sucks ass, and can rip people apart.
You portray your experience of it in a realistic way, but I think because you're artsy and creative, it comes across as romanticising it. This is obviously not great, but I believe you are aware of that and can make a change? I still love and support whatever you do. I believe that venting on social media isn't healthy, and I hope that if anything comes out of this, you learn to talk to people in real life about it.
Don't pretend you don't suffer from depression. Don't hide it away and bottle it up because that can be negative too.

I dont know what the right answer is but hopefully we can all help and keep trying :) life is good a lot of the time xx

I'm impressionable, fine. I look at people and i want to be all of them, so it's nothing personal in that respect, but at the same time your whole audience is impressionable, and they can't help you when you're down. You aren't helping them either, you are creating an image of yourself as a lot of suffering, and a lot of people want to be you.. it's unhealthy for pretty much everyone, and I think it would be best to challenge yourself to take a break from mental health talk on social media and learn to talk irl before you return to it.

it's hard for me to reach out and it's hard to be reached out too. however, both are SUPER IMPORTANT. i always feel like i need to 'help fix' or solve the problem when being reached out too - i'm working on that; to just be a sounding board or a vent space...i can hang with that. Like HH i tend to wait till i pull the plane back up to reach out or talk about things because then i'm in a better place to process them. You'll get through it. Take time. Reach Out. Ask. We'll give cookies.

omg yay i've missed you making videos!

Have you considered your being up in the middle of the night thing might not be helping? Obvs if your anxiety is keeping you awake that's a different matter but I'm just aware a lot of youtubers run on really weird hours and it's really not good for your health, mental or otherwise. I have a friend with crippling mental health issues and I'm really worried about him, but I also see how he stays up late, sleeps late and eats absolute shite. I'm not saying look after your body and your mind will be cured! But it will help massively because your brain has the resources and energy it needs to process things better. Speaking out about mental illness is great and this discussion in particular was very interesting and new. Take care both of you xxx

I love Hazel's voice :D

Despite allot of varying opinions dodies video do help me, as a young person struggling with mental health it's makes me feel as though im not alone and if I didn't see the imperfect side of Dodie I would have thought she was a ridiculously perfect person.

it's good that you use social media as an outlet for expressing how you're feeling, but I think videos on your mental health have become very frequent and you don't post many happy videos anymore. If people like hazel and zannah can see your snapchats and then worry about you maybe the really deep stuff like "not seeing the point in living" (or whatever you said) should be stuff that you talk to your friends about instead of letting it all out to a camera with all the intense details and putting it online. Cos seeing so many sad posts on your social media all the time is sometimes scary. So maybe when you want to make a video about your mental health do it, but maybe don't upload it straight away because so many videos like this in one go can be kinda worrying to your friends and your viewers. 🖤🖤

I think it's absolutely a good thing you're doing, putting your own thoughts and feelings out there. It's also a pretty brave thing to do if you ask me and has made me feel less alone with my anxiety 'struggles' lol. I also feel like there's this kind of stigma around talking about mental illness, which is awful as so many people experience it. The other day on snapchat you said something about feeling like you don't want to do anything, (I can't remember exactly what you said) but it really struck a chord with me. It was like a sudden explanation for why I was feeling so down and made me feel immediately better that what I was experiencing was valid. Point is, I love what you're doing. You're getting people to be less afraid of talking about mental illness, which is something that I think needs to happen.

I always find writing or talking to a camera about these kinds of things make me feel a whole lot better because then I don't have to hear what other people say. I can talk about it and the person in front of my is a camera or a screen and it lets me find what the real problem or real feeling is because I'm not hiding my true feelings in the fear that someone won't really understand what I am going through. When I am talking to a screen or a camera, there is no one there to stop me and i can be as rough as I want. And then I can post it and my friends and family will see it and then they come to me and I feel like then I can be the real me. I don't have to hide the pain anymore. Does that make sense?

to me, personally, it feels very fake if a youtuber doesnt share online when theyre feeling bad, sometimes you should talk to a friend instead but its not bad to share a lot online especially as a creator.

I love you so much. We love you so much. Your friends care about you so much. Your fans care about you so much. But you shouldn't need validation from anybody to know that your problems are real. That your feelings are real. You are valid. We love you so so much. If you ever want to talk all of your friends love you so much and you can see it. They care about you a lot. They love you Dodie. We do too. You are valid. I hope you see this. I hope you know that you are loved and you are valid.

i relate to the content in this video on such a level its confusing me on what to do,
but im grateful theres someone out there where i can search for these kind of things, though, i didnt watch the snapchats and posts so i cant say whether its good to overshare or not, maybe on some level it is, but, hahah idk im confused

I know that this wasn't your intent but when you said that physical health illnesses are easier than mental health illnesses because people can tell that you need help- it caused a knot in my stomach. As a person who recently developed a visual impairment, I want to say it's pretty fucking difficult. Yeah there are tests I can take to quantify my deficit, but at certain moments that number haunts me.
Also just because I need help (or when some assumes that I need help), doesn't mean I want it. We all desire some level of independence in our life and mental and physical health illnesses decrease that independence. We are all suffering in someway so please do not feed to the stigma that physical illnesses are easier than mental. Yes physical health gets much more attention than mental health (and that's fucked up) but that doesn't make it any easier.

the fact that dodie shared that she has been so unproductive and stayed on her bed being unmotivated for the past week makes me so hopeful. I was on holiday for the past two weeks and spent 1 and a half of those weeks just feeling completely run down and hopeless but I couldnt get out of it. I spent that time on my bed doing shit all and never went outside. I went back to school and I still feel like utter shit even though I am trying to learn (which I barely do because I just sit and do nothing because learning takes all my energy and motivation :-(( which makes me so angry I love learning) and I'm really actively trying to get out of this stage and will hopefully be doing that soon but this just makes me so hopeful because i feel so worthless compared to everyone else. Like i feel like im beyond it and I am going completely fucked but thank you.

I've shied away from you because I felt like it was way too much, I stopped reading the big instagram posts and I really think you've been depending on your audience to feed your need for validation way too much (which is understandable, if I had an audience I'd be tempted) it did get a little scary, you reminded me of people I used to know who would have large followings on anonymous blogs and would share wayyy too much and not talk to their actual friends about it, I'm so so glad you addressed this, I was concerned

The thing is you're human. I have borderline personality disorder, depression and anxiety (gotta love dat orgy tho) and I tend to overshare just because I don't know what else to do. I always want people to understand and tell me I'm not crazy. I don't have a lot of people to turn to, you do online an irl and I know if I had that I'd be the exact same.

Basically I think I'm saying the oversharing can be part of your illness. You're only 22 and you honestly can't be responsible for how your audience reacts, it's easy to put you on a pedestal and expect you to be superhuman. No one is though, no one should be. You can't sacrifice yourself. This is something you have to figure out for yourself, in your own time. Give yourself a break. Personally I do really appreciate how honest you are, it makes me feel like I'm not completely crazy and that I can be myself and there will still be people who get it.

Plus you could always make a second account where you talk about your feels, it's not like anyone is obligated to listen. Young people who do most likely can relate in some way. Idk, I think I've just gone on a bit of a rant that might be totally unhelpful

YOLO

i'm starting to recover from my depression :)