User blog comment:KoolKoopaGirl/I can't roleplay./@comment-30026431-20170106045031

depression isnt a cute hat you can put on your character and say "look at them! they have depression! isnt it adorable!!"

i used to do this same thing, trust me. everyone did, mostly. we all had that One Character that had the crazy depression and was constantly sad and devoid of emotion and im not gonna get mad and yell cause i did it too, probably when i was your age tbh

making songs, art, games, etc about depression is usually a double edged sword. if its done wrong it crashes and burns, usually because its a poor representation of depression. if its done right then it can sing its praises for the exact opposite reason, ya dig?

no one is telling you to quit roleplaying or anything like that, people just want depression, anxiety, etc to stop being the centerpiece on a character and have it be a blatant stereotype that actively harms people with real depression. my advice is to research! google symptoms of depression or talk to people who have it. not only will it better your oc, but you'll learn interesting facts that you can cinsider when meeting someone with depression!

the same goes with any trait, really. is your character foreign? research the place they came from! mental illness? research! a disease? research it!

knowledge is power, and power is making kickass oc's that are accurate to their traits