So the some of you who lurk (and the some of you who read and are less obscured) may have seen that there have been people inspired by the DepressionFTW style of communication. I know I’ve seen at least one music video, blog post, movie, book and commercial that seems to allude to my work. And sometimes when you see people taking inspiration from each other, it can beg the question: does it matter who said what first?

Throughout time and history, I’d argue the answer has been yes for a variety of reasons. But, in the case of this blog, I think it is a little more nuanced, because using these tactics can help spread a message that will hopefully provide support to people who might not feel comfortable seeking advice directly from the source.

I think that the purpose of this blog has been to alleviate readers’ symptoms of depression. But there are many people who do not know they are depressed, do not want to admit they are depressed, or do not want to read about depression. If another content creator gets inspired and wants to help people deal with their condition, isn’t that a good thing? And if they just want to do a little shoutout? Isn’t it nice to feel heard?

The only thing is that this blog has a mission, and it’s sometimes a little heavy. I have loved the esoteric shoutouts and seeing people inspired by the counterintuitive negative self-talk of the blog. Just remember that like how I am responsible for how people are inspired by my work, people who reference this work to inspire others are also now a part of that chain of responsibility. And if you don’t know exactly why I was using certain techniques, just be cautious about when you take them on for your own writing.

But that’s such a downer! Why can’t people just write their hearts content and overshare all their inspired thoughts and feelings! And who says your writing is so unique? You were inspired by other bloggers so should you really act like such a king of depressed logic?

We’ve all got our own fears of inspiring something that goes counter to our values, and so it’s important to me to pass on the responsibility of preserving the message of DepressionFTW.