How do you react when someone makes a joke about being "emo" and SIing?
 

Like when someone says something like "Oh I'm so sad. I'm going to turn emo and go sit in a corner and cry and cut myself." Or when someone jokingly makes a cutting motion with their hand over their wrist? Do you laugh it off, get defensive, just ignore it?

I have the same problem.

I am screaming and kicking and sobbing inside, but i kinda laugh it off in public and say something like "you shouldn't pick on people that cut, what would THAT accomplish?"

i generally just shrug it off, even if inside im crying and imagining me slapping them down:whistling:

I hate it when I am in work or something, and someone will say 'smile' or 'be happy' - I mean it is not as if I an intentionally trying to look depressed, it is just how I feel and I'm not good at hiding it - even when I feel happy, people still tell me to cheer up.

Anyway, yeah - when someone says things like 'i'm going to go slit my wrists' or ' igonnae walk infront of a bus' in sarcastic tones, because they mock it and think it's funny :(

People have even said sarcastically to me, if you feel that down (because I am not smiling and chirpy) that I should go slit my wists...hardly going to show them, am I :(

I laugh sarcastically and poke them

I have that same problem. I just ignore it. There's no use arguing with people that are just ignorant. They will not listen to a word you say and if you get defensive you will look suspicious anyway.

(BTW love your avatar Laci. I love that show, and especially that character.)

I guess it would somewhat upset me to hear a comment like that but I’d probably keep my opinion to myself and ignore their stupidity. They obviously don’t know what they’re talking about, so why get into an argument with someone who knows nothing on the subject.

Ignorance is bliss I suppose.

Haha :]

I'll usually say that I don't think it's funny. It depends on who the person is and how I know them, but I almost always say that it isn't funny. Sometimes people who know will forget and I'll say "don't" and they'll apologize.

Usually I just won't say anything, even though I want to yell at them and slap them. XP I'll be thinking about how f*cking ignorant they are, and screaming at them in my mind. I probably would say something if I wasn't worried that then they'd think I SI.

Although I might do it the next time one of my friends says something about it. Or maybe I'll chicken out, as usual.

My friends do that alot well one of them does so i tell her "shut the hell up because it isn't funny and some people do go through. If it was you would you laugh?" and then i walk away before i hit her and when people realise i'm being serious they follow me and then i get bugged about why i'm so "Sensitive" about it and then i have a massive rant and then they all shut up

It depends what the joke is.

Half the time I'm one of the ones making it...

Erm, I laugh along, pretty bad ey.

I cry and then cut myself

id flip out if they knew about my SI but if they didnt i have no choice but to keep my mouth shut, i might shout and say its unfair to people who do selfharm if i felt it was needed or i was just in that kind of mood. i really dont take jokes about SI well because i know what its like to be accused of attention seeking when i know im not and i think that its very rare u get SIer that are only doing it for attention there has to be reasoning behind it. Yer i think 9 times out of 10 id go mad, bad init i think i have a few anger problems to work threw

I have a friend who thinks he's funny and says stuff like 'oh no i'm so depressed, i'm going to go and sit in the dark and cry and cut myself', to which i usually reply haha, that's really not funny or you shouldn't joke about stuff like that. Or something... I'm a pretty argumentative person when i wanna be and stuff like that just makes me mad! I can't say too much mind because he doesn't know about my SI. I never laugh though, it only encourages the idiot

xxx

rofl i laugh a lot tbh.

xxx

I think it just depends... it always bothers me a little, makes me a tad bit uncomfortable when people make those kinds of jokes. I usually don't say anything, though, and try to ignore it... I know several people who make those kinds of jokes and some (not all) of them know I'm in recovery. I think people just don't think about how it might affect someone who does SI and who also isn't 'open' about it.

It doesn't bother me. Really. The closest person to me in my life jokes about emos regularly (and I join in), but "emos" and people who SI are totally different in my opinion. I know a lot of people lump them together but there's no point getting riled over ignorance.

I see emos as people who threaten to and/or gloat about it, or show it off and "glamorise" it (even if they don't really SI in real life) for the attention and sympathy. People who SI because it's the only way they can cope with extreme stress is totally different. When I do it the last thing I want is people around me to know. I don't even want people I only know online to know.

So since I don't see people who SI because of overwhelming stress as being in the same category as an emo no, it doesn't offend me at all. "Emos" do it to get a reaction from people. other people who SI do it as a coping mechanism for themself and don't want other people to know. At least this is my assumption based on how I feel about it. I may be wrong if the majority of people who SI DO want other people to know and give sympathy and attention.

i really want to say something, but it gets caught in my throat which i find really frustrating, and get angry at myself. i try not to let it get to me, but it does hurt.

Normally I tend not to laugh but I don't say anything either. If its with people I don't know then I just keep quiet. If its with people who know me and know that I used to do it then I may make a comment and they will say they didn't mean me, it seems like they think every selfharmer but me is "emo"

I laugh, then change the subject really quickly. The other day my maths teacher made a 'joke', saying that he wouldn't tell us us we got in our exams because if you most of us knew we'd all end up crying in a corner slitting our wrists. Everyone laughed, but that really annoyed me. I didn't say anything, but he's a professional person and should know better than say something like that when there could be (well, there was) a self harmer in the room.

i get angry...mostly because those are pretty ignorant things to say. i'm the kind of person who would tell them to get a book and educate themselves and shut up about it until they do...

I lot of people at my school do that.
I try to just ignore it. But sometimes, when I have a day where I'm feeling vulnerable, it royally pisses me off. Some people can be so ignorant sometimes, they just think that everyone that cuts fits into that stereotype.....and not everyone does.

***It makes me angry... I think it's because of people that make those sorts of jokes that people don't take SI seriously && they think it's for attention when they find out someone SIs...***

I don't want the wrong sort of people finding out about my SI, so I try to alert them to their stupidity withous seeming too defensive... [eg. "You shouldn't make jokes about that, a lot pf people really struggle with cutting"]

To be honest though, I really don't think when the majority of people use the word 'emo' they are referring to people who SH as a means of coping. I think most of them are referring to people who do it and show it off for attention or to get a reaction, and over-dramatise very trivial stuff; such as "ARGH my parents made me clean my room! I'll show them!".

Being devils advocate; people flying off the handle when someone uses the word 'emo' may be being a tad ignorant themself by not realising they don't mean it as a dig aimed at people with serious problems...?

One of my mates made a comment to me in a lesson the other day, he saw some of my fainter scars on my arms and jokingly went 'oh self harmer' I was quite taken aback to be honest but i quickly laughed along with it and was like 'yeah mate' obv in a sarcastic way. But like I said, I was quite taken a back....

To be honest, I usually laugh along, but my mates just make the occasional "Oh look she's gonna go cut herself" I usually laugh at that, just to shut them up, although there have been times when they've made the joke at me && I've smacked them, it doesn't make the pain any easier, but it makes me feel better on the outside =D

Sarcastic laugh, snarl, or just ignore, depending on who it is...

It makes me think, "I must be a freak because their saying stuff that isn't very nice."

Also makes me feel like I can't tell new friends about it incase they reject me, but my friends who know never did and still haven't, which I'm really happy about.

I hate it when people say stuff like that but I just ignore it. I was having a jokey argument with my mate last week and she was like "Oh go be an emo and go slit your wrists" when she knows about me. I just laughed saracasticly and pointed out she thought it was cool and a good idea to try and do it once when she felt 'depressed' after her mum told her to tidy her room.:plain:

well wn a cuple of ppl saw my arms n said emo....i just sorta went squinty eyes n said **** off in a playfull joky kind of way then walked away

...sorted...

Ditto

I want to go off on them. To yell and scream about how ignorant/stupid they are making themselves seem.
I've reacted different ways.

1] i give them a look that screams "shut up you idiot!"
2] i just stand back and wonder "what if they really knew? What would they say then?
3] i do go off (just slightly) and say that not all 'emos' cut and not all people that cut or are unhappy are emo.

I get p*ssed off, but dont say anything.

Yeah I get really angry but have to try not to show it.

I make the jokes generally.

If you can't laugh at yourself you can't laugh at anyone.

It's my favourite subject to mock really, self harm.

Exactly. That's generally what I say. The joke is rather old now, pretty irritating.

It hurts, i hate it when people do it. Some of my closer friends know i used to SI and they how much it still hurts, but the others say things about emos and it hurts. i just shake it off and smile, and think about doing it again, when i know i shouldn't Geez

i dunno. usually just laugh it off, i'd rather not look suspicious i suppose. it's probably wrong of me. but who cares, i'm protecting my secrets. x

same as every1 els, kinda laugh along but wana ****in slap them :) lol

i get that a lot too.
and like it hurts my feelings.
try to let it not get to you.
people dont really understand how common it is.
ya know?

but that def. makes me mad.
good post. =]

Makes me feel gutted inside, but i try not to show it. We have problems, doesnt anyone realise that or are they attention seekers when they talk about anything emo?

makes me hurt and angry cos they dont understand

i just point out that its a common misconception that emos sh, and a very common one that all siers are emos.

if they get all 'oh yeah, how would you know' i just tell them its from first hand experience. that normally shuts people up

and it did here. no one bothered to post after me!

i hate it when people make sarcastic comments or jokes about SI,inside i can picture myself punching them in the mouth or fly kicking them in the head,i think i should try work on my aggression lol. But i hate it theres no need but i never actually say anything because people will get suspecious.im so glad you made this thread!!

God I hate it... If the person is making an emo joke but doesnt no I cut well it makes me feel like ***** but I dont let on that it bothers me... If somebody calls me an emo it just causes such a pang or stab of annoyance and I feel like beatin the crap outa them! Lol... Im not an emo so I dont like being labled as one if people know about my SI... When people make a joke bout it, it just shows how ignorant they are and how much they really dont understand... It kinda upsets me when I see other people being slagged about it and not retaliating cause I know exactly how they feel... I usually dont say anything if someone makes an emo joke... I feel like punchin them afterwards but if the person does not know I SI well I dont want them knowing so I dont retalliate... Wow that was a long - winded ramble!

About a year ago my son came home from school and said he gets annoyed with the people at school who are dumb and he especially disliked the "ones who cut themselves". I got all scared inside thinking that I hoped he never found out and hated me for it.

Then I told him he should have more compassion because these kids probably felt sad or didn't like themselves, etc. He said they just did it for fun and sat around in front of each other doing it and bragging all over school about it and showing off their cuts.

That was when I learned about this fad with the young people. I was disgusted, how dare these kids do this for the attention. They are making something that is very serious trivial and childish. It's probable that people now see SI only as an attention seeking behavior.

I tell anyone who makes jokes or remarks about SI that, while this may be a new fad with some of the young kids, attention seeking is absolutely not why someone with a serious SI habit does it. Then I tell them to google self harm or self injury and learn about what they're talking about before saying anything. This generally shuts the morons up. :Wink:

^^ I agree with Kaffy totally! People make jokes because they see it as attention seeking and do not take it seriously. They do not know what they are talking bout and need to be educated on the subject. Even if it is attention seeking, there must be an underlying cause or problem that is causing the person to feel that they need to SI. It really isnt a laughing matter I think... I agree that it is very trivial and childish and that people should not make fun of things that they do not understand.