A MESSAGE FROM THE AFF ALLIANCE: (a community of writers trying to make a difference) 

Suicide should never be joked about, it’s not comical, and it's not romantic; you’re not living in a John Green novel. Sadness isn’t cute, and depression is not beautiful. There’s a feeling that in this generation, we are all woefully different, which leads to people trying to act differently, and then when they realise they are not different. Because it’s hard to be different in a world with 7 billion people, they think they’re worthless, and that the beautiful, unique ending for them would be suicide, and this mindset is the worst thing to come out of this generation. 

Do you know what is beautiful?

Putting down those razor blades, throwing out that rope, and realising that it’s nicer to live than to die. It’s nicer to smile than to cut yourself. If you feel sad and you want to feel pain, don’t do it physically, just watch a sad movie. 

We’re not saying it’s wrong to feel suicidal or depressed, because everyone feels this way at least once.

This is what we're saying: Swap those hurtful actions for something else, and stop glorifying suicide. It isn't something to take lightly. All of us are on AFF because it's an outlet, right? So maybe rather than crying yourself to sleep, allow yourself to cry a little because you’re sad, and then read an angst to get out your tears without letting yourself wallow, and if these sad feelings continue, go see a doctor. Depression is a medical condition and not seeing a doctor is exactly the same as losing a leg and deciding “it doesn’t need to be seen to right away.” 

And now, if you’re not depressed, you may think that this is obvious, but by making suicide and self-harm jokes, you are embedding this stupid mindset that because you can’t feel the pain; it's acceptable to talk about lightly. 

For yet others, before you cry yourself to sleep, ask yourself this question: “Is this going to still matter in four years time?” If the answer is no, it’s not worth even thinking about twice, because really, in a few years time you are not going to care about the time you got shouted at by one of your parents about something minor, or falling out with one of your friends over a love intrest gone wrong.

So this is a post telling people to stop joking about self harm, suicide and really all forms of emotional pain that lead to physical pain.  

*Repost if you feel the same way, and please tag it with “affa” (Asian Fanfiction Alliance) so we can track its progress. Let's get the mission out.