#MyDepressionLooksLike: Examining Public Discourse About Depression on Twitter

BACKGROUND: Social media provides a context for billions of users to connect, express sentiments, and provide in-the-moment status updates. Because Twitter users tend to tweet emotional updates from daily life, the platform provides unique insights into experiences of mental health problems. Depression is not only one of the most prevalent health conditions but also carries a social stigma. Yet, opening up about one’s depression and seeking social support may provide relief from symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the public discourse of the trending hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike to look more closely at how users talk about their depressive symptoms on Twitter. METHODS: We captured 3225 original content tweets for the hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike that circulated in May of 2016. Eliminating public service announcements, spam, and tweets with links to pictures or videos resulted in a total of 1978 tweets. Using qualitative content analysis, we coded the tweets to detect themes. RESULTS: The content analysis revealed seven themes: dysfunctional thoughts, lifestyle challenges, social struggles, hiding behind a mask, apathy and sadness, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and seeking relief. CONCLUSIONS: The themes revealed important information about the content of the public messages that people share about depression on Twitter. More research is needed to understand the effects of the hashtag on increasing social support for users and reducing social stigma related to depression.