Matt Haig

[Into_the_tunnel]

If he wanted to be the mouthpiece for MH then he shouldn’t have written about Nora in the way that he did.

He then wouldn’t have had to backtrack when someone called him out.

He should have done his research and said she had Adjustment Disorder with depressed mood. The DSM V exists for a reason Matt, use it please.

This is why he has this thread. This is why he makes me angry and sad and so frustrated.

 

[Jelly Bean]

oh great, mask discourse

View attachment 663034

Gosh. That's a hot take. Only about 18 months after everyone else ever discussed it.

 

[NomDeGuerre]

He’a like a middle brow fortune cookie.

 

[kachoochoo]

I think the 'man' tweet has been deleted, but I've seen several people share the screenshot

I like this response

 

[MarthaFarkus]

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I know this isn’t his quote but he claims her quotes are like “pep talks to him”.

I find this kind of self help tosh really offensive. If you are suffering any kind of MH condition, you may not be able to enjoy life it or taste it for certain periods of it while your condition is waging war.

Similarly, we do have power over our circumstances in some situations and it can be dangerous to assert otherwise. One aspect of depression is hopelessness and helplessness in the face of certain situations and the treatment regarding this is learning to overcome these reactions you have when those circumstances might be repeated in the future.

He is encouraging people here to do things that a) they may be unable to do or b) may contribute further to a MH disorder. Once again, way off the mark.

To be quite honest, he’s no better than these people who tell people with depression to ‘snap out of it’. You’d think having mental health issues himself he’d understand that. When I had a massive breakdown last summer, reading patronising tosh like this and the shit he spouts didn’t help unsurprisingly. His ‘advice’ is quite dangerous and he’s too self absorbed to care.

 

[Into_the_tunnel]

I read his first book. I really thought I’d relate to it having had very severe depression, needing hospital care etc. I found it weirdly soulless and triggering. This utter shit he is currently peddling reduces painful, complex and life changing illness and experience to some trite sound bite. It’s offensive.

I completely agree. I read it too and made me feel even more alone.

It is in the same brand as “go for a run and the endorphins will get rid of your depression.”

 

[notthefullshilling]

I think the message in both is fairly generic suicide prevention messaging, and I wouldn't necessarily say one had taken from the other. However the excerpt from Stay is beautifully written and makes me want to read more. It's also more expansive in terms of how it frames things in relation to others and not just the individual, which I like. It makes MH's writing seem even worse, if that's possible.

 

[Vanelope]

Stop starting sentences with And.

it’s truly depressing how much money gets thrown at him for that trite garbage when talented writers are given a pittance.

 

[Vanelope]

I consider turning people off Matt Haig to be a public service as his mental health ‘heal yourself with running and sunrises’ bullshit is dangerous.

 

[kachoochoo]

thought he was meant to be watching a film?

honestly, I'm expecting a Thread 31 situation any minute now!

 

[Dogleggedhat]

Such a fucking try hard. His writing is shit,he’s a moany fucker and his ego is ridiculous. Why wouldn’t he just stay off Twitter if it’s so bad for his mental health ffs. People put him on a pedestal and it just makes him even less tolerable.

 

[NoHenry]

I've had to come out of lurkdom to tell you this. Husband said "I'm reading a really good book. It had 95000 positive reviews on amazon, so I thought I'd give it a go. There's this woman, Nora, who wants to die...."

"STOP! Is it midnight library by Matt Haig?"

"Yes"

"And you paid for it?"

"Yes"

"Fuck it, more money in Matt Haig's pocket. I bought it last year thinking he was a nice twitter guy, but he's not, he's a pious narcissist and the book is patronising twaddle."

Then I felt bad for being so vocal in my opinion (husband and I read very different stuff), so I left him with this instruction: DO NOT BUY ANY MORE MATT HAIG BOOKS (please and thank you).

 

[Jelly Bean]

Wtaf is wrong with him?
He is so thinskinned and just plain wrong about so much. Baffling he feels qualified to advise anyone ever on mental health. And monetise it.

 

[Talensandtruths]

Cannot stand the guy and won’t buy one of his books because I remember a tweet he wrote (I think it was around the time of the London Riots, in 2011) that said London’s survived much worse and bounced back (proceeded to list stuff like fires) and then included the suffragettes and it really pissed me off, because he clearly didn’t understand the significance/why it happened. Came across as a privileged white man spouting off about stuff he doesn’t understand from his ivory tower!

 

[hollowcrown]

Running through an injury is a fucking stupid thing to do. Run through an injury and you can cause further injury and lasting health problems. How's your mental health going to turn out when you are limping up the stairs for the rest of your life and can't walk further than half an hour without being in pain.

 

[schmetterling]

Room, by Schmetterling

Sit in your room all day coz really there isn't anything else to do right now
Have you got a window? Have you got a few sideboards? You're doing fine.
Think about your 600k book advance and relax your sphincter,
Just fart out those anxieties.
Look around for another mundane object that'll fill a whole page
Kettle
Allow yourself to be smug. You deserve this. The world deserves you. God, they really fucking deserve you.

Hot (tunnel’s version)

Sorry Tunnel dear heart but 'hot tunnel' sounds like a new, horrible euphemism for fanny

 

[Dustye]

Lololololol. I grew up not far from Newark () and although pockets of it are quite deprived, there are a lot of poshos there who have upped sticks for the cheaper houses and nearby independent schools. How dare he pretend to be an East Midlander, no matter where he is born he's low key Tory all the way. Like his pal Jack Monroe, it's all 'some nice grapes will cure your mental illness, oh I'm so wacky what japes, let's not talk about those yucky people with schizophrenia or psychosis'. Manic pixie pricks, the pair of them.

 

[lilamay]

There was so much hype around Reasons to Stay Alive but I didn't find it helpful at all personally. Mainly because, at the end of the day, he had his partner there for emotional support. What about folks who have no one? How do we do it?

 

[SavetheDrama]

I read his book Notes on a Nervous Planet and did enjoy it and would probably flick through it again. I've suffered from terrible anxiety and panic attacks so would never judge someone based off their mental health. It is his personality recently I am not loving. I do think it's great he has raised awareness about men's mental health but he seems a little too big for his boots now.

100% this.
People are not immune to criticism if they suffer with mental health issues.
If we were sitting here pointing and laughing at him because he has anxiety, it would be one thing. We’re discussing his perceived personality. One can be a brave fighter for mental health destigmatisation and also a tool.

 

[Vanelope]

Says something self promoting and stupid.

has it pointed out how incorrect and harmful it is

sulks on Twitter and says it was a joke

claims to be having a mental health day and everyone is so cross he has to leave

Repeat