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Goths aren't actually more depressed than everyone else

According to a recent study from Oxford University, teenagers who identify with goth subculture at the age of 15 have three times the risk of depression, and five times the risk of self-harm, when compared to the average teenager. 

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Writing for The Daily Beast, Dale Eisinger has penned a response to the study, which questions the results by presenting opinions of those who identify as goths. “Goths are, at very least, much more in tune with such issues than the average person,” claims Jack Corax, a 21-year-old New Yorker. “Goths tend to value honestly engaging with emotions, and the culture definitely has this slightly perverse sense of community stemming from a ‘we're all fucked up in some way or another’ sort of vibe. I want to stress that goths don't ‘glorify’ or fetishize death/suicide/mental illness; we're just (on average, anyway) much more willing to talk about/understand them, as opposed to having them be taboo.” 

“Goth is the way I chose to tell my own personal truth,’ adds Jill Ford, a goth from LA. “Funnily enough, the second I was able to start 'being goth,' I was able to relax and actually became decently bubbly and cheerful.” 

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But why is goth culturally intertwined with depression? “I think that the reason that stereotype comes up is that a lot of people that dabble in trying to be goth are often very young teenagers who don't know who they are yet or what they want,” offered 23-year-old Felix P.

As a fitting conclusion, Corax explained how harmless goths really are. “Most of us are really pretty goofy—I mean, after all, if you find the concept of death entertaining, there’s not much you can’t laugh at.”

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