system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Sometimes people discussing their mental health issues is attention seeking behavior.

I see a lot of "debunking the myths of mental illness posts" on my facebook and a common one is that people are absolutely not talking about their suicidal thoughts, self-harm behavior, anxiety, etc. for attention. I believe this is a false statement. I honestly believe that certain people (not all) do engage in attention seeking behavior to get validation/sympathy/whatever.

My anecdotal evidence for this:

I, as a teenage girl, engaged in self-harm behavior, had suicidal thoughts, and suffered from depression. The last thing I would ever want to do is talk about this with anyone at all. That is a problem in itself, a person should feel comfortable at least talking to a therapist, close relative or friend in a safe environment. So I am on the opposite end of this spectrum.

My friend, as a teenage girl engaged in the same behavior (never knowing I had the same mental health issues), but was incredibly open about it in what I felt was often inappropriate situations.

Examples:

1. Repeatedly telling your entire 7th grade class that you are suicidal.
2. Telling people you just met that you are suicidal/have depression/self-harm
3. Going into detail about your therapy sessions, mental health problems, etc with a group of people you are not particularly close with and are visibly uncomfortable with what she is telling them.

It got to a point where it felt like being suicidal, depressed and self-destructive was basically her only personality trait.

I'm not a doctor and its not my place to say someone's behavior is attention-seeking. I made this mistake accusing the above friend "just wanting attention". But, being on the complete other end of the spectrum for the ability to share emotions, I can't really fathom another explanation.

CMV: How is that not attention seeking behavior? Bonus points if you can bring up histrionic/borderline/narcissistic personality disorders in the discussion.

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Edit1: For clarification, I fully understand that what I have identified as attention-seeking behavior is typically a cry for help and that people who do this usually do have genuine mental health disorders that should not be disregarded. What I want to understand is why attention-seeking behavior has been struck from the dialogue about mental health. There are personality disorders that have the trait of excessive attention seeking so why should I not identify behaviors as being such when dealing with a mentally ill person (not outright say it to their face or use it in a way to invalidate their feelings). Are there any psychologist who refute the idea of excessive attention seeking behavior altogether in the mentioned disorders? I'm genuinely looking to understand the rationale of attention-seeking deniers.

Edit2: Admitting that some behaviors are attention seeking, but we don't want to talk about that too loudly because people may use that to invalidate someones mental health issues doesn't change my view, it actually validates it, which is the opposite of what I'm hoping to get here. I think I'm missing something important, and all those advocates and mental health experts can't be wrong, lay the evidence on me!

Edit3: Logging off for the night, I'll check back tomorrow. I still stand by my second edit. And I will reiterate that I am not qualified to determine when a behavior is attention-seeking and that people should not use the term attention-seeking to invalidate someone. What I really want to know is whether or not attention-seeking behavior is a genuine concern in the mental health profession and if it is known whether or not people use mental health issues to gain attention. Is it really a myth like those facebook posts tell me it is? Not looking to be called out for not being a doctor, please try not to take this post personally.

Edit4: I was hoping to be redirected to some academic literature that refutes that term as it is related to certain personality disorders, but the comments came up short. What changed my view: 'attention-seeking' behavior isn't the right term. The term that describes the above behavior is "oversharing". Its a great term, because it describes the experience accurately without assuming a motive. Its the demand for attention from myself that I found harmful and her interactions with others made me feel inadequate. And it was a straw-man argument anyway. Sorry to anyone who felt personally attacked by this post.
gpt
Excessive attention seeking can also be a sign that someone is unwell. This is why when you receive training to manage mental illness you learn that all concerns are valid. The patient report may not be face valid, but it is almost always indicative of some type of problem worthy of sympathy and help. Someone excessively seeking attention related to anxiety/depression/suicidality etc is not well. That is not healthy behavior and that person can still benefit from understanding and help.