This "Tutorial" Is A Spot-On Look At Depression

It's been a while since "issue" makeup tutorials were all the rage, but if Amy Geliebter's "Depression Makeup Tutorial" is anything to go by, they're still as powerful as ever. Like her previous work, last year's equally genius "Bisexual Makeup Tutorial," Geliebter's latest video takes the form of one of YouTube's wildly popular makeup tutorials — but rather than contouring techniques and product reviews, she provides an impressively sarcastic and incredibly important glimpse into life with depression.

"First, start by priming your face with a nice, thick coat of chemical imbalances," she says at the beginning of the video, calmly applying a layer of primer. "Next, make sure your foundation is nice and rocky and emotionally unstable." She goes on to recommend several layers of concealer — the better to hide your pain, of course — in the shades "denial and emotional repression," followed by "complete mental breakdown."

The video hits the basics of contemporary makeup application (contouring, strong eye brows, dark lipstick, and so on), each of which represents a different aspect of depression. The most compelling "techniques" are those that deal with how depression is seen by other people — and more importantly, how they treat people with depression in turn. Geliebter's recommendations for shades like "just be happy" and "I was depressed once too, and I got over it," may make you laugh, but they'll also make you wince a little, especially if you suffer from depression yourself.

After all, such comments are par for the course in life with depression. It's no secret that society doesn't deal well with mental illness, especially when depression can be difficult to differentiate from sadness as an outside observer. As one of the most common mental illnesses, depression affects millions of adults every year, but those who suffer from it are often told to "get over themselves" and "snap out of it." Although more and more people are starting to discuss their experiences with depression, the stigma surrounding mental illness is alive and well: Perhaps most tellingly, the Centers for Disease Control reports that 57 percent of neurotypical adults believe people with mental illness are treated well, but only a quarter of those who actually have mental illness report feeling the same.

Videos like Getlieber's draw attention to the subject while remaining surprisingly lighthearted. Of course, her video only speaks to her personal experiences, but if you've ever had depression, chances are her "tutorial" will be all too familiar — and hilarious. Check out the video below.

Images: Amy Geliebter/YouTube, Giphy