Shady Srour Just Got So Real About What It’s Like to Live with Depression
By Lamia Abozaid
Shady Srour needs no introduction. It doesn’t matter if you’re a fan of him or not, you just know him. Srour is one of the most successful YouTubers the Middle East had ever witnessed. He made endless videos, but the one video he made that went absolutely viral was the “lama abouk yt7wl” (when your dad transforms) video, and this was his starting point of fame. He is the first YouTuber in the Middle East who reached two-hundred million views after a year of making videos. Throughout his journey, he was invited by the famous TV presenter Motaz El-Demerdash for an interview several times.
He started writing his own scripts, making videos, and acted mostly all the parts. According to one of Srour’s interviews with El-Demerdash, he would always look for feedback from his audience and would always try his best to interact with them, he would also keep on refreshing his social media pages every couple of minutes to read the comments the audience left, to see how many views the video had reached, and how many likes so far.
Srour’s social media posts always clearly show that he’s trying his best to succeed, he recently wrote the script and acted along with Bushra in Titanic, the first Egyptian YouTube film ever made. The famous writer and director Amr Salama, shared the movie on his Facebook’s personal account and wrote that he firmly believes that this is one of the most important steps in expressing art. Srour was anxiously waiting to see the audience’s reaction, it was not what he expected. He later on updated his status saying that the movie wasn’t to the audience’s expectations because lots of parts had to be cut off.
We all, at some point in life start getting super fed up when we try, and try and we feel like we haven’t accomplished anything. Srour, unfortunately hit that point, but he hit it to the point where he wants to end his life…and of course, some people have to be so ignorant and not take it seriously. Why do we only look at the tip of the iceberg? What about the depths of the water? We all have a story that no one knows about…we definitely need more love in this world.
Here’s what he posted on his Facebook
The post reads: “I’m 21 years old, yes. But I’m concerned about life and my future…I am sick and tired of this, I’ve had enough. I no longer want to live and I do not want to speak to anyone…I am starting to see death as a relief.”
But of course, the tip of the iceberg is only seen…
As soon as Srour posted his status, someone commented saying: “Like, why are you complaining? Shady, you work and you have money. Your parents treat you well and they do not give you a hard time. You have also started traveling and touring the world, you started meeting new people and you also became famous. After all this you want to commit suicide and you’re also depressed? What am I supposed to do with myself, should I burn myself down?!”
Srour couldn’t help but responded to her
Read the post in English below.
Alright, well this is what you see from the outside without actually knowing anything about me…
In the name of God,
- Did you know that I am fully responsible for myself and that no one helps me financially? I was the one who pushed myself to reach where I am today in such a community where it’s extremely difficult to succeed?
- Did you know that I am an ambitious person, which means I dream of the impossibilities and how much I suffer every single day when I try and try and do not succeed? Do you know how bad this feels?
- Did you know that literally everybody I loved let go of me at the time I needed them the most and I was always alone? And when I started being famous and achieving something whoever spoke to me or knew me would talk to me because they needed something from me?
- Did you know that I am just like any young person living in this country, I suffer from what it is going through economically, socially, and internationally? And every single time I step forward and try to build the first brick in my future a pile of bricks would fall on me and break me apart?
- Did you know that I currently have lots of issues with my university because I want to study something that I love and I unfortunately have to study something that I am not passionate about and I fail every year along with how bad my academic standard currently is?
- Do you know how many times I have tried to reach my goal and how many times I have tried to do a lot of things along with trying new strategies and in the end it all just fails and I find myself back at square one? Did you know that I stay alone lamenting at the amount of efforts I have put in and how much money I have spent and towards the end I get nothing?
- Did you know that my pocket money used to be 300 LE per month until I turned 19 and that I was the one who changed this myself since I never accepted the assigned reality?
- Did you that I was born with a leg length discrepancy then I had to do a surgery and it stayed impelling me negatively for three years at such a young age? I am still nervously worried about it up to this day. I cannot even stay still standing longer than two minutes. Did you also know that the surgery’s distort is still visible? And that it will stay like visible for the rest of my life? I even Photoshop it each time I upload a picture where my leg is visible.
- Did you know that I am criticized every day along with the rumors, accusations, and that I’m verbally abused and cursed out in my parents name every day for stuff I haven’t done just because I succeeded in something and made a social video about the community to make people laugh?
- Did you know that I dream of traveling to live and work abroad in order to not only be local but to be international and every single time I try to travel the embassy rejects my visa request just because I’m Egyptian and young and I might flee?
- Did you know that I was the most depressed child at the age of 18 because of stuff that has happened to me which are unnecessary to mention and because of how much I was depressed I committed suicide but I somehow made it alive? The distorts of the incident is still visible and will be for the rest of my life.
Should I carry on? I have a lot more to say. Please do not underestimate people’s stories.
