ROMANTICIZING MENTAL ILLNESS AND HOW THAT AFFECTS THE CURRENT POPULATION LIVING WITH MENTAL ILLNESS
Mental illness is a serious and common issue that is being noticed in most individuals nowadays. It is characterized by various emotional and behavioral disturbances and issues that can hamper the daily functioning of an individual.
However, there has been a rise in a new pattern in social media and even outside social media, the real world that is romanticizing mental illness. Now, to explain what romanticizing means, it is idealizing, putting something on a pedestal, and making it look more attractive than it actually is. It can be anything, a toxic relationship, one’s suffering (physical or mental). A very good example of romanticizing mental illness would be “Everyone should suffer from pain in life” or blatantly stating that “Depression is beautiful” which can be very harmful for a given population. Romanticizing in any form usually starts with a non-harmful intent, more of trying to make our everyday life beautiful or using it as a coping mechanism in some way but it quickly can take a negative turn in our lives if not checked upon.
As we all know Social media is not exactly the perfect platform to associate good mental health with. However, it definitely can make us aware and more up-to-date when the need arises. Over more than half of the population uses social media, and somehow in apps like YouTube and Instagram certain videos or posts would surface every now and then about how having mental disorders are fancy or attractive. This might not affect everyone but someone who is going through a mental illness and trying their best to recover can perceive this as obnoxious, rude, and even exposed in some way and it can further hamper their progress. There can be a possibility that creators of such videos might be suffering from it themselves and are working on it or spreading mental health awareness but they might not understand the impact and intensity of the message and the way others can perceive it.
As humans, I think we should be there for each other and be aware of how our message towards something can harm a certain population in a way we can even imagine. It is important to remain mindful of people who are suffering and focus on helping them instead of making it harder for them. We need to understand that living with mental illness can be extremely tough and portraying it in a short video of how it can be glamorous can be potentially unsafe for people suffering from mental illness at the same time can influence healthy individuals to doubt their normal ups and downs of feelings and emotions which are a daily part of life.
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About MindTribe.in.
MindTribe Founder Dr. Prerna Kohli, India’s eminent psychologist, established the company to leverage the strength of the online to make counseling affordable and accessible to everyone. MindTribe provides counseling, workshops, support groups, forums, and eLearning.
About the Author.
Aishani Chatterjee is a psychologist at MindTribe.in. You can learn more about her by clicking here
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MindTribe.in, the Founders, or management team.
Acknowledgement: All images used are open source and from Unsplash.