The 'Self Care' Age: Is It Becoming Fashionable To Have a Mental Health Illness?
Conversations about mental health are now more common than talking about the weather. Gone are the days we visit the hairdressers and make small talk about our upcoming holidays or how cold, wet and miserable the weather is, now were more likely to talk about our inner most thoughts and feelings. I can’t help but wonder if it’s becoming fashionable to have a mental health illness? Are we becoming a nation of over sharers?
When I first became ill with depression and an eating disorder, I knew very little about what it meant to have these illnesses and I definitely didn’t know anyone else who were suffering. I don’t think this was because no one else was, I believe it’s more the case that these conversations just weren’t being had. When I was first diagnosed social media certainly wasn’t a thing and the only existing platforms for ‘serious’ discussions were magazines but even in the spaces it was rarely spoken about.
Now my social media feeds (like many peoples I know) especially Instagram and Twitter are full with open dialogue about mental health and often posts sharing an inspirational quote, ‘it’s okay to not be okay’ or ‘if you’re going through hell keep going’. I’m not saying that raising awareness is a bad thing, the increase in the number of people sharing their story is important to help reduce the stigma that all too often surrounds conversation about mental health problems and them being a sign of weakness, but I do worry that with so much conversation happening about mental health it is going to result in the people who have severe mental health problems not getting the help that they so desperately need.
Having depression and social anxiety disorder are very different from experiencing periods of low mood and being anxious about an upcoming social event, and it’s all too easy to write off someone who has clinical depression as just going through a difficult period in their life. Recently for example there has been an increase in the number of people who have reported feeling high levels of anxiety especially amongst the young and there has been a 75% increase in the number of incidents of self harm presentation at A&E (https://schoolsweek.co.uk/anxiety-is-on-the-rise/).
The wellness industry have also capitalised on the increase in the conversation with numerous wellness trends popping up from spa retreat, yoga packages and detoxes, which all come with the promise of making you feel physically and emotionally better whilst carrying a hefty price tag. There is a lot of evidence which says a good sleep routine, varied diet and getting some fresh air are good for us but these things do not have to cost the earth. An example of cashing in on the latest wellness trend can be seen when looking at the rebranding of Weight Watchers who have recently changed their name to WW with the new tag line ‘Wellness that works’. Whereas they once focused on weight loss, they have now decided selling ‘self-care’ is the way to go.
I strongly believe that the wellness industry should be using their platforms as an opportunity to educate people about the spectrum of mental health problems and raise awareness about lesser known conditions like borderline personality disorder and schizophrenic disorder. Yoga, spa treatments and other self care activities of this kind are great when you are having a bad day but when you have clinical depression, self-care activities are more about meeting one’s basic needs. Making sure you are eating, sleeping and drinking enough for example become the priority.
Another thing to note is the language which is used to discuss mental health illnesses. When I think of this my mind instantly jumps to the quote ‘its okay to not be okay’. Of late this quote can be seen everywhere but really, how helpful is it? Yes, its okay to not be feeling in a great mood all the time but if this is becoming your norm than I’m not sure it is okay and actually maybe you need to seek more help from health care professionals.
It’s important to stress that mental health illnesses are not desirable or trendy and by over using phrases like the aforementioned one, we are at risk of trivialising the severity of these illnesses and risk people with life impacting mental health problems not being taken seriously by others or themselves.
Ideally soon we will see a shift away from people using the words ‘depression’ and ‘anxiety’ so freely and often out of context and instead we’ll see an increase in people sharing their experiences of other lesser understood mental health illnesses, including anorexia and borderline personality disorder. It’s incredible to see the deconstruction of the stigma around mental health; but it’s important to remember it is a double edged sword and a topic that still seems to focus on anxiety and depression, leaving other illnesses still very much in the dark.
Written by Clare Wood
Clare lives in Bristol a city which she is proud to be able to call home. She loves interior design, flowers and is addicted to podcasts.