Let’s be real, the glamorizing/romanticizing of mental illness, depression in particular, is nothing new. This disturbing trend has been around since before most of us can remember, and more than likely we are so used to seeing this on social media, in books, and in music that we don’t even stop to think about it and what message it is really putting out there. As an avid Tumblr user (no really, it can be great if one looks in the right places) has built a cookie-cutter image of thin girls in oversize hoodies, their hair pulled up into a messy bun while they lounge around in bed with a pouty expression. This is the image that is associated with depression, making it seem as if it’s another trend like top knots, concealing and highlighting, and over lining one’s lips. However, there another side to depression that not many like to expose and discuss because apparently, the following things are not as cool as lying in bed all day and watching movies on Netflix with a sad, uninterested expression.
Showering (or lack-thereof.)
There’s nothing trendier than not even being able to muster up the energy to bathe oneself, right? Whether it is simply forgetting to bathe, or knowing that one must and just not being bothered to do so, depression has the tendency to keep one in clothes they’ve been wearing for the past three days or so because let’s face it, there is no reason to dress up. Or if one does manage to bathe themselves, that might be the only productive thing they did that day. But I guess that isn’t cool enough to mention in that sad black-and-white gif from Tumblr with the angsty captions at the bottom.
The Relationship with food changes.
Whether it is eating until one’s stomach swells up to the size of a beach ball and STILL wanting to eat more or not being able to stomach even the simplest food because of said feelings, depression has a funny way of affecting one’s appetite and the way they view food, all while taking away the joy of being able to nourish the body. But hey, nothing is trendier than binging to dangerous levels or being weak from not being able to keep down a single thing.
Something always hurts.
What do you mean depression takes a physical toll on the body? Doesn’t everybody get headaches sometimes, or a cold, or backaches, or nausea? Unfortunately, depression doesn’t just like stopping at making sure the mind is hurting, but it ensures that it takes it one step further so that everything else hurts, too. At least large handbags and totes are extremely trendy these days, and luckily they will fit all the medication that one needs to make it through one of the ‘bad’ days.
Living in the moment doesn't exist.
Time isn’t a thing when one is hanging out with depression, and therefore measuring it or planning daily tasks around it is pretty much impossible. The hours of the day are lost traveling back in time and marinating in nostalgia, or staring at the walls when there are countless things to accomplish. It’s not exactly socially acceptable to be staring off into space, however, so, therefore, everything social is exiled from daily life and the walls of one’s home become the only friends. I can’t think of anything edgier.
I do not speak for all people who struggle with depression when addressing any of the above, for this mental disorder doesn’t affect every sufferer of it in the same way. The point I am trying to make with this article is that there is nothing glamorous or edgy about having your mind fighting against you, and just like we as a society do not glamorize diseases like cancer or diabetes, we should under no circumstance glamorize mental illnesses. By doing so, it discredits sufferers, and it sends the message that living with a mental illness is all fun and games when it is anything but.
