Romanticizing your problem means looking at it through rose-tinted glasses or trying to find beauty or excitement in something that is actually causing you harm or distress. To romanticize one’s problem is to shroud it in an alluring guise, to present it as a thing of beauty rather than a thorn in one’s side. This can be problematic because it can minimize the real and often debilitating impact of anxiety on a person’s life.
Romanticizing anxiety may also lead to a reluctance to seek help or appropriate treatment, as the individual may view anxiety as an inherent and positive part of their identity or persona. Additionally, it can create a dangerous cultural myth that anxiety is desirable or necessary for creativity or productivity, which can put pressure on individuals to endure or glorify their anxiety.
For decades, horror movies, romance stories, books, television shows, and more have sensationalized and even romanticized mental illness. In some instances, popular television has overshadowed the severity of symptoms and challenges of struggling with mental health. Many modern releases lead to the misconception that mental illness is beautiful or even desirable. It also impacts the desire of those struggling with mental illness to seek and get the help they need to feel well again.
Romanticizing Mental Illness
People downplay their mental health issues or make jokes about them, which makes it seem like these issues are less serious than they really are. Many people dismiss mental health because they see it as insignificant and frivolous as it is shown on social media. While mental health issues are gaining more recognition and positive portrayals, they are being glorified and romanticized at the same time. TV shows, movies and social media platforms portray mental health issues as being less severe.
In addition, movies such as “The Silver Linings Playbook” make it seem as though falling in love can be the cure to mental health struggles. While a healthy relationship may help some people with mental health issues, it is not a cure for these struggles. Horror movies, such as “Friday the 13th,” may show mental health issues as intriguing and exciting, making it desirable for the audience. These misleading messages may cause people to think that mental health issues can be cured, or perhaps people may find them as an option for them to have.
“Don’t waste your time in anger, regrets, worries, and grudges. Life is too short to be unhappy.” -Roy. T. Bennett
Romanticizing Your Trauma
Do you romanticize your trauma? Or have you ever been caught romanticizing your anxiety? It’s a bad habit a lot of people have. Taught to always paint the nicest picture possible, they end up trapped in cycles of victim mentality and hurt because they can’t process reality as it is. There are casualties in this game of delusional thinking. We especially see this in the relationships of trauma survivors, which are most often shaped by their romanticized way of viewing the world (and themselves).
We see this type of thinking a lot in trauma survivors. It’s understandable. It’s easier to spin the pain into fantasy than to accept the reality that one was traumatized, unloved, or otherwise hurt by someone well-loved. Delusional living never pays off, however. Romanticizing our trauma, pretending as though it has been anything other than a damaging experience, is reckless and sets us back in life and in love.
This romanticization comes from the idols and icons from TV shows/ movies, and even books, which have tragically failed to show us the real picture of the illness. But instead romanticizing anxiety in the most cinematically aesthetic way.
Are You Mental?
Americans have a long history of medicating instead of dealing with civil issues. In the 60s, the drug of choice was marijuana. In the 70s, LSD. In the 80s, cocaine. In the 90s, heroin. In the 2000s, mental health drugs exploded. Doctor’s were prescribing for children Ritalin (legal speed), Prozac and Xanax in record numbers. Sure, some of these kids were in desperate need of medical intervention. But many suffered from circumstantial or temporary mental health problems.
Some butterflies in your stomach, or some pre-social jitters are totally normal. But it seems like people can’t handle even mild discomfort anymore with all the existential angst hanging in the air. We all basically want to have a barely beating pulse. No one can bear to suffer the discomfort of human existence. Enter the pursuit of wellness.
What is wellness? Literally, it is the opposite of sickness. Did you wake up this morning? Are you a normal temperature? No intense aches or pains? Congratulations, you’ve achieved wellness. But ask a millennial and I’m sure you’ll get a vague definition of wellness as being Xanax-calm, CBD vape-chill, melatonin-sleepy, yoga-loose, green juice-zen. God forbid people feel the unease of being in a new social situation. Or of meeting a new person alone. Or worse yet, the mild discomfort of forcing yourself to leave the house when scrolling Instagram and watching reruns on Netflix with your dog is an option.
Instead of facing reality, so many people are holing up with their pets, flourishing their online profiles and numbing out on Instagram scrolls, pet selfies, and CBD gummies.
Mental Health Pinterest
Anxiety, depression, and eating disorders are the three most trivialized and romanticized disorders of all. Mental health Pinterest boards may include inspirational quotes, mindfulness activities, self-care tips, and articles related to mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. These resources are often created and shared by mental health professionals, influencers, and individuals with lived experience of mental illness to help others who may also be struggling with their mental health.
Pinterest users can use the search function to find boards related to mental health or follow individual users who curate boards related to mental health topics. Some mental health boards on Pinterest may also include pins related to physical health and wellness, such as healthy recipes, workout routines, and meditation practices.
“Accept yourself, love yourself, and keep moving forward. If you want to fly, you have to give up what weighs you down.” -Roy T. Bennett
Gen-Z Romanticizes Mental Illness
Gen-Z has brought a lot of awareness towards mental health and mental illnesses and brings great efforts towards normalizing them. But there’s a major problem that has appeared. We are creating a society that is romanticizing mental illness in the effort to destigmatize it.
A lot of problems come into the picture when we romanticizing anxiety. In today’s society, creating a new normal is a common goal. In the past, people were fearful to admit they had depression or anxiety. But recently, the shame associated with mental illness has dissipated, but that’s exactly the issue. Having anxiety attacks is deemed as a quirky character trait and suffering from depression adds some spice to life. However, mental illness can have a serious impact on someone’s life and can be hard to speak about. And to make matters worse, it can now be harder to admit when there is so much stigmatized glamour around it.
“Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Conclusion
The mental health awareness week is going on, and everyone will be talking about how mental health is important, as it always has been. Before the taboo turned into a fascination, a common slang, or even a fashion statement, its real purpose was sidelined. Words being casually thrown out in gossip sessions and get-togethers — it’s no longer a stigma, for sure. Where we were supposed to remove the stigma around the problem, we made it a joke.
As a result of mainstream media portrayals, we use mental illness terms as adjectives for inconveniences. While your dark jokes are good for a laugh, we have a problem if they come from a place of negligence. Using alternative slang such as words like depression, anxiety, or panic attacks, lose their importance and actual meaning. Stop romanticizing anxiety and other mental illnesses. Using alternative slang such as words like depressio, anxiety, or panic attacks, lose their importance and actual meaning.
Articles
-OPINION: Romanticizing mental health issues lessens the seriousness surrounding them
-The Harms of Romanticizing Mental Illness
https://noroozclinic.com/the-harms-of-romanticizing-mental-illness/
-Blue is the New Black: How Popular Culture is Romanticizing Mental Illness
https://digital.library.txst.edu/items/88a4dddd-e93e-4bc3-9396-bf9c63553113
Have a Good One,
Cindee Murphy, One Voice – Unstoppable
“You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.” -Vernon Howard
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