Why do we romanticize anxiety and depression?

Romanticizing anxiety and depression is itself a problem that needs to be addressed.

A person who truly suffering from depression, anxiety, or any other mental illness is less likely to romanticize the traumatic events they are going through.

Maybe some of them happen to be dramatic in the sense that they make little things appear to become more of a big problem. But of course, the term romanticize did not come into existence overnight. Many factors contribute to the formation of such a behavior problem.

Impact of mainstream social media

As we know we live in the age of technology and 21^st century wars are considered digital. What comes before us comes with a cost and the cost is not just our money but also our well-being.

We naturally tend to adopt behaviors and characteristics of a sensational character whether it’s fictional or real but if it is somehow appealing and relatable, it can have great impact on human mind.

From books, TV shows, movies, Netflix series to social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc., are streaming content that glamourizes mental issues.

From Byronic heroes to fashion trends that make anxiety and depression a fancy yet sexy thing. There are several studies and data available to support the argument of the effects of mainstream media on minds of individuals.

It is a bit difficult for an average person to consume such content purely for entertainment purposes without understanding and making a conscious effort to distinguishing between fantasy and reality.  

They either begin to romanticize such situations or find it relatable once they experience even a normal level of anxiety and depression. They misperceive a sense of belonging and relatability that leads to self-diagnosing. 

Self-diagnosing

Many individuals tend to self-diagnose mental health problems with self-assessment quizzes and other methods available online. Sources and data available online are not sufficient and reliable enough to take the risk of self-diagnosing.

But people take these things seriously and start believing that they have psychological and mental issues etc.

Well, that’s not at all a healthy way to conclude that you are depressed, stressed, or have an anxiety disorder. But it can have destructive outcomes if the self-diagnosed person now begins to self-medicate or self-harm.

The stigma around mental health awareness

If we talk about a few decades ago most societies were not accepting these norms regarding mental health, there was less awareness and people were suffering silently.

Now what happens about raising awareness and talking openly about mental health and issues that we as a society have gone too far and gone down the wrong way.  

We have normalized these conditions to such an extent that people think it is not a big deal to fall into such emotional behaviors. Even if the right thing is done in the wrong way, there will be no full benefit.

Surely the portrayal of various mental issues in the entertainment industry has not been properly addressed. Perhaps that’s why we are experiencing such terrible side effects.

Behavioral addiction

Some people get trapped in negative thought patterns that lead to addictive behaviors. Sometimes they don’t have any problem but they have a problem with that too.

They like to be depressed, feel sad, and putt themselves in situations that bring them more and more sadness. If nothing works, they may start yelling at someone or complaining about things, and listen to sad music to get those feelings out.

• To get sympathy and attention

There exist people who will do anything to get attention. So they romanticize their anxiety and depression to get some dose of sympathy from people. They just love to get attention and be the center of attention.

• Dramatic nature

We all know some individuals who love drama. They dramatize every situation, create hype about small things and make them way more dramatic, they do same for anxiety and depression.

The point is that when such individuals perform at a bigger level where everybody can see their actions and many can be affected negatively or positively by their actions, is tricky.

These individuals with such habits come across on social media platforms like Tumbler and Pinterest and share their so-called experiences without being serious and responsible which can be interpreted negatively by someone who is actually suffering from depression etc.

Lack of emotional intelligence

No one wants bad energy around them even if it just comes from talking. People who lack EQ easily get caught up in their own thoughts and habits.

Before jumping to conclusions, it’s important to understand our emotions well and differentiate between temporary feelings and long term outcomes and their triggers.

It is not a good idea to label your emotions without any prior knowledge. But unfortunately many of us do.

Lack of self-awareness

Any self-aware person will never allow himself to get into bad habits of any kind. They will not make a cage of ignorance and will not remain a prisoner to that.

But people with lack of self-awareness have weak points that can be easily manipulated by either social influence or by emotions.  

Misconceptions about mental illnesses

We have a profound culture influenced by books and social media that believes it’s cool to have mental health issues. They come with this mentality that such traits make them more interesting and deep.

While some people think that having or being exposed to such issues is an essential part of creativity and intelligence. This is not a logical explanation of the concept though.

We can argue on the relationship of creativity and anxiety, but still it has nothing to do with it. Indeed, there are some individuals with mental issues who have done great things in history but it was more of their faith, their luck and opportunities that led them to do such an extraordinary things.

It does not define or set a criteria or parameter for success at all. Our society also appreciate the idea of overcoming adversity. We celebrate the success of individuals who overcome challenges and especially mental health issues.

This idea of being challenged and struggling gives the expression of experiencing anxiety and depression is admirable and noble. As it offers the opportunity of personal growth and change.

What if we are manifesting mental issues ourselves?

Romanticizing anxiety and depression can be harmful as it can trivialize the suffering and pain of those with such mental disorders. Those individuals who are truly suffering from anxiety and depression are less open to discussing their conditions than others.

And they may not seek professional help or guidance if they get to know or get affected by these romanticizing norms revolving in our society.

Because they will adopt this idea of making suffering and struggle a part of their journey and they have to go through these trials and errors in order to achieve successes.

There is no doubt you have to go through ups and downs of life and have to bear the pain of the journey but there is a difference between mental health issues and normal human emotions.

So we need to be more clear and inclusive about such sensitive topics and let’s clear the cloud around mental health awareness.