It seems as if the mental health community has yet another thing to combat: big name brand companies that use their clothes/accessories to belittle mental illnesses. Companies like Target and Urban Outfitters are widely known and well liked so whatever trend they put out is going to be noticed by many people. If you are offended by what a company sells, you can petition, boycott, and show your disgust in numerous ways, but it is all up to the company on whether or not it chooses to discontinue the material.
It isn’t entirely the companies faults though. A company wouldn’t sell something that their customers wouldn’t buy (supply and demand). What would make a company assume that the vast majority of its customers would be interested in clothes like this? Why would people be interested in buying clothes that depreciate mental illnesses? Mental illnesses are treated lightly in society. This has to do with how greatly misunderstood mental illnesses truly are. The media plays on this also, but that’s another story. People don’t think mental illnesses are real and damaging, if they did then they wouldn’t buy a shirt that proudly displays the word “depression” all over it. Then again maybe that is why people want to buy it. I have noticed, especially among teens and young adults, that mental illnesses are seen as something trendy, alternative, or aesthetically pleasing. I have seen multiple teenage girls claim they have social anxiety to make themselves seem cute or quirky. No, you do not have anxiety if you get nervous sometimes. Being nervous is a completely normal part of being human. No, it is not attractive to have social anxiety, so don’t pretend that you do to make yourself seem different. No, depression is not feeling sad when your boyfriend breaks up with you. Feeling sad is a normal feeling, not a chemical imbalance in your brain. No, bipolar disorder is not regular teenage mood swings. No, being in a mental hospital isn’t fun or enjoyable so don’t dress up as a mental patient for Halloween. If you suspect that you have an illness or disorder, then please seek professional help instead of making a Tumblr post about it to add to your aesthetic. Once we break down these stigmas, then maybe the clothing that trivialize mental illnesses won’t be so popular.
Some people don’t see why these clothes are offensive. It’s just a joke, right? We should calm down and stop taking everything so seriously, right? No. People don’t realize that we aren’t offended just for the sake of it. We are hurt because our disabling and life-threatening mental illnesses are a joke to you. I don’t understand why physical illnesses are treated so differently than mental illnesses. I have yet to see a sweater with a joke about brain cancer on it, but “Obsessive Christmas Disorder” is acceptable. I haven’t seen a shirt that has “stop having seizures” displayed on it, but the shirt with “Eat Less” in a cute font is fine. My mental illness shouldn’t be turned into a pun and displayed on a festive sweater.
Once we rid our society of these stigmas, then I am sure that clothing companies will come up with a new trend to follow. We have to work hard to raise awareness about these problems and prove why they are important. This is a hard job to accomplish, but the mental health community has the strength and will to do it. Nobody should feel like their illness or disorder is being trivialized or joked about.
