It is inevitable to ignore the fact that nowadays social media plays an essential role in our daily lives. We can stay connected to each other from different corners of the world, get the latest hot news and trends, entertainment and of course, memes. Most importantly, it being used to spread awareness and education on countless number of topics. Some of the recent ones include the Black Lives Matter movement, the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and Mental health awareness, etc. And it indeed does a great job on making people aware and sensitizing them on these topics.

I could go on and on about how amazing social media is in so many ways. But I write this blog to highlight one of the troubling issues or trends which I have noticed- the romanticization of mental illness.

Before you read ahead, I would like to give you a trigger warning, this article contains references to depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide.

Let’s start with what is Mental illness- it refers to a wide range of mental health conditions, disorders which affect your mood, thinking or behavior. Mental illnesses can make your life miserable and impact a lot of areas in your life, such as workplace, college, relationships etc. Many years ago, mental illness was a taboo topic and was not discussed about very often. Those who suffered from it were often misunderstood and not given the help they needed. Now, in the 21st century, people are spreading awareness on mental illnesses and the stigma is slowly fading away.

The google definition of the word “romanticize” is- ‘deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion; make (something) seem better or more appealing than it really is’. Many youtubers, influencers have come up with merchandise and clothing lines based on mental illnesses and there are so many examples of this on social media! They make money out of it and unfortunately “glamourize” mental illness. They literally make profit out of an illness.. Depression, anxiety, etc. have ruined people’s lives! And here, these so called ‘influencers’ act like it’s something ‘cool’ or ‘aesthetic’ to have. It has become a “trend” for people to have anxiety or depression. Anxiety disorder and eating disorder are the most romanticized and trivialized and social media. There is nothing wrong with educating people on mental illness but there is a line between what is awareness and what is negative ‘influence’.

By making mental illness out as something “cool” to have, you take the focus away from real people struggling. People who self-harm no longer receive help because their parents view it as a trend rather than a cry for help. People aren’t receiving help because others are portraying mental illness as something lighthearted.

Another trend I’ve noticed is the use of mental illnesses as adjectives. People trivialize mental illnesses by forming associations such as- Being nervous = Anxiety, Being sad = Depression, Cleaning things = OCD, Mood swings = Bipolar, which are so different from each other in many ways.

People should also be very careful with they post, especially something related to romanticization of suicide or self harm as you don’t now who out there is really impressionable, who may see the post and get influenced by it in a negative way.

In summary, romanticization is a complex issue. Much of society has formed this ideal that mental illness is “beautiful,” “trendy” and “desirable.” They think it might bring them attention and sympathy and happiness. People don’t always know how to handle mental health and people who are really struggling probably know how isolating of an experience it can be. So please stop invalidating a real illness just because you want to be “on trend.” Please stop contributing to an already toxic stigma.


I am from Bangalore. I am passionate about what I love and always try to give my best in what I do. I love to express myself creatively through art, poetry, and writing.