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Writer's pictureSaniya Pathare
May 22, 20225 min read

Romanticizing Mental Illnesses: The Truth Behind the Glamour

Updated: Mar 20, 2023

“Insanity hung as by a hair over the head of Shelley”-Thomas Medwin


How could anyone so accurately characterise the illustrious poet Shelley? Medwin intended it to be praise. The romantics saw mental disorders as blessings that enhanced their creativity. As a result, they worked hard to don the "mantle of madness." Mental illnesses were not first glorified in Romantic literature. It started with Plato, spread through the eras of Shakespeare and Michaelangelo, and has now found ardent expression in adolescent Tumblr and Instagram posts. A million gorgeous posts depict the beautiful agony of depression, the unyielding control of anorexia, and the meticulous orderliness of OCD. What is the root of this romanticization, and should we even romanticise at all?


Why are "The Lover, the Lunatic, and the Poet to all Imagination Compact?”

When Acceptance Goes Wrong

Certain scholars believe that this trend is a backlash to the stigma around mental illnesses. Mental disorders are portrayed as "attractive" and "desirable" to normalise them and garner acceptance. Hence, a good intention has lost momentum and compounded the problem.

Art for Art’s Sake

Trends in art contribute to this romanticization. Movies and television shows portraying mental illnesses have increased. However, they often sensationalise mental disorders. “13 reasons why” portrays suicide as “successful revenge” for bullying. Similarly, emo songs that began an honest dialogue about mental illnesses, drugs, etc. now promote mental illnesses as an accessory. This ends up impacting impressionable teenagers.


Did You Hear the Echo?

Anima Shrestha uses Myer's silver bubble theory to explain her findings. Social media generates user communities that are all the same. People who consume similar material produce a negative feedback loop in which one person's negative emotions reinforce those of others. They can't get out of this cycle because it provides validation. External worldviews do not question their beliefs, and their romanticism is unchecked. This, according to Shrestha, is an "echo chamber" that promotes the romanticization of mental illnesses.


Blame It on Byron

The romanticization of mental illnesses is driven by mad-genius stereotypes, i.e., mental illnesses are positively correlated with creativity. Easily influenced young adults feel that mental illness could make them creative artists. However, correlation is not causation. Often, any intense emotion can motivate art. Thus, the intense, momentary sadness that creates poetry is different from the mind-numbing depression that affects motivation and cognition.


Signs That You Are Being Romantic

  1. Viewing mental illnesses as quirky, cool, or edgy

  2. Taking Buzzfeed quizzes that tell you which mental illness you have

  3. Treating mental illnesses as an accessory

  4. Calling a ‘bad day’ depression or ‘being organised’ OCD, or treating every single action as a mental illness.


To Romanticise or Not to Romanticise?

The romanticization of mental illnesses has various disadvantages:


“It’s Just Who I Am”

Romanticization shifts focus away from the struggles and makes suffering appear as a mere trend. This prevents people from seeking help since they are not taken seriously. They also start seeing mental illnesses as a part of "who they are" and shun therapy. This is evident in the memes scoffing at therapy and treatment.


Thought Contagion

Suicide can be contagious. The Centre for Disease Control and Prevention claims that presenting technical details of the suicide, portraying it as a coping mechanism or a means to an end, or glorifying it can all lead to suicide contagions. Thus, posts that glorify suicide can create contagion. A similar phenomenon is emotional contagion. Haeffel and Hames (2013) demonstrated that college freshmen exposed to their roommates’ depressive symptoms were more likely to develop depressive symptoms than those who were unexposed. Thus, parts of mental illness can be contagious. Social media, which creates echo chambers, can thus create a contagion of mental illnesses.


Mayo Clinic over Actual Clinics

Sources that glamourize mental illnesses don’t portray their real symptoms. This leads to misinformation and oversimplification of disorders. Similarly, making mental illnesses seem desirable leads to an increase in self-diagnosis. Chan and Sireling (2010) found that positive media coverage of bipolar disorder led to a rise in the popularity of bipolar self-diagnosis.


Pros or Cons?

Communities that romanticise mental illnesses also circulate techniques for perpetuating symptoms. Pro-ana websites promote anorexia by posting extreme diet plans and unhealthy techniques to lose weight. Savannah Brown, a 20-year-old YouTuber who advocates for mental health and feminism, spoke of their consequences. Pro-ana websites perpetuated her damaging habits rather than offering support and understanding.


The ‘Others’

Stigmatising and romanticising mental illnesses creates an ‘us vs. them’ attitude where those with mental illnesses are systematically othered. It creates an image of them as fallen heroes to aspire to. Instead of assimilating them into the mainstream, they are idolised and imposed with a false identity.


The Hierarchy

Online communities usually treat anxiety and depression as "cute" and "trendy" and disorders like schizophrenia as "scary." This creates a hierarchy of mental illnesses. Disorders at the bottom of the hierarchy are stigmatised more.


Charity Begins at Home

The charity model of disability views people with mental illnesses as victims who need to be pitied or saved by society. Glamorising mental illnesses perpetuates this idea by making mental illnesses seem beautiful but sad. People with mental illnesses are shown as pretty souls in need of saving. This capitalises on the audience’s pity, leading to the victimisation of those with mental illnesses.


How to Destigmatize and Not Romanticise?

Change your Perspective

Any real change germinates in thoughts. Remember, mental illnesses are like any other illness. They involve pain rather than beauty and need treatment, not glorification.


Read, Read, and Succeed

Find accurate information on mental illnesses that dispels myths. Destigmatize mental illnesses by spreading mental health literacy. Critically view the content consumed-

  1. Check the author/ creator’s credentials and conflicts of interest.

  2. Verify the references used.

  3. Look at the date of the publication. Prefer recent updates over outdated research

  4. Check more than one source


Conversation Starters

Start a conversation about the issues. Don’t be afraid of confronting peers who post misinformation or sugarcoat mental illnesses. Post accurate information or start blogs that spread awareness. Follow the American Psychological Association's guidelines:

  1. Check if the mental illness is relevant to your story

  2. Use information from reliable sources

  3. Avoid derogatory language

  4. Be specific. Do not define people by their mental illnesses


Stories Need Resolutions

Writing about your struggles helps you to cope. Do not shy away from creative writing. Enlighten people about struggles without generating content that promotes illnesses. Emphasise the resolution or strategies that helped you cope. Use your struggle to create change.


Reach Out

Oppose romanticization, but don’t dismiss people’s concerns. Reach out to friends who may have mental illnesses and help them seek professional help. Avoid self-diagnosis and discourage your friends from doing the same. Instead, look for therapists, counsellors, or psychiatrists who can confirm your doubts and help with your concerns.


Conclusion

Romanticising mental illnesses is a manifestation of stigma, prejudice, and the silencing of voices. It is a lopsided narrative where neurotypicals capitalise on the suffering of those with mental illnesses. To truly destigmatize disorders, see them for what they are: painful, distorting realities that can be surmounted. Lasting changes are not created through romantic poetry but through empathetic action. So, don’t romanticise; let us destigmatize!


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