EXCERPT: The problematic way popular culture has popularised and misrepresented mental illnesses.
DISCLAIMER: Anecdotes in this article are based on the authors’ personal experiences. We understand that everyone has had different experiences and encounters.
TRIGGER WARNING: Touches on topics such as depression, suicide and eating disorders
By Hannah, Natalie & Yin Xuan
The year is 2014. You lug your schoolbag home, toss it on your bedroom floor and head into the shower, drenched in sweat thanks to the sweltering Singapore heat. Once cleaned and dried, you plop onto your bed, whip out your phone - buttons still existed then, so it was probably a hand-me-down iPhone 4 or an Android with three buttons at its base - and tap on the Tumblr app. Life for 13-year-old you was a little difficult then; it had lately been ridden with the stress of exams, the drama of on-off friendships, the awkward transition to teenagehood during puberty… you name it.
Thus, naturally, your Tumblr feed was flooded with posts like these:
Do they seem familiar today? Thinking back, we had no idea how much they romanticised mental health issues such as depression or anxiety. The author writing this thought of it as a really cool aesthetic that she could relate to; alas, the “emo phase” was real - overdramatic clothes, a theme laden with black… you name it. She was but an impressionable tweenager - her feelings were valid though! The point is: not everyone, especially young kids, saw these Tumblr posts as a mere aesthetic. At that stage of maturity, our minds are particularly malleable and instead of finding solace in those posts, some kids may have actually treated them as a catalyst to even more damaging actions such as self-harm or even suicide. No professional help nor guides to helplines are provided/encouraged in the posts; they are a dangerous slippery slope to a downward spiral, on top of romanticising mental health issues or even glorifying them.
Depression is neither a trend nor an aesthetic that can be captured with the use of a black and white image. The colloquial use of a word that carries so much weight as part of a quirky or cutesy aesthetic (Exhibit A: people claiming depression over any remotely upsetting situation, or Exhibit B: the sadness of running out of coffee being termed “depresso”, a play on the words depressed and espresso) can be highly undermining and demeaning to people who suffer from the very real effects of such a mental illness. The ‘meme’ification of depression has also contributed to the cheapening of the term online. While these memes can actually be a form of coping mechanisms for people to use humour to bond over their shared experiences, some could find it merely humorous and misdiagnose themselves in order to be a part of this ‘inside joke’.
“Wanting to die is cool :)”
Many others also exploit these mental illnesses for their own benefit, such as Logan Paul when he went to the ‘Suicide Forest’ in Japan, filming and disrespecting the people who suffer from depression. These kinds of events raise the question of if it is ever ethical to profit off such an issue, through generating popularity for these creators. Perhaps these memes came from a genuine place, to destigmatise and generate conversations regarding mental illnesses, but it can actually be more disparaging to the perception of mental illnesses as we only see them through these humorous lenses, not actually perceiving the reality of the situation.
There is also the glorification of eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia perhaps unintentionally through the rise of Kpop. Being in the industry requires its idols to be stick thin, and their diets and exercise regimes to be placed under scrutiny. In a Vlive (a South Korean live video streaming service), Twice’s Momo revealed that she was pressured by her company to lose 7kg in a single week in order to prepare for her debut. This resulted in her eating absolutely nothing for the week, save for a single ice cube. As there are many adoring (and often young and impressionable) fans who look up to these idols, this may drive them to try these unhealthy diets as well. Enamoured by the glitz and glamour of the Kpop industry, few may actually perceive that these diets could be a gateway to developing serious eating disorders should these diets be pursued in the long run.
Youtubers trying out these unrealistic diets and promoting borderline (or even actual) eating disorders to their impressionable audiences
Other trends that have popped up online also promote such eating disorders, such as the trend of an “A4 paper waist”, where women flaunted the fact that their waists were smaller than a piece of paper, or the rise in popularity of #thinspo, short for thin inspiration, which suggests ridiculous means such as eating ice or gum in place of actual food to lose weight. Regarding the A4 paper waist trend, NUS student Samantha Oh shared that “... as someone who sometimes wishes she were skinny, I would be affected by these trends and feel upset about my body if I were younger.” These seemingly fun online trends will definitely have real ramifications on people’s real lives, and we ought to acknowledge how damaging these kinds of online discourse are on people’s self image.
The multitudes of hashtags to popularise the post to people in such communities can be seen as an attempt to capitalise off such mental illnesses
With the movement towards more open discourse around mental illnesses, the entertainment industry has the potential to propel these conversations in films and TV shows. However, most of the entertainment industry have failed to take advantage of this platform to raise awareness on mental illnesses. For instance, in the film Split by M. Night Shyamalan, the main antagonist Kevin, who was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID), abducted three young girls. In the movie, Kevin was shown to have 24 different personalities, with one personality taking on the figure of a beast which climbed up walls, bent the metal bars of a cage and treated the girls as its prey. While the movie succeeded in shedding light on DID, in our opinion, the film might have caused audiences to associate the mental health disorder with violent behaviour instead, thereby demonising DID. By misrepresenting mental illnesses, films like Split have failed to destigmatize mental illnesses instead propagating more misconceptions and possibly even fear amongst the general public.
Kevin’s other personality “The Beast” was portrayed as violent and dangerous
More notably, in 2017, when the first season of Netflix show 13 Reasons Why was first released, there was a 28.9% increase in suicide rates among US youths ages 10-17 in April 2017 (Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). The show’s plot was centered around Hannah, a high school girl who committed suicide after years of bullying. Furthermore, the show never mentioned whether her suicide was related to depression or post traumatic stress disorder. By glorifying and dramatising suicide, the show left audiences with a false impression of suicide and mental health.
Hannah Baker’s suicide in 13 Reasons Why
However, as the cliche saying goes: there is always a silver lining. It is not wrong to acknowledge that there have been efforts made, baby steps taken, in destigmatising the discussion of mental health issues and increasing their visibility in our wider community. Ranging from individual, organisational to even national levels, tangible and realistic changes can be observed. For instance, the Singapore government decriminalised attempted suicide from Jan 1 2020; this signaled our recognition of this act as a cry for help, instead of a threat of crime. Instead of being led away in handcuffs or being interrogated like a criminal, survivors may now focus on recovery and healing, and not have to worry about being met with the brunt of the law. In an effort to outreach to youths - whom are statistically vulnerable to suicide attempts - popular app TikTok also partnered with the government in the Youth for Good Initiative during Mental Health Awareness Week, which aims to break down barriers among seeking mental help for youth.
These tangible, quantifiable changes point towards a positive direction that we, as a society, are collectively moving towards in our pursuit for better mental health support and recognition. When we fall sick with an ailment in organs like our liver or heart, we seek help from accredited doctors to treat our condition; thus, there is nothing wrong with seeking professional help for a mental illness. Let us all exercise compassion and care in these trying times.