Disclaimer: I have tried hard to keep this as concise and accurate as possible. As someone who suffers with many of the disorders present, I am talking from personal experience, whilst also trying to stay as objective as possible. I'm aware I will inevitably get hate for this, but I just want to be as informative as possible. I am not against educated self-diagnosis by any means, but please seek professional advice if you think you show traits of a disorder. Thank you.

TW: mental illnesses, EDs, SH, etc.

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Romanticise; to deal with or describe in an idealised or unrealistic fashion - make something seem better or more appealing than it actually is.

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What is Romanticising Mental Illnesses?

The romanticising of mental illnesses is to idealise a mental disorder, particularly one you either do not have yourself or do not have a proper understanding of. This can include finding certain disorders attractive, wishing you had a certain disorder or understanding a disorder in a way that is unrealistically positive. For example, yanderes have traits that are reminiscent of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and are often seen as cute, attractive or even idols. 

How Did it Become a Problem?

Romanticising mental illnesses has become a much more prevalent issue recently, namely on platforms such as TikTok and in many types of written / video media. As diagnoses have become more and more inaccessible (especially for disadvantaged and poorer people) many people have turned to self-diagnosis. This has led to widespread misinformation about complex disorders such as BPD, Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). During COVID-19, cases of mental illnesses increased drastically, and many people were unable to be formally diagnosed, and so took to social media for answers and advice. This, as mentioned, led to misinformation, self-diagnosis and mis-diagnosis. More recently, 'bed rotting' has become somewhat of a trend on social media, though many do not have a proper understanding of it, and are downplaying and glamorising it.

Where Do We See This?

The romanticising of mental illnesses is prevalent in all forms of media, and is changing many peoples' perceptions of these disorders. Using bed rotting as an example, the social media's version is climbing into a comfy bed in a clean room, putting on Netflix and drowning out the world, staying in your comfy little paradise for extended periods of time. This, as many of us know, is far from the truth. People battling with severe depression and/or other disorders (such as anxiety) may not leave their bed out of fear, exhaustion or a general lack of motivation. Rooms are messy with clothes, mould growing in food containers, bug-ridden (etc). You may not bathe or brush your teeth for days or weeks, and not be physically able to break these behaviours. This glamorisation of bed rotting is harmful because of the dishonest representation and undermining of these behaviours, discrediting the experience of those struggling with their mental health.

Another example may be an influencer on TikTok posting about their 'experiences' with DID, whilst not actually being diagnosed / properly educated on the disorder. Any harmful actions / behaviours they exhibit will be pinned on the DID community, discrediting their genuine experiences and making a mockery of the disorder they face every day. This not only harms the DID community itself, but also the public perception of DID as a whole. This is true for so many disorders.

My last example is the romanticising of EDs and body image. A thin body is more and more becoming the beauty standard of today, and so pro-ana blogs and pages are being promoted to an even bigger and more impressionable audience. The romanticising of these behaviours is drawing more and more people into (often lifelong) battles with EDs. These people are being praised and encouraged due to their harmful lifestyle instead of being offered the help that they need. The same goes for SH. As it is being more recognised as a coping mechanism, the more it is being promoted to venerable people.

What is the Bigger Issue?

The glamorisation of mental health has been damaging to the community, causing dispute after dispute. Misinformation is more prevalent than credible information nowadays, people with diagnoses are being drowned out and shunned, and the public perception of these disorders is changing (and not for the better). It is harder and harder to find a safe space to discuss these issues, and the community is being flooded with harmful ideas and individuals. With the influx of self-diagnosed and uneducated people, disorders are being downplayed and 'cute-ified'. Mental health disorders are not sexy, they are not cute, and they are important to discuss. So many people lose their battle each year, so it is more important now more than ever to spread credible information, come together as a community and support one another. So many of us have seen disorders we struggle with be romanticised, our struggles being ignored, watching on as we become more and more of a joke. More and more fakers are being outed (especially in the DID and BPD spaces) and it is truly upsetting.

What Can You Take From This?

It is so so important to properly educate yourself about your own mental health disorders, as well as others', taking time to realise how difficult they can be. Please be extremely careful about self-diagnosing, and seek a professional diagnosis where you can. Understanding ourselves and learning healthy coping mechanisms are so vital. Please be wary when consuming media depicting mental health disorders, and listen to others' experiences and stories. Before jumping to conclusions about whether you have a disorder, or whether someone else has a disorder, please be mindful of what it actually implies.

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Please feel free to share your thoughts / experiences and educate me and others below. If you think I got anything wrong here, please let me know, I'm always happy to discuss and challenge my own ideas. Most of all, thank you for reading. You are loved, you are worthy. Stay safe :)