Fashion and Mental Health

• On a Blog by Tamsin, she posts On Fashion and Mental Health, and quotes:

"Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant piece by Tanya Gold in the Guardian on Friday. It's called Why I Hate Fashion and it describes how she was able to break the vicious circle thought patterns that fashion and most female-focused media encourage and perpetuate inside the head of most women"

and states
"26% of women are likely to suffer from major depression in their lifetime. Only 12% of men are. Call me a feminist, but I don't think that's a coincidence."

• Libby Banks writes an article entitled Does the fashion industry encourage mental illness?  She discusses the pressures on designers and others in the industry. 

"Fashion is an industry based on judgment, approval and the pursuit of the new and it's no surprise that these individuals have infamous reputations surrounding them. The pressures of designing at this level are too much for most people to endure; they continually and relentlessly offer up something deep from within themselves, while their public achievements and failures are ultimately judged by the bottom line."

• Women’s Fashion: The Mental Cost by Smith, who states

"Women should be strong enough and proud enough of their bodies to look past the shallow part of fashion, but this is not always the case. Every day, more and more girls and women, develop some sort of disorder because they are so afraid of not being fashionable and fitting in. Love yourself and the world of women’s fashion may not affect you so much."

• Ms. Writer: Avoiding (Fashion) Magazines Is Good For Female Mental Health

"Heldman states that self-objectification can lead to all or some of the following in women: depression, low self-esteem, less faith in their own capabilities, which leads to diminished success in life, low political efficacy, disgust and shame about their bodies... the list goes on."

On the other hand....

• Finding confidence by looking good

The importance of feeling comfortable with your appearence, by Liz Lockhart for Mentally Healthy UK.  "The effect of caring for ourselves can be quite significant."

• Feeling Cranky? Hit The Mall! (A Study Says It Could Improve Your Mood)

"This just in from The Daily Mail: Splurging on something can have "a lasting positive impact on mood" and "few if any emotional side-effects." The authors of a study called "Retail therapy: A strategic effort to improve mood", published in the Journal of Psychology and Marketing, conducted hundreds of interviews with shoppers about their buying habits, moods and regrettable purchases, and found that 62% said they had bought something to cheer themselves up while 28% said they had indulged as a form of celebration--with no negative consequences (except, of course, for the obvious and unmentioned financial damage!)."

• In Color Therapy and Your Wardrobe Wearing Your Emotions By Phylameana lila Desy, About.com Guide

• In this article entitled, Improving your outlook with Style about Kate Nightingale Style Psychologist, it is shown that fashion can have therapeutic benefits.

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Send me an email: janerekas@hotmail.com Jane Rekas, LCSW