It's May!

[pockysquirrel]

 And May is Mental Health Month, so it's time for my annual offer to make use of my education and chosen career for the general benefit of fandom. Ask me about mental health stuff, friends list! I will answer anything put to me, to the best of my ability. That means both fandom-related stuff ("Do you think [insert character here] could have [insert psychiatric condition here]", "How can I portray mental health issues more accurately in my fanfic?" etc.) and IRL stuff ("What's your opinion of this antidepressant medication?" "Is this an issue I should be seeking help for?" "I'm worried about my friend/family member, what can I do?") and anything in between.

If you feel more comfortable asking something privately, send me a PM or comment anonymously. But unless you flat-out ask me not to, I will be posting answers publicly. Because chances are, if you're asking, you're not the only one it's relevant to.

So let's raise some awareness, kick stigma to the curb, and perhaps even have a little fun, eh? 

Comments

[werepuppyblack]

First of all, can I just say thanks for doing this? I know, that might sound a little stupid, but... well, sometimes it's hard to get straight answers, and find the right information, so having someone who is educated on the topic going "come and ask me things" is actually really helpful.

My question is ... I was going to say kind of simple, but then I thought abou... Doesn't matter. Here's the thing. I have ... severe anxiety problems. I also have a lot of body image problems.

So why is it when I cosplay I feel a little more ... secure? (well, in those rare moments I'm not sitting going 'Oh gods, I'm not the right shape, I'm ruining everything, I should never even try')

[Fun fact: I've re-wrote this way too many times, and I still don't think I'm asking the question I want to ask. Sorry to be a bother, dear. Thank you for reading the comments and answering what you can]

[pockysquirrel]

First, sorry I took so long replying. RL sometimes...ugh. 9_9

Second...oh, hon. I can practically hear the anxiety coming out in how you phrased your post. I know all too well how easy it is to feel like you're being annoying when you have problems with anxiety, and how hard it is to believe when people tell you that you aren't, but I'm going to try anyway. You aren't a bother, and you certainly aren't stupid! It's a completely valid question, and I wouldn't have offered to answer these things if I didn't want people to ask them. :)

Now, as to your actual question. Clothing and other methods we use in presenting ourselves to society can carry HUGE psychological weight. On a day-to-day basis we make decisions about what we wear to make ourselves feel comfortable and safe, or attractive and sexually desirable, or powerful and confident...or any number of other things. And cosplaying takes this idea a step further. Because when you dress as a character who I would assume has some kind of personal relevance to you, you're sort of symbolically ascribing that character's persona to yourself. And these are usually characters who are special in some way. Heroic, strong, confident, charismatic, attractive...or heck, even if the character you're cosplaying is a creepy monster (the legions of Pyramid Head cosplayers out there come to mind), being shocking or fearsome is powerful, too. When you dress like a character, you can start to feel like that character. I've experienced this. Particularly with my Sentinel Prime cosplay. If you're unfamiliar with the character, he's arrogant as fuck. Boundlessly overconfident. And I am...well...not. But I find that Sentinel's ego starts seeping into the way I carry myself when I'm dressed as him.

Cosplaying gives you the opportunity to be something other than yourself for a little while, and that can be immensely freeing. It's also a way of putting yourself out there and asking for attention in an environment that is - usually - pretty safe and accepting. If you have social anxiety, a costume becomes an overture to conversation with other fans. You feel shy about approaching them? Hey, you're in a costume! If they're in your fandom, they'll come to you! "Oh cool, you're dressed as character X! Hey, what did you think about that episode where Y happened?" and so on and so forth. And a costume is a very visible labor of love. You put time, money, effort, and ingenuity into cosplaying. And that effort gets NOTICED. And complimented! And that can be such a validating thing.

So yeah, cosplay can be extremely empowering. Obviously individual mileage and experiences may vary, but off the top of my head those are some of the reasons I can think of why you would experience a sense of security in a costume. And hey, if it helps you and it's something you enjoy, keep at it. Don't let your doubts about yourself get you down. If anyone cares that much about your costume or what your body looks like in it, they need to get a fucking life and stop being a hater. :P