When your mental health falters, so does your appearance and the way you dress. You can’t dress for success if you’re feeling too low to care about anything. You know the feeling of “can’t be bothered” to bathe or look good in certain circumstances, right? We all have it from time to time. Though the impact of self-esteem differs for everyone, there are direct connections between your self-esteem, how mentally healthy you feel and the way you shop and dress. This article explores the links between the two, giving you some insight into how anxiety and depression can impact how you take care of yourself and appear to others.
Your emotional health is the key to everything in your life. How you feel on the inside definitely impacts your ability to follow through on tasks, work, and hygiene. When you have depression, for example, getting up to make that bed or do those dishes seems impossible. The same can be said for our appearance. Everyone responds to the demands on their looks in a different way. When they become unwell, there is no “one size fits all” for understanding when someone is low. What does that mean? Let’s use a scenario as an example.
Linda has anxiety disorder. She has only just received a diagnosis, so let’s assume it is GAD (generalized anxiety disorder). Linda has found it difficult to keep up with all the aspects of her life. She feels like she is juggling the simplest tasks, so appearance, makeup, and clean clothing are far, far down the list of her priorities. Linda doesn’t care if she appears in public with hair like a bee’s nest and odd shoes on. Linda has other things on her mind. She needs help to manage her emotions and get back on track. Don’t ignore the signs in yourself and those you love.
James is another example of how a mental illness can affect everyday life. James has PTSD from growing up with an abusive father. He flinches at every loud noise. He struggles with agoraphobia because he feels he cannot control the world outside his door. James has been seeing a psychiatrist for years now. James knows that the second he turns up to that psychiatrist with hair like a bee’s nest and mismatching shoes, his doctor knows he need extra support, and more, if his behavior is out of control. James wants to be healthy, so his appearance has become one of his priorities. Before he leaves the house each day, he makes sure his appearance is immaculate. He is dressing for success, both emotional and good mental health.
Do you know what body dysmorphia is? It is one specific mental illness which directly impacts how we think we look. Body Dysmorphia often occurs when what we want to look like and what we think we look like, do not match. A negative body image can drive us to negative health consequences, such as eating disorders and addiction. People who eat too much, throw up after eating, or starve themselves need therapy and other support to get healthy. Body dysmorphia in a mild form makes us feel fat when we’re not fat. Or thin when we’re not thin. It’s a baffling and difficult mental illness to cope with.
Since we can safely link self-care and self-love with how we present ourselves, let’s discuss ways we can dress ourselves to help alter our depressed mindset. After all, if what we look like reflects our emotional health, we can change how we dress to uplift our spirits. It works both ways. Here are some tips on how to dress for better mental health, and success.
You are absolutely worthy of the same respect you would give someone else. If you would spend fifty bucks on marine corps shirts for someone in your family but wouldn’t spend even half that on yourself, then your self-esteem is limiting your self-worth. Next time you shop for clothes and you see something that you like but are put off by the price, ask yourself if you would buy it for someone else’s birthday or Christmas. If you find you would spend that money on another person in a heartbeat, you have to ask yourself why you wouldn’t spend it on yourself. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Buy the clothing and wear it to make yourself feel good.
Yes, get clothes that make you feel powerful and successful. If your low self-esteem makes you feel you can’t dress in anything other than a hoody and sweatpants, it’s time to up your game. The next time you see someone on TV or the internet and you like what they are wearing, Google it. Find out where they got it, then buy one for yourself. If they look great in it, you probably will too. Dress in clothing that makes you feel powerful and attractive. If that means wearing a knight’s armor from the 1200s, then so be it.
Last but not least, keep checking in with yourself. When you stop wearing makeup or dressing the way you love, ask yourself why? Once you learn that your own appearance is a key indicator as to the state of your mental health, you can use this knowledge to judge how much to take on that day. Appearance is another tool in our mental health arsenal. Use it wisely.
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