A very common thing that we all notice these days is just how popular therapy and the language surrounding it are getting. We constantly see people use terms like trauma, healing, disorders like ADHD or OCD, narcissist, anxious, type A personality, delusional, etc. We memorise the language before we understand the feeling. What exactly do you think is happening here? 

 

As a practitioner, I first thought it was great that people were becoming more aware and that mental health was finally being spoken about. However, over time, I realised that many of these terms are used incorrectly, often as adjectives. Healing now seems to come with an aesthetic criterion as well.  

 

I wonder where this might be coming from. A part of it could be social media, which makes it important for people to know everything, be part of everything, be aware of every part of themselves, diagnose what may be wrong within them, and appear emotionally evolved.  

 

Therapy language now shows how socially self-aware we are. Somewhere along the way, healing stopped being an internal process and became publicly announced.  

 

Healing now feels incomplete unless witnessed.  

 

Healing Becomes Public 

Healing more often requires one key element: safety, whether physical or emotional. When we put that out there, we may be opening it up for public dissection, opinions, negativity and even ridicule and judgment. 

 

Sometimes, self-awareness becomes another performance to keep up. 

 

A very common thing I’ve noticed is that people often post vulnerable moments on social media and share their journeys. I have never been for or against it; it is always an individual choice. Some people feel seen and heard in their journeys or might also inspire others. Some others might feel like it's too personal.  

 

I also often note the lack of empathy in the comment section of these posts. People do judge and mock, and the person posting may endure it, too, though it makes me wonder about the deeper meaning of it all.  

 

There may be various factors at play, such as social validation, curated vulnerability, self-improvement arcs, framing the narrative as ‘doing the work’, emotional branding, and more.  

 

Rituals that look healing (But may not always be) 

Wellness rituals can become substitutes for emotional confrontation.  

 

Healing aesthetics is not always healing itself.  

This is not to say people should never speak about it or post about it, or do it silently.  

 

However, sometimes certain wounds become easier to narrate than to feel. We might readily confuse narration or performance for healing.  

 

It now looks like aesthetic journals, matcha with healing captions, soft life routines, healing productively, manifesting, etc 

 

Now, healing is tracked, aestheticised, optimised and of course, monetised.  

 

Therapy Language in the Wild 

The language of mental health has escaped therapy spaces and is now more accessible to the public. This also means that while some are learning new things, others are learning the terms without fully understanding their nuances or meanings.  

 

Terms like trigger, gaslighting, mindfulness, protecting my peace, setting boundaries, trauma bond, and trauma response are seen way more commonly these days.  

 

It becomes easier here to notice emotional fluency without emotional depth.  

 

We increasingly interpret ordinary human experiences through psychological frameworks and labels. 

 

Instead of: 

• stressed → “I’m traumatised.” 

• organised → “I’m so OCD” 

• disappointed → “triggered” 

• indecisive → “avoidant attachment” 

The point is not that mental illness isn’t real. 

The point is that emotions, conflicts, habits, and even personality quirks are increasingly framed through diagnostic or therapeutic terminology. 

 

Enter Capitalism 

When we speak of the system, it is built to market anything people find desirable.  

Think of healing products like aesthetic journals, art for mental health, digital assessments that claim to diagnose mental health conditions. Then there is self-care and the consumerism that comes with it and wellness industries.  

I cannot count the number of times I have come across Instagram feeds that start with ‘You haven’t healed if you haven’t done this’ or ‘You have anxious attachment if you do this’ 

The only emotion that surfaces when I come across these is dread. My first course of action is always to check their profiles to see what their credibility is and how many people follow them who might be getting sucked into this.  

Once healing became culturally accepted and desirable, it inevitably became profitable too. It then became that much easier to sell the language, the products, the doubt and insecurities so that mental health could be aestheticised, packaged and sold.  

 

Healing 

Real healing is often heavy, invisible, non-linear, deeply subjective, personal, frustrating, even boring sometimes and not always beautiful to look at.  

Just because we are aware does not always mean healing follows.  

Even with all the awareness, change and healing can take time, effort, emotions, consistency, courage, support, and so much more.  

This is not to say we cannot, at times, romanticise it, make it aesthetically pleasing, or share it with others. The problem occurs when the work stops there and does not go deeper. 

In a world that constantly asks us to explain, display, and aestheticise our emotions, finding spaces where we can simply be human becomes increasingly important. 

Through therapy, workshops, communities, and reflective conversations, you can find spaces where healing is valid without an audience. 

Image Credits: Pexels