How We Made Brands Out of Cancer and Mental Illness

Disease Debauchery: 'Apple Cider Vinegar'

Here’s a growing phenomenon that social media enables and amplifies: people turning diseases and mental health issues into marketing phrases. Anxiety sells because it’s widely relatable. Autism defines identity. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a legit excuse for being a dick. People brand themselves with their own afflictions to create attention-waves by appealing to a sizeable audience — a recipe that works like a charm to lure eyeballs on the internet.

We’re drawn to voices that talk AUTHENTICALLY and HOPEFULLY about the sicknesses we suffer from. Empathy is an online currency now. Homeopathy is a celebrated anti-corporate belief — natural, organic, accessible for both the poor and rich. These “preachings” serve as social lubricant. If you and I both suffer from depression or have reoccurring panic attacks, we connect. We understand what it’s like to be lethargic, not wanting to get out of bed for 48 hours. To breathe inside a void. We know the despair of gasping for air on the verge of passing out. Illnesses — uncomfortable, debilitating, terminal, or otherwise — are similar in many ways, but the torment they put us through is never identical.

I don’t know your personality — your fears, hopes, sufferings, or happy moments — just because we both got diagnosed with the same thing. But I know versions of the pain it causes.