5 Reasons Being A Style Blogger Kept Me Depressed
I am a shopaholic.
There is a rush that comes with bouncing from store to store looking for cool things to add to my collection. I can spend hours an any type of store and find something to purchase.
I have come to recognize shopping as a destructive coping mechanism that is a form of self medicating.
In essence - new stuff feels good when other things feel awful.
Sometimes I like to shop just to get my mind off of other things.
As a wellness blogger, I constantly self assess to see areas in my life that need to come into my self care journey - my shopping habit is a glaring pattern I have to break down. It comes from a consumeristic mindset and the feeling of dissatisfaction that constantly feeds the feeling of wanting more.
Being a style blogger majorly contributed to my “need” to continue stocking my closet with cool things.
Here are 5 Reasons Being A Style Blogger Kept Me Depressed.
1. I COULD NEVER QUITE KEEP UP
The comparison game is hard to resist when you are blogging about style. There are so many amazing fashion bloggers in the influencer world and I always felt pressure to keep up with the trends.
I stood on a platform that was about developing your style - a platform I firmly believed in. Even so it was difficult to keep myself from comparing my content to similar bloggers.
2. I WASN’T TRULY EXPRESSING MY STYLE
It came to a point where any time I’d buy something, I thought about my followers liking it. Even if it ultimately ended up being something I loved, I still considered how it would do on Instagram before I bout it.
I bought trendy things in the hopes of getting more likes.
Last night I picked up a pretty lace purple dress I never wore and wondered why it sat in my closet. I really like it - then it hit me.
I bought it last year to wear on a date with a guy who ghosted.
Who wants to wear a dress that reminds them of a guy who ghosted them?
I probably wouldn’t even have that dress if I didn’t think he would like it.
I realized that years spent buying clothes I thought other people would like led to these kind of purchases.
3. I OVERSPENT
Which led to guilt.
Even though I love thrift and bargain shopping, I still bought way too many clothes. My closet was overflowing and I did not wear the majority of the items I had.
I used credit cards when I didn’t have the money. Now I’m on a journey to repair my credit and pay off debt.
4. IT ALTERED MY PERCEPTION OF STYLE
Last month, I went to sell clothes at a local consignment shop. While I was waiting I looked around. I found a cute denim dress that I fell in love with and wanted to take home ASAP.
Then it hit me:
I SOLD THIS DRESS.
Why?
Simply because I had it for a couple years and felt like it was time to go.
I got rid of a dress I loved on principle.
This moment felt confirmation that My consumeristic mentality was much more prevalent than I thought.
Nevertheless, I used the trade value for some of the clothes I brought in to get my beloved dress back.
In the last four months, I’ve gone through my closet and purged three times. I am in the middle of the third one and it is so liberating because I am able to let go of clothes that remind me of bad habits.
5. CLUTTER EFFECTED MY MENTAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTIVITY
Having a cluttered space has an effect on your mental clarity With the amount of clothes and shoes I had I was surrounded by stuff all the time. It as impossible for me to consistently have productive days in my apartment which led to disappointment and depression.
Every single time I remove more clutter from my home, I feel a little better.
Moving Forward
This year, I am rediscovering my style and committing to living with less. I have changed my perspective of style to one of self love and wellness instead of aiming to please other people. Style is a beautiful expression of your personality - and I’ve found that you don’t need a lot of things to show who you are.
