n this context, even mental health can be another source of self-branding. Rather than healing, influencer mental health (#MentalHealth #Anxiety) can just as easily become about managing one’s image, curating one’s identity, and performing one’s struggles online.

And the field, intentionally or not, participates. Therapists build followings;... See more

oday’s ideal citizen, says philosopher Byung-Chul Han, is no longer the obedient worker, but the endlessly self-optimizing achiever. You’re free—so long as you keep improving, hustling, and “being your best self.”

Successful psychiatric or psychological therapies typically lead to remission and effective coping strategies rather than a complete cure. This type of therapy is vulnerable to becoming a loop: something’s wrong with you, we’re not quite sure what it is, but we’ll keep looking—and billing.