Tees help wearers embrace their mental health condition

Living With: is a series of charitable t-shirts featuring designs that represent the wearer's mental health disorder, helping to empower sufferers and provoke discussion.

Most people with mental health issues prefer to keep quiet about their conditions, but this silence can impede others’ understanding and contribute to misconceptions about what they entail. Aiming to empower sufferers of mental disorders, Living With: is a series of charitable t-shirts featuring designs that represent the wearer’s condition.

The shirts currently come with four different printed patterns, each representing the experiences of those with depression, bipolar disorder, OCD and ADHD. For example, the depression t-shirt features subdued purples in a shape that is weighted towards the bottom, signifying a downward pull. Because the patterns are abstract, they don’t let others know what the wearer’s condition is in a straightforward manner, instead inviting curious parties to ask the person themselves. This enables the wearer to give their own interpretation of their mental disorder. As well as spark conversations, the shirts also act as a badge of honor for those living with mental health conditions every day. The initial run of shirts cost USD 24 each — USD 2 of which is donated to the nonprofit Active Minds — and the project hopes to support more conditions in the near future.

Are there other ways to help those with health problems feel pride in their strength, rather than keeping their problems a secret?

Spotted by Smith Alan, written by Springwise