Editor’s Message
Welcome to Issue 5 of The COMM!
The theme of this issue is Therapy! Bear with me, and I will explain what it has to do with fashion.
Life is full of ups and downs, and we all need to find ways to handle difficult situations. In some cases we seek therapy. Therapy comes in all forms—the first that probably springs to mind is psychotherapy, which seeks to treat mental health, or even physiotherapy which treats pain in the body. But if we move away from these we find therapy in other places: art therapy, animal-assisted therapy, mindfulness through meditation, and even… retail therapy. Okay, so retail therapy may not be a legitimate form of therapy but it definitely gives you a short term boost of endorphins right?
This issue will explore all these types of therapy as well as topics related to therapy such as ways to cope, self-expression, and alternative therapies.
A few months ago, I was actually asked whether I thought that there was a connection between mental health in Japan and Japanese culture and I initially thought, no. Then there was a moment where I thought, maybe? Then back to no. And now, I’m just questioning. So, I thought I’d use this month’s issue as an opportunity to find an answer.
It was actually very difficult for me to write articles regarding this subject as I’m aware that mental health is a sensitive topic. I wanted to do an issue that could explore this area, but obviously in the best way possible. With the buzz surrounding Yami Kawaii and its recent feature in the Refinery29 video, I wanted to give a clearer insight on mental health in Japan. As I’m no expert on the subject, I can only do my best with facts I’ve found through research and proceed to build an opinion from that. Also, since this is a fashion magazine, I won’t be delving too deeply—this isn’t a medical research journal!
The COMM is always open to your opinions and thoughts on any topic, and I’m hoping through this issue we can have a constructive discourse on the nature of mental health within our worldwide community.
PLEASE NOTE: I do not seek to glorify mental illness, I just wish to explore its relationship to fashion.