The Oxford University Press’s word of 2024 was "brain rot." The year also gave us a flurry of TikToks documenting "bed rotting." What's with all this rotting — and is it a trend we should be taking into 2025?
"'Brain rotting' typically refers to the idea of engaging in mindless content consumption, like scrolling social media or binge-watching TV shows, which over time, feels like numbing or dulling your brain," explains mental health therapist Brittany Cilento Kopycienski, who owns Glow Counseling Solutions. "'Bed rotting’ involves spending excessive time lying in bed, contributing to physical and mental stagnation."
Both activities, it seems, are about checking out of whatever your reality is at the moment — and checking into the often good feeling of doing nothing. Is that good for our mental health? Here's what experts say.
"Let’s face it—bed rotting or brain rotting is not a style of lazy living. It’s about escape," psychologist Caitlin Slavens tells Yahoo Life. "The world is noisy, chaotic and often overwhelming. 'Rotting' is like pressing a giant snooze button on life. When you’re inundated with expectations (of work, family or even yourself), shutting down might seem your only option."
She adds, "These trends are a response to a world that’s made us feel like we must be performing in every moment of our lives — for work, for social media, for each other’s expectations. The rise of rotting says we’re burnt out, together."
That may be especially true for younger adults. "Our brains are experiencing unprecedented levels of stimulation through constant notifications, social media and digital engagement," Sophia Spencer, a social psychology and mental health therapist, tells Yahoo Life. "For Gen Z and millennials in particular, they are the first generations to live like this from a young age and for this to be their norm. Essentially, their brains are subject to a level of information that was once unthinkable, and not what our brains are designed for."
But others argue that this urge to disassociate from life isn't new, but rather something past generations have also felt as they settle into adulthood.
"Do you remember the 'adulting' movement?" Slavens points out.
"People began to celebrate even the most basic life tasks, like doing laundry or paying bills, as if they were a win in a world so large it felt overwhelming. Or hygge — the Scandinavian midcentury concept of warm living — where we all collectively agreed that it was candles and blankets we needed to feel better when burned out. "All of these trends speak to the same need: to ease up, to take a breath, to feel fine about not doing it all."
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