There’s a cost to your push for awareness, and it is my mental health.
Let’s start with the messages about National Pizza Day or National Ice Cream Day. These are pure advertisement for special interests. They serve no other purpose than to place some class of product into the population’s mind. They have no other value than this, and because of this, they do not directly benefit society at large. Someone is trying to get me to buy something. End of story.
However, I’m also tired of all the messages I get about “X Awareness Month” or “X Awareness Day” or “X Awareness whatever…” I get so many of those that they get lost in the noise. You want to raise awareness but I’m not paying attention to them, so… 🤷
For me, it is very much like making a big fuss about the fact that every one of us is unique. This is true… but not particularly remarkable because that’s a characteristic that we all possess. Saying that I’m special because I’m unique is not the same as saying I’m special because I’m a cancer survivor, for instance. Both statements are true. I am unique and I am a cancer survivor. Moreover, I’m not only a survivor of cancer. I’m a survivor of a rare cancer. However, the fact that I survived my rare cancer makes me special in a way that being unique does not.
Before someone accuses me of showing preference towards awareness messages about any cancer, or my own cancer, let me tell you that I don’t like being pestered by awareness messages about these either.
So a lot of the awareness messages are “look at me, I’m special.” However, my reaction is to say that you are not special, because of the deluge of messages that I get. They also claim to be special. You’re just one message in the deluge of messages. I don’t see any reason to pay attention to you any more than I pay attention to the rest of them.
My solution is to pay attention to no one.
But my cause is a worthy one!
Yes, it is as worthy as the 128 other causes sitting right next to yours. Hammering me on the head with your awareness messages is not good for my mental health. This constant messaging is anxiety-inducing. It is also work-inducing, because I have to manage my emails, my social media accounts, etc. to exclude your messages. That’s friction that I do not need.
But I don’t send so many messages.
Sure, but your voice is not the only one. Your message in addition to all the others is the problem. I suppose that, once upon a time, those awareness messages made sense, but now they get lost in the deluge.
I don’t know what the solution is on your side, but that’s not my problem.
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