Supernatural: The Power of Fandom for Mental Health
In addition to being a mental health therapist, I’m also a fangirl. I’m not ashamed!
Nearly everyone is a fan of something, but are you part of a fandom? Some of you are probably enthusiastically thinking YES, while others are confused and wondering what a fandom even is.
According to Wikipedia, “A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest.” Urban Dictionary defines fandom as “An innocent word used for describing a cult of sleep-deprived people who obsess over one or multiple comics, books, tv shows, movies, video games, etc.” Being part of a fandom goes beyond the casual watching of a TV show or enjoyment of a book series: being part of a fandom is a lifestyle.
Personally, my biggest fandom is the TV series Supernatural, which is my inspiration for writing this blog post, because Supernatural will be ending this week after FIFTEEN seasons (hugs to my fellow SPN fans!). I began watching Supernatural during my freshman year of college, so the show has been a constant companion throughout my higher education and my career. For me, being in the Supernatural fandom has meant: traveling to attend fan conventions (known as cons), gaining many wonderful and diverse friends from all over the world, donating and raising money for charities (including several mental health charities), running a state-wide fan group, hosting and attending watch parties, participating in the Greatest Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen (and even winning a Guinness World Record for it!), and collecting lots of memorabilia.
Mental Health and Fandom
So how does mental health intersect with fandom?
I reached out to Dr. Janina Scarlet, a licensed clinical psychologist, author, developer of Superhero Therapy, and self-described “full-time geek”, for a comment about fandom and mental health:
“Fandom, especially one like Supernatural, can give us a sense of a voice and self-expression that might otherwise be missing. In seeing our own pain reflected in the characters, it can give us the permission to build compassion and understanding toward our own suffering. And in being a part of a fandom, we can essentially build meaningful support groups to help cope with our own internal monsters.”
In other words, fandom can be an extremely powerful tool for improving mental health.
Mental Health Benefits of Fandom
One of the biggest benefits of being in fandom is a sense of belonging. Fandoms can be a place that allow for community and connection with others who have similar interests, especially with people that a person may not otherwise meet. In many cases, fandom relationships can actually become like family, as depicted in the name of the Supernatural fandom: SPNFamily. Research has shown that a low sense of belonging is correlated with depression and that self-esteem is empirically linked with a sense of belonging.
Participating in fandom can lead to a deeper understanding of self. Between interacting with other fans and “joining” fictional characters, we can gain an increased self-awareness of our emotions, behaviors, and motivations. For example, we may see our own issues reflected in fictional characters that we admire, which can allow us to gain a different perspective of ourselves when we see those issues play out on screen or on paper. Or, we may connect with emotions that we’ve been avoiding, such as crying over a character that has died, when we have also experienced our own personal grief.
Fandom can also provide a deeper understanding of others. We get to know complicated, nuanced characters, which can force us to challenge our thinking and our assumptions about who people are or what decisions they choose to make and why.
There are unique opportunities for self-expression within fandom life. For some people, who may not identify with typical “social norms”, fandom provides a safe place where "weirdness” is not only welcomed but celebrated. Self-expression can relate to thoughts, feelings, values, religion, politics, personality, etc. and can allow people to be authentic and enhance relationships. Self-expression can also be seen in creativity, discussed next.
Creativity is a major part of fandom culture, with fans using every possible medium to represent their fandom- drawing, painting, sculpting, make up, candle making, cooking, sewing, assembling costumes (cosplay), editing videos, role playing (LARPing), writing and performing music, getting tattoos. Studies have shown that engaging in creativity can increase positive emotions, decrease depressive symptoms, reduce stress responses, and even improve the immune system.
Being involved in fandom can help fans gain strength and resiliency. In addition to getting support and encouragement from other fans, we are also seeing beloved and admired characters overcoming challenging situations, triumphing over evil, or even making mistakes and having to deal with the consequences.
Altruism is perhaps an often overlooked mental health benefit of fandom, but a significant one nonetheless. With the communities that are constructed, there is a sense of concern for the well-being of other fans, and sometimes fans need help. That help may come in the form of a supportive message on a bad day, or donating to a Go Fund Me for a fan dealing with a crisis, such as a cancer diagnosis. It is also becoming more common for celebrities involved in fandom (such as the Supernatural actors) to rally their fan support and raise money for charities that are important to them.
Online fandoms can introduce members to diversity that they may not otherwise experience. Fandoms include all types of people from all over the world, of all races, ethnicities, ages, socioeconomic backgrounds, education levels, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, physical and mental abilities, political affiliations, etc. This inclusion allows for people to increase empathy, gain fresh perspectives, challenge stereotypes, foster mutual respect, and break down barriers.
And, finally, fun! There’s enjoyment in getting excited together, in consuming content together, in counting down until the release of the next installment, in analyzing a character or episode or book, in attending a con. Of course, the mental health benefits of fun are numerous, including better sleep, reduced stress, increased energy, improved connection with others, and better ability to cope.
Fandom in the Therapy Office
Thankfully for me, as both a fangirl and a therapist, fandom doesn’t have to be limited to just a hobby, separated from my professional, clinical life. Fandom can be vibrantly welcomed into the therapeutic relationship and incorporated with evidence-based therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Many of the above-mentioned benefits can even be used or built on as therapeutic tools.
According to a 2017 article from the American Counseling Association, pop culture and fandom can be used to: enhance client-counselor communication and the therapeutic relationship, help create deeper meanings, foster a more profound understanding of one’s self and relationships, improve social skills, help clients have a better comprehension of therapeutic concepts, and improve goal setting.
Dr. Scarlet, quoted earlier in this post, has written several books about using fandom to develop self-help strategies. My favorite, of course, is Supernatural Therapy: Hunting Your Internal Monsters IRL, which beautifully uses ideas and concepts from the TV show to create a framework to help readers face their own “monsters”, or challenges.
Saving People: Supernatural and Mental Health
While all types of fandoms can have a positive impact on mental health, I would be remiss if I didn’t share about some of the work Supernatural has specifically done for mental health. Many fans often find their validation through interactions with other fans, but the SPNFamily is blessed to also have frequent interaction, openness, and vulnerability from the cast and crew via fan conventions and social media.
Jared Padalecki, one of two of the series’ main stars, has been outspoken about his struggles with mental health, namely anxiety and depression. He even opened up about experiencing suicidal thoughts in a chapter he wrote for the book “Family Don’t End with Blood”. Fans have often expressed gratitude towards his willingness to share about his struggles, and give him credit for working to end the stigma against mental health. Likewise, numerous fans have said that his openness has given them the strength to talk about their own struggles or even to get help.
In 2015, Jared launched the Always Keep Fighting campaign, selling t-shirts with the slogan to raise money for mental health charities. This initial campaign reportedly raised over $250,000 (!!!), and over the next few years, further charitable t-shirt campaigns were launched, several in partnership with Jared’s costar Jensen Ackles. Nearly all of the charities supported were mental health-related, and all of the t-shirts and gear were designed with positive, empowering messages, such as I Am Enough, You Are Not Alone, Love Yourself First, Family Has Your Back, and most recently, You Define You.
Having fun and showing off our Always Keep Fighting merch at our Supernatural Christmas party
Additionally, as a result of a campaign by Jensen and additional costar Misha Collins, the SPNFamily Crisis Support Network was created. This was a combined effort with the established IMAlive online crisis support network, and the funds that were raised allowed for Supernatural fans to volunteer to be trained as online crisis responders for both fellow Supernatural fans in crisis and others seeking support from IMAlive. Within 3 weeks, 8,500 fans had volunteered. This is one of the most compelling examples of the power of fandom: fans and the cast went beyond the typical celebrity/fan dynamic, beyond simply creating television and consuming it; they worked together to effect positive change and make a difference.
So What’s It All Add Up To? (<— quote from Chuck on SPN)
Being part of a fandom has the potential to be transformative in all areas of one’s life, and mental health is no exception. The positive impact of fandom involvement can be life-changing. In particular, the SPNFamily has a focus on mental health awareness and support, and has gone above and beyond in sharing that support.
While being a “nerd” or a “geek” has previously had a negative stigma attached to it, like mental health, it is becoming more accepted and even celebrated to “nerd out”. Similarly, more mental health therapists are embracing geek therapy and recognizing the effectiveness of inviting pop culture and fandom into the therapeutic relationship.
It brings me remarkable joy and satisfaction to be able to combine my geek side and my clinical side as an additional therapy tool, and to “speak the language” of my geek clients (Yes, there’s a fandom language out there: cons, cosplay, fanfiction, shipping, canon, meta, AO3, etc.). I’m proud to be both a therapist and a fangirl.
This post is dedicated to all of my friends in the SPNFamily. Family don’t end with blood.
