Post 2: Lecture on Well-Being
Moving forward with the other lectures I began to get used to the structure of the unit and the concept that the best way for me to digest all these different lectures was by applying them to myself and my own situation. I started to understand that this unit was different than the others, and the best approach for me was quite a personal one. The lectures served the purpose of bringing up different perspectives on how to create better lives for you and those around you through your work and how you choose to do it. A lecture that made this more evident for me was Jekaterina Rogatens lecture titled Well-Being. The contents of this lecture in particular was not something I would have expected to hear about before I started my course. Jekaterina talked about what the term well-being means, why it is important and how it can relate to fashion. She explained how the human brain is designed and why most people feel mentally down at some point as well as discussing the coping mechanisms and solutions we usually turn to in hard times.
The reasons why I personally enjoyed this lecture and why I will bring the knowledge I got from it with me is because it made me ask myself a question and dwell on it for days to come. Why do people find enjoyment in fashion? And is this enjoyment you get out of it something healthy or damaging to your well-being? The thing that keeps the fashion industry alive is the fact that people keep buying more clothes than they possibly need. This consumption is used by many as a quick way to feel better, even only for a little while. I remember Jekaterina breaking down the science behind feeling good after buying something, and how it is not sustainable since you have to keep doing it in increased amounts in order to stay happy. I am not a person that buys a lot of clothes, but this made me realize that some things I have bought in the past have been directly to minimize or distract me from other bad feelings.
The lecture also made me have a think about exactly why I am interested in fashion, exploring something that has always just seemed obvious to me. This was both necessary and healthy for me since I now know more about myself and what I want to do, which helps me both with motivation for this degree and for my general well-being. The last thing I got from the lecture was understanding that my own well-being must always be a priority. There is no point dragging myself down to try and achieve things in my work or social life since I won’t even be able to see the benefits from these things as long as I’m not happy with myself to begin with.