Framing everything in terms of mental health is one of those things were I can't tell if people are participating in some kind of mass social joke, or are serious.
coldpie · 28m ago
I think it is a little of both :) Emotional support animals are a real thing, but they are expensive and require a lot of maintenance and there are limits on where they may be taken. Stuffed animals can make people feel better for similar reasons, it's a companion to "talk to" or a nice familiar sight, and they have a lot lower bar to ownership than real animals do. So a stuffed animal can be reasonably considered to be in the same category as a real emotional support animal, but they are obviously a lot less serious than a real animal. So it's fun and funny to choose an animal with a bit of silliness and humor to it, like a chicken.
It is a joke, yeah, but it can also be a mood booster. So it's both.
dumbfounder · 3m ago
There are also obviously some people that take advantage of the rules around emotional support animals. Like Great Danes on airplanes (second hand anecdote). So the effect is that people tend to suspect everyone is taking advantage. There are even a ton of services to make it super easy to classify a pet as an emotional support animal. So, I am all for these ridiculous chickens. Might buy some for my kids (I am not into knitting).
LandR · 31m ago
We are in a time where it's fashionable to have mental health issues. It's very strange.
lowhighseco · 5m ago
Only certain mental health issues. Being a full on schizophrenic newspaper hoarder won’t ever be in style.
colechristensen · 15m ago
I've seen this plenty of times, young people almost boasting about their diagnosis like the old upper class used to be proud of gout
Some health care professionals are becoming hesitant to talk about diagnoses because it hurts the patient when they start identifying with the diagnosis it makes the condition worse when the patient starts to act more like the diagnosed condition because that's how they're supposed to act
dylan604 · 30m ago
That's what I fell about the 21 pilots track I'm so stressed out.
nemomarx · 25m ago
isn't it mostly about childhood nostalgia? "I'm more stressed then when I was a kid" seems pretty basic
alabastervlog · 20m ago
I'm more stressed out than like... during Summer, when I was a kid.
I've never, ever been as stressed out as during school, grades 7-12. If the rest of life had been that stressful or worse, I'd have checked out a long time ago.
nemomarx · 15m ago
Maybe I just had an easy time but 7-12 was a lot less stressful than office work and arbitrary meetings all day. I probably just miss the predictable schedule
alabastervlog · 10m ago
Huh, I'd liken school in those grades to a series of meetings basically all day, that are mostly presentations, every day of the week, with a lot of restrictions and harsh conduct & expectations from the people leading the meetings, which'd never fly in an office. Often with terrible lighting and long stretches without seeing the outdoors, even though a window. And crazy-early start times that may have you not seeing the sun until 3PM or so, for months. And, especially toward the end, a couple more hours of work at home every day. Mostly of math problems.
Also, all that, plus you're not getting paid for it.
fragmede · 2m ago
OTOH, if you fail out of class, most of us wouldn't have become homeless, just placed in a remedial class.
Whereas getting fired from your office job would land you out on the street if you're living paycheck to paycheck.
Bender · 31m ago
I suspect they are all in support of the soon to be 28th amendment "The right to bear, breed, harvest, and sell chickens shall not be infringed."
bentcorner · 35m ago
Reminds me of the Blender Donut. It's a good beginner project and the outcome is pleasing.
levicole · 27m ago
The emotional support chicken isn't a great beginner project.
You want to start with a scarf and move onto a beanie.
lowhighseco · 3m ago
It’s a great project to leave the beginners bracket.
HocusLocus · 12m ago
Actually there is a reason everybody is knitting chickens, but the FDA has asked the court for a 75 year slow FOIA records release.
It is a joke, yeah, but it can also be a mood booster. So it's both.
Some health care professionals are becoming hesitant to talk about diagnoses because it hurts the patient when they start identifying with the diagnosis it makes the condition worse when the patient starts to act more like the diagnosed condition because that's how they're supposed to act
I've never, ever been as stressed out as during school, grades 7-12. If the rest of life had been that stressful or worse, I'd have checked out a long time ago.
Also, all that, plus you're not getting paid for it.
You want to start with a scarf and move onto a beanie.