I remember when the vast majority of discourse actually leaned towards not doing magic at all when having a mental health flareup. In fact, I remember some people even arguing that those with mental health issues should never do magic (specifically ceremonial, chaos, thelema, enochian, goetic, etc. I don’t think anyone ever gave a shit what the neopagans were doing)… which, of course, I disagree with. Having depression, anxiety, bpd, or whatever else doesn’t prevent you forever from functioning in society (for some it requires the addition of therapy or medication and that’s just fine).
But I think as we evolved more towards this “fuck ableism” attitude, we lost some nuance to this conversation. Having any sort of mental illness is OK and doesn’t prevent you from practicing magic… but taking a break from magic FOR your mental health is also OK. And seriously, doing magic when you’re in a bad headspace can be a very bad thing.
To present an extreme analogy: would you recommend that a neurosurgeon perform a complicated surgery while grieving the death of a loved one? Like I get that sometimes we don’t have a choice (maybe it’s a spell that needs done before a certain deadline), and it’s admirable when people can pull their shit together to accomplish something difficult that requires concentration and focus while undergoing great adversity, but it’s irresponsible to recommend it.
And while I don’t necessarily have issue with people infusing “magic” into every mundane thing they do (as that kind of paradigm shifting can actually be useful in some cases), I agree with thedesertgod that you are kidding yourself if you equate that to honing your magical skills. Like if you really need to pretend for the extra motivation, fine; But I prefer not to delude myself that it’s magic. Magic, the kind that gets results and not just feel-good energy, is a discipline that can take a lot out of your body, both physically and mentally.
And honestly, if your defenses aren’t that good (or even if they are), the last fucking thing you need during a mental illness relapse is to attract every fucking leeching spirit in a 50 mile radius.
If you have any kind of obsessive/perfectionist persona, then you probably also know how all-consuming magic and the paranormal can be. Sometimes you seriously do need to step back so you can focus on your job or school, your mental health, and basic needs. And I’ll end this by echoing thedesertgod once again and saying please just take your meds, see your therapist, and take care of yourselves instead of acting like some magic bubble bath is going to solve your mental illness flareups.
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