The Silverwood Curse and its Reflections to Real Life Mental Struggles
I often see the silverwood curse discussed in how it affects the characters and their relationships inside of Witch Hat Atelier, but I don’t see a lot of discussion about what the silverwood curse reflects in real life. There is a lot to be said about the metaphors (and straight-up representation) of physical disability, but there’s also a huge aspect of real-life mental health struggles reflected in this. The silverwood curse makes its host unable to feel “at home” without the tree growing, leading them to live in constant stress. This is very reflective of how a lot of people who struggle with mental illness, including myself, end up feeling scared of getting better or feeling happy. This fear leads people to suffer more with mental health.
There are many reasons someone may be scared of getting better mentally, but I think there are two prominent ones. Those being: fearing you’ll have your happiness taken away or being unable to feel it again, and fearing you’ll lose a part of yourself. I think both of these are also reflected in the silverwood curse. Without the silverwood living inside its host, they will literally lose a part of themselves, physically speaking, because of how the silverwood heals physical injuries. This might also lead them to lose an important bodily function, depending on where and how severely they had been injured. The silverwood curse also limits true happiness to one occurrence, since the host will grow into a tree once they feel happy enough to be at home.
These reflections of mental health within the silverwood curse in Witch Hat Atelier are very important. Not only does it help people who struggle with their mental health feel seen, but it can also help everyone understand the characters and maybe even people in their lives a bit more. If you are struggling with mental health, please reach out to a professional or a loved one for help. I know it can be scary, but you do deserve to feel happy. <3
