It started innocently enough: a single burnout tee with a skeleton doing yoga and the words “Fitness is a Lie.” Relatable, I thought. Funny, even. But one emotional support hoodie and a few ghost-printed t-shirts later, my therapist gave me a look. You know the one — halfway between concern and resignation — and said, “Maybe it’s time we talk about your attachment issues in cotton blend”.
Burnout Merch or Emotional Armor?
Wearing burnout merch felt like emotional hygiene. Like saying “leave me alone” — but in Helvetica and soft cotton. My closet became a shrine to dark humor apparel: shirts that screamed “No Gain, Just Pain”, hoodies that whispered “Emotionally Unavailable”, and socks that might as well have been stitched with “Please Don’t Talk to Me”.
But my therapist had a point. When your entire wardrobe doubles as a cry for help, maybe you’re not just being cute — maybe you’re buffering.
The Emotional Support Hoodie That Went Too Far
I used to wear it everywhere. The hoodie. The one with the stitched bear and the dead eyes. My emotional support hoodie, as I called it. It was warm. It was honest. It was also the third time that week someone asked me if I was okay.
Spoiler: I wasn’t.
But I was hilarious about it.
Fashion or Emotional Co-Dependency?
There’s a fine line between expressing yourself and outsourcing all communication to your funny burnout shirt. And while dark humor apparel can say what we’re too tired to, it can also become a cozy little echo chamber of our worst mental spirals.
My therapist gently suggested I try wearing something “neutral“. I panicked. Did she mean beige?
Breaking the Cycle (Kind Of)
I’ve cut back. I only wear my emotionally unavailable clothing on Mondays, staff meetings, and anytime I’m exposed to direct sunlight. Progress, right?
Because sometimes burnout merch isn’t just a statement — it’s a shield. But even shields need to come off, eventually. Preferably before you start referring to your closet as “the trauma rack“.
TL;DR:
Burnout merch is valid. Burnout merch is iconic. Burnout merch is… maybe not a substitute for therapy.
But don’t worry — we’re not quitting. We’re just emotionally detaching.