toxic environment | Wretched and Divine

In August 2018, I wrote a post about my feelings towards Twitter and how much I hated it. It took a while, but I’m done with Twitter!

Reasons #3, 5 and 8 (unpleasant interactions, people complaining, and negative news) became the norm on my feed. Did I really want to open an app just to feel worse about people and the world?

A note: 3-4 people would reach out to me regularly and ask if I was alright. I was actually puzzled about what made them concerned, but it’s because my tweets were negative. To me that is normal because I am a pessimist…. I mostly update my blog when I am in a good mood and/or if I have the energy to sit down and write. Twitter, on the other hand, is quick and easy. I can tweet something wherever I am, any time of the day because it only takes a few seconds to send out a tweet. Leaving Twitter would remove a platform for me to be negative and cynical, which is probably the best for me and others so they don’t have to worry.

Removing myself from that toxic environment will probably lift my mood in the long-term, and I’ll have some free time cleared up.

Toxicity in place is one of the themes I found most prominent in Studio Ghibli’s film, Spirited Away. I believe that No Face is the embodiment of a person’s personality and desires. The characters in the bathhouse are toxic because they are driven by greed, so when No Face eats the characters in the bathhouse, it becomes this monster who acts and consumes food in a very uncivilized manner.

When No Face later goes to Zeniba’s cottage, No Face acts very different. Now that No Face has a purpose and is in a place with kind people, it can be the best version of itself. No Face doesn’t need to “eat” anyone because it can be itself.

I think this theme is very important in our lives because I’ve seen people change both in personality and appearance – in the clothes people wear and how they resemble the people who inhabit those shared spaces. A place can be the home environment, school, the workplace, the community, your friend group – it can be a lot of places. If you feel that the environments you are currently in are not good for your mental health or are impacting you in ways that you don’t like, I urge you to think about if the place is fit for you, and if leaving the toxic environment is an option. Some food for thought.

I wasn’t sure of No Face’s gender (I don’t believe it’s identified in the film) so I’m not sure if I should use he, they, or another pronoun. Please feel free to enlighten me and I can change the post to make it better. Thanks. 🙂