With hookup culture on the rise and mental health becoming more a prominent issue, you might think that the two are connected. Well we are here to help you answer the question: is hookup culture bad for mental health? We've got all the answers for you.

Before you can go and make any rash decisions, let's lay out all the facts. We need to make sure that you understande all sides of this argument. You don't want to go in blind and come out with the wrong answer. We will give you all the facts and help you come up with a logical answer. The hookup culture can indeed attribute to problems with mental illness, but it can also help to free you from a lot of mental health issues as well. You just need to learn both sides of it.

People with mental illness have a tendency to cling to people who treat them well. Normally, people who are trying to score are very good at making you feel like you are the only person in the room. This can make you start to trust and start to develop feelings for someone very quickly. Hooking up can be one of the best experiences of your life. You just need to control your emotions during this, which can be hard for some.

Download Tinder or a dating app and swipe on a few people. Talk to them for a bit then cut things off quickly. This sucks for the other person, we know, but if you can have a quick meaningless relationship with some stranger you are one step closer to hooking up with no emotions behind it. Now, we aren't saying be completely emotionless, we just want you to move your emotions around when it comes to this type of thing.

If you are looking to leave your issues behind you and try casually hooking up, you might be in the right place. However, you need to make sure that you are ready for everything that comes with it. Give yourself little tasks to complete. Maybe one night you talk to three people outside of your group of friends. This is always a good one to start with because it helps you to be able to start a conversation with a stranger. If you are the type of person who over-drinks so they get confident, try challenging yourself to only have two drinks maximum and talking to people. You can be interesting without needing booze. Just remember that. You are good enough.

This is something that is a huge topic of discussion. If you feel like things are moving faster than what you want, you can always say no. Too often girls or guys will refuse to say no and have all kinds of regret the next day, but there is no reason to rush or to do something you don't want to do. That is never a good reason to do something. Work your way into a casual hookup, don't jump if you're not ready to fall. There is no shame in saying no.

There is a stigma attached to saying no to someone. There is the fear that they won't listen and that they will proceed anyways. Which opens a whole other window of terrible things that we don't want you go to through. If this happens you need to go to the police no matter what. It sucks and its hard but this will stop them for doing it to someone else in the future. There is also the stigma that if you say no they will hate you. If that is the case, fuck them. Straight up. Fuck those people. They are not good people. Not even a little bit.

There is a term that has been around for a while but people seem to have forgotten what it means. However, gaslighting has become more and more prevalent in modern relationships. The term itself describes someone who hurts you, but makes you feel like it's your fault. Suddenly, you're apologizing for no reason when you are clearly not the one at fault at all. This happens. Even as you read that, we are positive you thought about at least three times where someone has done that to you. They hurt you and then all of a sudden you feel guilty. This is not okay. It is also common in hookup culture as not every person is a nice person and will make you feel bad when you change your mind about hooking up. They aren't good people. You just need to be strong and hold your ground with these people.

One of things that people fear most about the hookup culture is their actual health and safety. For someone who is already dealing with depression, anxiety, paranoia, or other mental health issues, this is can be a very scary thing. Getting an STD can cause you years of therapy because you blame yourself for going out and casually sleeping with someone. Some find that because they have so many mental issues that drinking more will make them more interesting but this can lead to some not good situations. Another thought that often pops into the brain: as we have read numerous times, girls who get too drunk often wake up in the hospital because something terrible happened to them. Then we find out that no justice was brought forward. While we want to believe that everyone is great and nice and won't hurt us, that is often not the case.

This makes casually hooking up with people even harder for someone who is dealing with mental health issues. This can cause them more stress just thinking about the 'what ifs'.

Do you want to date if you're just going to be freaking out all the time? This is only the way to know if you are truly ok is to look inside yourself. If you don't feel ready there is no reason for you to put yourself through that. There is also no shame in wanting to not subject yourself to something like this. You can do this at your own pace. This is such a simple question to ask yourself Are you ready to casually date someone? Can you be with someone without getting attached? Is the hookup culture something you want to be apart? If you are shaking your head no, then you have your answer.

We know that this might seem crazy to talk about, but there are a few upside to learning how to casually date. Trust us. We are going somewhere with this. The upsides to learning how to casually date are as such:

Even getting turned down can build confidence. We have talked about this before but getting rejected can actually make you stronger in the end. Once you learn that getting told no isn't the end of the world you learn to move on. As well, not getting rejected also makes you stronger. It gives you the confidence that you need to talk to more people. You learn that you are good enough. Both sides of the yes or no will help you gain some confidence. It will also help you see what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong.

People with mental illness tend to want to be with someone who is always around them. Having someone casual teaches us that we can solve our own problems and still have fun while doing it. While yes, it is nice to be held at night but knowing that you don't every night is an even better feet. Knowing that you can be your own support system and not having to lean on other people can really step it up for you mentally. It can train you to solve your own sadness. Speaking from personal experiences, once I gave up on needing someone around all the time, I learned how to handle myself. I'm more confident in what I do and don't feel like I need to depend on someone else to be happy.

If you are socially awkward, embrace it. Look at that tv show New Girl. Zooey Deschannel's character is super awkward but she embraces it and crushes it when it comes to having relationships and hookups. We all have our awkwardness about ourselves. You might over-drink when you're nervous, you might talk too much or not enough. There are always ways to fix these. If you think you talk too much, for every two answers you give, ask them two questions. If you are shy, just stick to asking them questions but don't go wild with it. However, asking questions is a great way to get to know someone, not seem self-absorbed and not draw attention to the fact that you aren't talking much.

There is always the option of just not being apart of the hookup culture. If you look at it from the outside and decide that that is something you are not comfortable with, there is no need for you to be involved. It is not for everyone. It is not a prerequisite for dating. It's just another option but your health is the most important. With social media taking over our lives and people casually dating way more often now than they were before, it's no wonder mental illness is skyrocketing. People don't understand what they do to people affects them, and they don't understand not everyone is able to live in the hookup culture. So, if you want to be apart of it, great. If you don't, great.

It sucks to say but you can do all the right things and people can just be dicks. Some people just suck. That is not your fault. You can be interesting, you can bring yourself out of your shell and still have someone take advantage of you. They are the worst types of people. However, you need to decide how you want to let it affect you. Do you want cave in upon yourself and make this another problem to dwell on or you can use it as a learning experience. Now, you can tell what guys or girls are going to treat you bad and what ones aren't. You can see who shows you respect and who doesn't. This can be helpful for those of your who suffer anxiety. If they don't call you after you spend the night together, you can stop yourself from waiting by the phone. Once you control how things make you feel, nothing can stop you.

Hookup culture and mental illness are both solid topics that need to be talked about among everyone. You need to be happy with yourself to be able to be apart of the hookup culture. There is nothing that you should ashamed of if you don't think you can handle it. No one out there is forcing you to be apart of it. However, have open discussion about with your friends. If you want to dip your toe, do it. If you don't it's not an issue. Remember, your mental health should be your top priority. Only try this if this is something you think you can handle. You are the most important person in your life.

In the end we can't tell you either way. It's entirely up to you. We have just laid out the facts for you so that you can make informed decisions. Only do what you are comfortable with. It can be bad for your mental health or it can force you to being a stronger person. Every situation in life can make or break you, you just need to figure out what you can handle and if you are willing to challenge yourself.

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Lastly, find out if social media is to blame for hookup culture by CLICKING HERE!