Cosplay Therapy

Cosplay Therapy – How masquerading as your favourite character can help you improve your mental health and confidence!

If you think cosplaying is a hobby for only extroverts, you are wrong!

At Cityscape Counseling in Chicago, cosplay is used to help adolescents and young adults manage issues such as anxiety, depression, self-esteem, trauma and gender identity issues in a safe and creative environment. In fact, many introverts are involved in cosplaying. Here are the numerous benefits of cosplaying:

1. Cosplay can develop better confidence and self-esteem.

The cosplaying community is known to be supportive and encouraging. Being involved in a cosplay event will make one feel immediately belonged to a community. Cosplayers are often approached for photo-taking opportunities and they are affirmed of their efforts constantly by other participants. They attract positive attention and garner positive reinforcements from others. These greatly encourage the cosplayers and hence improve their confidence and self-esteem.

2. Cosplay helps with managing anxiety in social settings.

Not everyone is comfortable with meeting new people. Dressing up as another character gives the cosplayer a chance to adopt a new identity. It gives them a mask to safely hide behind, making anxieties and social situations more manageable. As a cosplayer, it is important to be ‘in character’ and hence when someone unfamiliar approaches, there is no pressure to act in a certain way to feel accepted.

3. Cosplay is an inclusive hobby.

Cosplaying is indeed a hobby which is all-encompassing and transformative, externally and internally. Some cosplayers in wheelchairs transform the chair into part of their costumes. Noticeable differences in physical capabilities are capitalised as opportunities for conversations. There are also several cosplayers who are advanced in years and still enjoy donning up costumes of their favourite characters. Age is just a number. Cosplay allows anyone to feel belonged, regardless of your age, gender, sexuality or religion.

4. Cosplay nurtures creativity.

The elaborate costumes for cosplaying can be quite expensive. To save money, many cosplayers use their creativity to create their desired costumes. People can get very creative using materials found easily in their homes. This might be the reason why some people regard cosplaying as a performative art. Instead of simply putting your art up for others to see, you’re a part of it and are wearing it. Cosplayers are known to take pride in their outfits.

A successful cosplayer is someone who is able to mimic the selected character as realistically as possible. Sometimes, this might lead cosplayers into trouble. In Singapore, there was a cosplay fan who received a $1000 fine for behaving suspiciously with a replica gun in public in 2015.

To make sure that cosplaying remains an enjoyable activity, here are some guidelines to cosplaying in Singapore:

1. Avoid generating alarm

If you are bringing along a prop, e.g. a gun replica or sword which looks like a real weapon, please ensure to have it wrapped up or covered before heading out. Props can cause public alarm if not handled properly. Offenders can be arrested and prosecuted.

Refrain from wearing controversial costumes. Premises’ management, including transportation facilities, may deny you entry, depending on your costume (e.g. cosplayers wearing masks). Please do not wear masks on public transport or in places too far away from anime/cosplay events. You are advised to don your costume only when you arrive at the cosplay venue. Or you can just simply take a taxi or private hire to avoid all the unnecessary fuss.

2. Avoid being a public nuisance

When out in public or at events, please do not direct or point your prop(s) randomly at anyone. Behave appropriately at non-event venues and avoid posing inconvenience to others.

3. Avoid breaking any laws

Cosplayers shall stick to their gender stated on their IC (not the gender they are cosplaying) when visiting the restrooms, i.e. a man shall not enter a ladies restroom just because he is dressed as a lady. If that happens, and a lady happens to be coincidentally in the restroom, that can amount to Insulting the Modesty of the lady.

Now that you have learnt more about cosplaying and are aware of the guidelines to cosplaying, who would you want to cosplay as? If you play games, have you considered bringing your avatar to life? Remember to use your creativity (so that it can be budget-friendly!) and have fun during the transformation!

Sources:

Cityscape Counseling – Cosplay Therapy

Alvinology – Cosplay Guidelines