Mental Health Advice - Hattie & Evie

Mental Health Advice We Wish Someone Would Have Told Us Sooner

This is a 12-page quarter sized zine. With really good advice and a title that kind of reminds me of a Fall Out Boy song. There is not much to say besides Hattie Porter & Evelyn Basch do a great job collaborating on mental health zines. You can tell they have been through a lot and they use their experiences to try to help others. If you are struggling with your mental health I always recommend their zines. They are great self-care reminders. Hattie ( dogsnotdiets ) creates zines that promote recovery and self-care, and Evie ( HumanSightings ) creates space themed zines and art that deals with living with a mental illness. Both great zinesters individually and also when they work together.

You can find Hattie / dogsnotdiets on Etsy or Instagram.

You can find Evie / HumanSightings on Etsy or Instagram.

Human Sightings

I discovered Evie from Dogs Not Diets, they are friends and made some collab zines together. Luckily they did because I absolutely love Evie’s art and zines.

The collab zine they made together currently has two volumes and is called Thanks... But No Thanks. It is filled with completely unhelpful advice they have received from people in regards to their mental health. Such as, “But think of all the people who have it so much worse.” Sigh. These zines are too real for anyone who has a mental illness.

The Guide To Self-Care features a few tips that have personally helped Evie. This is a thoughtful mini zines and it compliments the Thanks... But No Thanks zine very well.

Evie also draws a lot of comics called Humans which feature aliens experiencing similar problems to us silly humans. Sometimes in similar situations that we can go through, like trying not to be late to a party. Other times it is about experiencing and coping with a mental illness. I don’t know how else to describe it except by calling it awesome and telling you that you need these zines in your life. Her sense of humour displayed in the zines and her art is fantastic. Always puts a smile on my face. 

I also love Evie’s space and astronaut themed cards and badges. Featuring positive affirmations such as, “You deserve to take up space” and “You are not alone.”

Go to the Human Sightings Etsy page to check out all the cool items you can buy.

Follow Evie on Instagram or Facebook. You can also check out the website at http://www.evelynbasch.co.uk/ 

Hattie Porter - Dogs Not Diets

Hattie is the first person I decided to get zines from on Etsy. I was struggling with my mental health and found these zines extremely helpful. Thank you for making them, Hattie! 

She creates mental health themed zines, which are printed on pastel coloured paper (which you can choose which colour you would like) and stitched on the spine. Each zine is mostly typed with some handwritten notes throughout. She also emphasizes certain sentences or key points by hand-drawing underlines or boxes around the words. These zines are filled with facts surrounding the topic (anxiety, panic attacks, depression, etc) to inform you about what is happening to you [Knowledge is power] and adds self-care tips & coping strategies.

There are zines for certain topics and also a bigger book A Small Part Of Everything which is a summary of all the zines up to that point. Which has its own design that is different from the zines. It isn’t just a photocopy of what was already made, it’s a new version just for the book.

If you are interested in grabbing a copy for yourself then head over to Hattie’s Etsy page.

You can also follow Hattie on Instagram.