When Brightn’s Founder was diagnosed with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactive disorder) in 2021, he felt a desperate need to talk about neurodiversity and the accompanying mental health issues – anxiety, emotional dysregulation, prone to addiction, depression, suicidal ideation – that ravage most ND individuals.

Research states that one in seven individuals may be neurodiverse, one in five have a common or severe mental illness, and half of us will experience a mental disorder in our lifetime. The lack of awareness, the stifling stigma that discourages seeking help, and the lack of affirmative action impact neurodivergent individuals, and those with mental illnesses or suffering mental distress profoundly. 

• ND and those with mental illnesses struggle with self-esteem, academic stress, addiction, anxiety, depression, keeping jobs, and maintaining healthy relationships
• Other than the daily suffering, those with mental illnesses, ADHD or autism can have their life expectancy reduced between 10-25 years

Brightn was born from this burning need to throw light on this largely invisible pain and anguish and bring about a much-needed positive change. It is an acknowledgment that life is filled with highs and lows, blows and beautiful moments, and negative and positive emotions, and the trick is to ride it by imbibing a sense of “tragic optimism.” 

Coined by Viktor Frankl, tragic optimism is the anti-tode to the more vacuous and often counter-productive toxic positivity. In Man’s Search for Meaning, Frankl described tragic optimism as “the ability to maintain hope and find meaning in life, despite its inescapable pain, loss, and suffering.” Instead of ignoring negative emotions and experiences, tragic optimism is about embracing them as opportunities to gain a deeper meaning and purpose.

The epiphany for Brightn sprang from a deep need to wrap tragic optimism around : 

• Increasing awareness
• Bring about acceptance 
• Spur action in some way

on neurodiversity and mental health. 

Brightn is the result of a three-year odyssey into a rabbit hole of discovery on how to lean on day-to-day interactions with people, physical environments, and objects design concepts that could be adapted to clothing (t-shirts, hoodies), coffee mugs, posters, coasters, stickers, and notebooks. The idea was to spark conversations that could lead to real change. 

All products are priced affordably, and ethically sourced as far as possible, and 10 percent of all profits will be used to create free resources that can be publicly consumed and distributed. 

Come and be part of this journey.