Hydration with Heart: The Rise of Emotional Support Water Bottles

From “VSCO girls” popularizing the Hydroflask to the Stanley Cup and Owala blowing up on TikTok, reusable water bottles have been a true sensation to the public. 

Reusable water bottles have many benefits, including the reduction of plastic water bottle usage, as well as being a reminder to drink water. However, should people be replacing their therapists with their reusable water bottle? 

       The emotional support water bottle trend can be traced back from TikTok where users started posting videos of themselves using their bottles as a way to comfort themselves.

       Senior Ashlyn Spinelli is known by her friends for always carrying around her emotional support water bottle. “Carrying my water bottle has become such a routine. It’s just something that I always have with me, which at times is a comforting sense of stability,” said Spinelli. 

       According to CNN Health, it is proven that a sense of anxiety occurs if people who are emotionally attached to their water bottle accidentally leave theirs at home or lose them.

Senior Katie Plitt says that she feels nervous if she ever forgets her water bottle at home. “If I don’t have my Stanley, I will not drink enough water, but if I do have it with me, I know that I will be hydrated,” said Plitt. 

For many people, the act of carrying a water bottle around can connect to their emotions and their mental health. 

“Honestly, if I forget my water bottle at home, I know it’s going to be a bad day,” said Spinelli. “It’s become such a big part of my life, and it is so weird to think that I have a bad day just because I leave a water bottle at home, but it’s true.”

While water bottles may not replace the emotional support of a therapist, it is proven that they benefit one’s well-being. Next time you’re walking around campus and see students grasping onto their water bottles, remember that it is not just about staying hydrated, it’s also about finding comfort.