A Different Stigma

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine made a comment and it’s been on my mind ever since. We were discussing our mental illnesses, and I disclosed my diagnosed depression and anxiety. He replied with “Oh pfft, everyone has depression and anxiety these days”, basically writing those off as nothing.

This bothered me because the terms “depression” and “anxiety” are used so loosely and so often that they’re not taken as seriously as some other mental illnesses, when they should be.

Depression to me is feeling so empty, so numb inside that nothing matters, not even your loved ones. It’s wanting to die just to be with the loved one you lost, because it would be easier than dealing with the pain in this world. It’s not wanting to do anything but sleep, not wanting to take care of yourself, let alone anyone else. It’s struggling to keep a job or keep up with school because this heavy force is keeping you from wanting to even try. Depression to me is a very deep, dark place that I chose to be medicated for, to help me fight when my mind wants to take a trip there again.

Anxiety to me is fear of the world. It’s thinking of all the possible things that could go wrong before you even get in your car and leave the house. It’s anticipating the crowds at a grocery store and feeling suffocated at the thought of being surrounded by so many people just staring at you. It’s palms sweating, stomach burning, almost passing out when you’re nervous about something. It’s thinking your instant pot is going to explode every time you use it. It’s gasping for air when certain people come around you and overwhelm you with their existence.

These are very real mental illnesses. Don’t let this stigma of “everyone has depression and anxiety” fool you. Not everyone really does, but those of us that do, struggle every single day just to exist in this world as normal folk as yourselves.