In today’s day and age, it is not uncommon for most individuals to suffer from minor or major mental disorders/illnesses. Most of the people I know suffer from some sort of mental disorder – whether it be anxiety, bulimia, anorexia, depression, or any other.
While many people suffer from mental disorders, anxiety disorders in particular are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the population. Unfortunately, I have seen many people on social media treat anxiety disorders as some sort of a joke. Many people think it’s not a true disorder because it’s “all in our heads;” it may be in our heads, but it takes a very real toll on us. Because it is real.
Although there are different types of anxiety disorders, the general definition of anxiety disorders as a whole are displayed by excessive feelings of unease, stress, or fear, for no apparent reason. It’s important to note that there is a difference between the regular anxiety that most people experience throughout their lives, and anxiety disorders. Everyone will, at some point, feel anxious about something that is happening in their lives; for example, when speaking in front of crowds, before a big exam, or before their wedding day. These are all very normal occurrences.
For people with anxiety disorders, life is much harder. We constantly worry about things that are out of our control, even when we know we shouldn’t. Many people think of us as being “overdramatic,” when in reality, we simply don’t know how to control our irrational fears – and trust us, we really with we could.
For the people that continue to say we are lying about our disorders, you shouldn’t talk about things that you don’t feel. If you were inside of my head, you would know the difficulty it takes for me to even walk out of the door on some days. While some days are better than others, there comes times when life hits us hard – harder than you can even imagine. And it is not a lie.
For myself personally, anxiety is not debilitating, but just another obstacle I must overcome in my life. I don’t let it consume or define me, although it may be a part of me. It may not be easy to lead a normal life on some days, but I still manage to get up and go. I tell myself “there’s nothing to fear” enough times until I get myself to believe it.
At the end of the day, anxiety is very real to those of us who have firsthand experience with it, and it upsets us when people make jokes about it. Just because the fear may seem irrational to you, it feels real to us. We are not crazy, stupid, or insecure because of our anxiety. We are normal people, just like you, who want to live happy, healthy lives – with an added hurdle in the way.
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