mental illness is not an adjective
As you all know, mental health awareness is something very important to me. My friend Shannon shares some thoughts on the impact of words on those struggling with mental health conditions, in regards to her own experience as a student at the University of Notre Dame. So proud of you, Shannon, for expressing your feelings on such an important issue!
“Ugh this weather is so bipolar”
“God, I’m such an alcoholic”
“I’m so OCD”
As a college student, I hear phrases just like these tossed around constantly in everyday conversation. People say things like “I just want to crawl in a hole and die,” in response to having a lot of homework or waking up hungover. And while I understand that feeling, I want you to take a step back and think about what that might mean to someone struggling with mental illness. For those with depression, the feeling of “wanting to crawl in a hole and die” can be constant and crippling, even leading to self-harm in some cases, as evidenced by the climbing national suicide rate.
I know that failing an exam or having your car breakdown is not fun, and it’s completely understandable to be upset. However, comments like these perpetuate the negative stigma that surrounds mental health, reducing the struggles of mental illness into something of a joke, something to be ashamed of. ADHD is not a joke. It’s not a way to describe a feeling of being a mess. ADHD is a disorder — one that makes it difficult for me to sit and read for more than five to ten minutes without getting distracted, making studying a nearly impossible task. Anxiety? Not a joke. It’s a disorder that causes me to lie awake at night, mind racing, thinking of every possible thing that could go wrong. It means having to turn in a test early without answering all of the questions because I’m scared of having a panic attack in front of all my classmates.
Usually, these comments are said lightly and forgotten about within seconds. But when my professor ran off topic during a lecture and excused it with, “Silly me, let me refocus. I’m just a little ADHD today,” it stuck with me for the rest of the semester. I know she didn’t mean it as an attack to me; she’s actually a very good professor. But truth be told, this comment really bothered me. It made me feel like my struggles were “silly” and something that I could get over if I just “refocused.” If only it were that easy. Especially at a high-achieving school like Notre Dame, where everyone seems to have it all together, admitting that you need help is terrifying. And it certainly doesn’t help to be surrounded by people making jokes about the very things that you are struggling with.
In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness Month, I encourage all of you to stop and think before you speak. Before you make a comment about anorexia, depression or OCD, consider what it would be like if you were affected by one of those diseases. You wouldn’t joke about having cancer or diabetes, so why should it be any different for mental illness? Undergoing treatment for breast cancer isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of incredible strength. In the same way, seeking professional help for a mental illness doesn’t make you weaker or less capable than everyone else. It makes you impressive, brave, an inspiration.
1 in 5 adults in the United States alone is living with a mental illness. This is not a laughing matter. It’s time we take a stand and change the stigma around mental health. Reach out. Start the conversation. Get help. You are not alone. You are important. And yes, the world really wouldn’t be the same without you in it.