Firstly, I realise I didn’t make it clear enough that I am not trying to undermine anybody or imply that people are faking.
- I fully understand that MH is invisible and somebody who looks fine could easily be severely unwell
- I understand that people may have a genuine MH diagnosis, but they use CBT techniques or medication which is why they seem fine
- I understand that some people may have issues such as a phobia of dogs. In which case they will seem absolutely fine most of the time, but in dog related situations they might be in a really bad state
- I understand that if somebodies anxiety or depression is less severe than mine it doesn’t mean they shouldn’t share the same diagnosis
- I fully understand that people can suffer very severely but still appear normal
ON THE OTHER HAND
- I have had somebody telling me they have bad anxiety and panic attacks because ‘I hate it when my bedroom is messy’
- I have had people saying they have OCD because ‘ I can’t sleep if I know there are dirty pots in the sink’
- People saying they are depressed because they didn’t go out at the weekend
- my personal favourite - oh yeah I have panic attacks all the time when I feel my pocket and my phones not there
- people who say they have severe social anxiety and have a phobia of crowds yet they go clubbing every weekend
- people who say they have anxiety or depression but when you talk to them about it you learn they have just diagnosed themselves
- I had one girl who said ‘yeah I suffer really badly with anxiety and panic attacks but no i haven’t been diagnosed or seen a doctor and I don’t need to have counselling or medication because it’s not even that bad you just have to think about something else’
- ‘I have severe social anxiety because I’m shy and scared to talk to boys’
- ‘omg I had a panic attack once when I lost my friends on a night out and I had butterflies and everything’
- ‘Don’t tell anybody we went out on Saturday night becauseI’ve put depression on my sick note’
In the last 10 years I’ve spent more time in hospital than I can bare, I’ve spent a bomb on bus fares getting to CBT appointments, It’s a JOKE how much I’ve spent on my prescriptions, my parents have rang multiple ambulances for me, I’ve been bullied because of the weird behaviours my MH makes me do, I’ve been thrown out of sixth form because I kept running out of lessons due to panic attacks, I’ve had home treatment teams coming to my house everyday just to supervise my medication and help me shower, my mum has taken time off work because I couldn’t be left alone, I’ve been accused of taking drugs because of the way my MH makes me act.
So when somebody looks me in the eye and tells me they have anxiety too, yet they ****ing clearly don’t it drives me mad.
Why is anxiety fashionable? Why isn’t it ‘cool’ to have schizophrenia or bipolar?