“I can’t listen to a song the whole way through; I’m so bipolar”. “I’m so OCD about making my bed everyday”. “I can’t believe I failed that test, I’m so depressed”. “When I almost dropped my iPhone I had such a panic attack”. Odds are, you have heard statements similar to these before. Our society has been desensitized to mental illness, and illnesses have become a part of our everyday colloquialisms. Depression is synonymous with being sad, anxiety for being nervous, OCD for being organized or clean, bipolar for being indecisive. Most of the time, people mean no harm in making such generalizations, but such statements can negatively skew our societal perception of mental illness.
Makes Mental Illness Seem Easily Resolvable
Equating mental illnesses with everyday emotions portrays mental illness as easily resolvable. To elaborate, lets look at the example of failing a test versus suffering from depression. If you fail a test, sadness is a normal and healthy reaction, but it is a short lived and resolvable sadness. One may be sad for the day, but can do something to get their mind off it. Additionally, if you fail a test, you may be able to retake it or go into office hours to regain points. It is a temporary and fixable problem. Depression on the other hand, often takes time and treatment before improving. Those who suffer from depression are plagued with “persistent, unwavering sadness and feelings of worthlessness that lasts for 2 or more weeks”, and often time symptoms will not improve without treatment and time.
Perpetuates Stigma and Stereotypes of Mental Illness
In our society, mental illness is highly stigmatized and each illness have numerous stereotypes associated with it, and this stigma is perpetuated through the use of these illnesses as adjectives. Mental illnesses are highly complex, and often times can manifest themselves differently in different people. By generalizing each illness with certain emotions and behaviors, not only are stereotypes being promoted, but other symptoms are being invalidated. Additionally, using mental illnesses as insults further perpetuates the idea that there is something wrong with mental illness, which can be harmful to those who suffer from them.
Challenges the Validity/Severity of Mental Illness
According to Web MD, a panic attack involves shortness of breath, racing heart, chest pain, shaking, a choking feeling and nausea. People who suffer from panic attacks have stated they feel “as if you are having a heart attack and losing control of everything”. So when people say they have a panic attack over missing a premier of their favorite show, or when they cant find their keys, it challenges the severity of a true panic attacks and questions the validity of the disease.
Reflection: I tried to make this piece engaging by adding different types of evidence and explanations for my argument. I think breaking apart the argument helped make it more engaging and clear for the reader, as well as easier to follow.
Maddie McGregor