The 'A' Word
The 'A' Word
A is for anxiety.
I have read several social media posts following the same lines today. That, and I quote, 'the amount of people who say they have anxiety these days is ridiculous, it's become a trend'. Evidently whoever has been posting these comments have never suffered with mental illness as if they had they would know anxiety and depression are anything but a choice. The number of people who suffer in silence until it becomes too late is surely proof of this.
Don't get me wrong I can see why people could think this, the number of times at sixth form I heard 'I have anxiety' as an excuse to get out of something or other is baffling. Facts show that in recent years the number of clinical anxiety and depression cases have risen, whether this be due to the fact there is less stigma than in the past to speak out, or the pressue of modern trends and attitudes along with the ever bearing presence of the media, it is still no excuse to speak about such a debilitating condition in such a way. It is not a colour or style, anxiety is not like flared jeans, it does not simply come and go out of fashion. Although I'm sure most people who suffer with it wish it did.
I don't tend to talk about my experience with anxiety. Although much more is known about it and it is more widely spoken about, it is still somewhat a taboo. Even now, after suffering from it since I was 8 it is not something I feel confident talking about. I suppose I still fear that people will think I'm 'crazy' or 'mental', which makes calling it a trend even more ridiculous as why would people willingly want to feel that way?
For me it all started when I moved away from my childhood home, after that came bullying and my self esteem plummeted. I won't go in to detail but the following years were filled with severe anxiety meaning I couldn't go to school or do the 'normal' things I was supposed to, depression where at the age of 15 I seriously contemplated taking my own life, agoraphobia meaning I didn't leave the safety of my house for weeks on end and the most horrendous debilitating panic attacks that meant my mum had to sleep next to me every night to stop my violent shaking. I spent months in and out of the doctors, hospitals, CBT, counselling and even hypnotherapy. In the end the doctors kind of gave up on me and at the age of 12 I was sent off with a box of anti-depressents.
Things are a billion times better now but to me, to call anxiety a 'trend' belittles everyone who lives with it. I would have, and still would do anything to not have to live with it, there is no choice in it, you can't pick it up when you feel like it. There are ignorant people who use it to their advantage, but to generalise an illness of such a wide spectrum is obtuse. It may not be something everyone likes to hear or read about but for a lot of people it was what their life revolves around, and hey, it's my blog so I can write about what I want to!
Please just think carefully before you speak, there are a lot of people fighting a battle you know nothing about!