Let's face it, when it comes to mental illness, there's an attitude projected by society that they aren't "as real" as physical illnesses. Because of this, many people who are suffering choose to hide their pain in fear of being ridiculed. On top of being told "It's all in your head," those with mental illnesses are often subject to hearing their illness used as an everyday adjective. If 1 in 4 adults suffer from a mental illness, why are they treated as a joke in everyday banter? Let's take a look at what it would sound like if we flipped the mentality and started using physical illnesses as adjectives instead.
1. "Man, I am exhausted, I am feeling very cancerous today."
Fatalities due to cancer have been on the rise. In the most recent years, cancer has begun to surpass cardiovascular disease as the #1 killer. It includes awful symptoms including exhaustion, weakness, and in many cases, hair loss with treatment. But ask yourself this, have you ever gone a day without being tired? Or even felt a little weak? Sounds pretty cancerous to me.
2. "I've never been this thirsty before! I could drink a lake, I am such a diabetic today."
Diabetes is serious health problem affecting every 1 in 11 adults. Common symptoms include but are not limited to: thirst, hunger, blurred vision, exhaustion and frequent urination. Honestly, though, have you ever gone an entire day without a hunger pain or two? Maybe filled up your water bottle an extra time? That's about as diabetic as it gets.
3. "I have been forgetting everything lately, I am basically the face of Alzheimer's."
Let that one sink in for a moment. Alzheimer's currently affects more than 5 million people and is on the rise. It is a disease that wipes away all of your memories and changes the way you act. It heavily affects the family as they have to watch their loved one deteriorate. But now, it's simply another way to express how forgetful we are. We've all been there though, I mean, who hasn't forgotten what they ate for breakfast? If this is the case, then we're all probably the faces of Alzheimer's.
4. "After all of that writing, my hand has never felt more arthritic than it does now!"
By 2040, more than 78 million adults will have a different type of arthritis. Arthritis is debilitating in a sense that it prevents people from being able to do normal, daily activities. But if you really think about it, it's probably just a little bit of over-dramatized pain. Am I right??
5. "Man, those stairs killed me, I've never felt so asthmatic before in my life!"
Around 300 million people are affected by asthma and those numbers only continue to grow. Asthma has led to many unnecessary deaths in both adults and children. It limits physical activity, makes it hard to breathe at times and to make it worse, there is no cure. Seriously, though, we all get a little winded sometimes, so you could look at it as survival of the fittest. Those without an inhaler are truthfully the toughest.
Pretty offensive, right? My only hope is that you now think twice before rambling off that you're so "depressed" because you got a C on your chemistry exam, or how you're "so OCD" for matching your notebook and folder colors. Illnesses such as depression, OCD, eating disorders and generalized anxiety disorder are just a few of the hidden mental illness that are belittled each day. Each illness is debilitating in its own way, often from preventing the individual from getting out of bed, showering, socializing, or doing something you probably don't think twice about; like eating three meals a day or even washing your hands for the proper amount of time. Let's stop the ignorance and think twice before we compare our everyday feelings to someone's everyday suffering.
