Panic Attacks
At this point, mental illness sounds great! You cry and people automatically start treating you with love and care. That would be pretty nice if it were that simple. Unfortunately, nothing is simple when it comes to mental illness. A panic attack is more that just crying; it's also having your heart race, your breath quicken, and having the feeling of overall doom. You're worried that you might go insane or not make it out of this attack. The worst part is that you feel as if you have no control over yourself.
Sleepless Nights
As living beings, we all need rest. It gives us time to refresh and recharge. However, with mental illness, your sleep can be seriously affected. Lack of sleep can make a non-mentally ill person grouchy and tired. When a person with a mental illness does not get enough sleep, their mental illness can be amplified and it makes it harder to accomplish everyday tasks. Also, did I mention that mental illness can cause these sleepless nights? There's nothing worse than the defeating feeling of being in a sleepless cycle.
Crying Spells
Crying spells are, in a sense, a cousin to panic attacks. You're not as, well, "panicky." Rather, you start crying for no reason at all. It can be hard when you enter a crying spell because people ask you "what's wrong" and you have no idea how to respond. Like panic attacks, crying spells are accompanied by an overall feeling of dread, but it's not as strong so that you're heart and thoughts start racing.
Isolation
"If only they knew the real me" is something that many people with mental illness think. "If the knew the 'real me' would they still like me?" Many people with mental illness also struggle with that question. Mental illness usually comes with a lot of isolation out of fear that people might think that there's something wrong. This fear probably comes from the stigma that has been drilled into our heads since Day One in that mentally ill people are "crazy" and should be "locked up." Instead of helping people with mental illness be more comfortable with themselves, this stigma hides many beautiful people from society.
Medication
As I mentioned before, there is a certain stigma surrounding people with mental illness. This stigma is especially strong if you happen to be taking medication. There is nothing wrong with taking medication or seeking help. It can be a hard step to take and taking medication on a daily basis is not easy. One could always forget or just not want to take it, however, the point of the medication is to not be a burden, but rather something that can ease the pain. Again, there is nothing wrong with seeking help, in fact, it's a rather brave thing to do.
