Let me just begin by saying I’m sorry to all those with a mental illness. I'm sorry that you were dealt this hand in life, I cannot even fathom what it must be like to be at war inside your own head on a regular basis.

Secondly, I would like to continue to apologize. I’m apologizing because you are suffering about means far beyond your control, and what used to be regarded with a negative stigma has now been transformed into a fashion and a market base.

Having anxiety and depression has now become a fad, and that is a testament to how truly desperate the millennial generation—of which I am a part—is for attention. Mental illnesses are not trendy, they are also not self-diagnosable.

To all of those who think they have a mental illness because they’re upset over a bad day or nervous about a test, let me shed some light on what it really means to have a mental illness. Social anxiety is not some nervous butterflies in your stomach at a party; it is a crippling fear of speaking to new people out of fear of judgment, among other things. Anxiety is not having a few weeks of stress because of finals or whatever may be going on in your life; anxiety is having regular panic attacks because you are so terrified of what scenario you face, even if it is a routine thing.

Here’s another tidbit of valuable knowledge, panic attacks can happen to people who are not mentally ill. Panic attacks can be triggered by an overwhelming amount of stress, and two in five people in the U.S experience them in their lifetime that are not diagnosed as mentally ill. So just to clarify, just because you are little stressed out doesn’t give you self-proclaimed permission to eat Xanax like Pez. Don’t you dare self-diagnose yourself because realistically you have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.

Secondly, newsflash: depression is not being sad after a bad day. Depression is battle of emotions. Depression is trying tirelessly to be happy about anything and your body just rejects you, forcing you into a dark, numb void where sunlight burns you.

Also, those with depression tend not to advertise the fact that they have depression. Making stupid decisions and drinking or drugging up your life and wasting it cannot be excused by saying “Oh, uh, I’m depressed.” Like shut up, no you’re not.

Since one of the few talents of our generation is our ability to get press for things we know absolutely nothing about, I would like to address the articles that attempt to teach the public how to “deal” with those with mental illness. That’s disgusting. “Dealing” with someone with a mental illness is the same as “dealing” with a person who has a perfectly normal brain. Learn about the person, get to know them, and go from there, there is no right or wrong way to take on a mental illness, it is all situational, like so much else in life.

I would also like to reiterate the fact that those with mental illness are not weak. If anything, they are the strongest individuals on this planet. They are the warriors of the subconscious, just as the military are the warriors of our country. They are not victims and they are not there to be taken advantage of and used as an excuse.

Why must every aspect of personality be categorized and exploited? Why does our generation yearn to be the generation with the most problems? As if we didn’t have enough already, we are now making ourselves into the victims through something as ludicrous as social media. Social media was meant as a method of connecting and networking, yet is has transformed into yet another platform on which people beg for attention. If you want attention, a slutty picture will suffice.

To all of you who have a doctor-diagnosed mental illness, please accept my sincerest apology on behalf of all us who actually understand the battle you fight every day. I urge you to keep fighting because you are so loved, and whoever you are, I am proud of you.

To those who feel like shit after reading this article,

good.

Because you should.