Anxiety and depression affect nearly 15 million people in the US. The more you know...
And... anxiety and depression are only two of dozens of diagnosable mental disorders, including multiple types of bipolar disorder, anorexia, bulimia and mood disorder. The more you know...
But did you know that laughter has all of the following benefits to counteract those disorders: physical, cognitive, emotional and social? The more you know...
Why am I saying all of this? Because the more you know, especially about yourself, the more you can deal with life’s curveballs and everyday trials.
In terms of mental disorders, I have that last one mentioned above: a mood disorder. It's tough to explain: it’s not depression, bipolar disorder or bipolar depression. It's a rough mix of a chemical imbalance and the personality I was born with that makes it extremely difficult for me to balance emotions. Sometimes, those emotions can vary drastically from hour to hour. I generally lean toward the sadder emotions and have occasional bouts with anxiety, which is why I was thrown into the depression diagnosis so quickly when I was 18. Now, at 25, I know better; I know more.
I know that many people dismiss most mental illnesses as a weakness. "You need to just try harder." "I don't understand why you can't just be happy; so many people have it worse." "You're just using it as an excuse to get away with laziness." (I've had a best friend give me those first two. She simply didn't know.)
But I also know that most people understand, at the very least, that it's not something you can just "get over," and that it takes a long time to know how to live with it.
And I know that it's no excuse to avoid laughter.
Back in the fall, a new roommate moved in whose personality and sense of humor complement mine very well. After a long period of not being able to look forward to anything, I started looking forward simply to going home, because I knew that if he was there, I would have laughter to look forward to. When my best friend/third roommate is also home? Even better. When we all end up standing in the kitchen for two hours on a Tuesday just talking, laughing and cracking open a couple beers? Even better. Now I'm looking forward to a huge and awesome change in my life, loaded with stress, but that excites me instead of scaring me, because I know that laughter has helped me regain control of my life.
If you ever notice me watching three episodes of Jimmy Fallon in a row, it's not because I watch him regularly and I'm trying to catch up; I'm trying to laugh, because I know that I'm not in a great place and that I need to get myself back to a better one.
I have a mental disorder. I struggle every day with menial tasks. I know that it will never truly be over. But I wake up, I put on a smile and I laugh, because I know that all that positive energy will come back around to me someday. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, or next week, but if I stick with it, someday, it will.
And I use my disorder not as an excuse to give up, but a reason to keep going. In many ways, it’s made me a better, stronger, person. I know when to take a step back and use that time to laugh, not sulk. Trust me, it's taken a long damn time to get here, but if you can figure out how to insert laughter in small ways into your life, if you know yourself, over time you will get here, too. The more you know yourself, the more you can take care of yourself. And in many ways, that means knowing when to laugh.
A mental illness does not have to be debilitating; it is not a weakness, and sometimes all you need to combat it is a good laugh. The more you know...
