Mental health awareness has become a popular topic for the younger generations. More and more people are recognizing that anxiety is so common among their peers, becoming an important virtue to recognize the struggles of mental illness. While this is a great movement that destroys the nasty stigma of mental illness, there is little discussion of the darker side that not many know of. Extreme anxiety and depression, bipolar disorder, and various psychotic disorders name a few of the many mental health issues rarely discussed when awareness is being spread.
Being diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder at 16 was an easy pill to swallow because I had desperately been looking for an answer. I suffered daily from manic episodes, disassociation, and panic attacks that were leading me down a suicidal path. Now, I was familiar with the anxiety of ordering for myself or feeling like I just wanted to stay in bed all day, but my anxiety had grown to be something more sinister. Sometimes I came home and wanted to crawl out of my skin and hang myself up, I was drowning in what seemed like a very treatable disease.
The voices in my head, the urges to hurt myself and to unleash my frustration on everyone around me was never shone the light and support it needed. “I mean, it’s not like I hear voices in my head or something,” Others would remark, and I felt discouraged to speak up. The whispers that echoed in my troubled mind and an uncontrollable anger were two side effects of anxiety that no one liked to talk about. In fact, I could only think of those suffering from schizophrenia, bipolar, and other extreme mental disorders that may cause them to feel invalid in the mental health community.
Bipolar disorder is the most expensive mental illness to date, costing more than twice as much as depression per affected individual. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims, “For every dollar allocated to outpatient care for persons with bipolar disorder, $1.80 is spent on inpatient care, suggesting early intervention and improved prevention management could decrease the financial impact of this illness.” With many young Americans struggling to receive proper health care and health services, those with a condition like bipolar will face even greater challenges due to being untreated. Bipolar disorder has symptoms that can be almost debilitating at times: “Unrestrained, or irritable mood, sleeplessness, racing thoughts, pressured speech, and the tendency to engage in activities which appear pleasurable, but have a high potential for adverse consequences”.
Drug usage “places youth at risk of psychotic disorders,” and “depression, anxiety, and substance abuse” can be underlying signs of psychotic disorder. Schizophrenia, the most notable psychotic disorder, “has hallmark symptoms of delusions – which are false beliefs – and hallucinations – which are hearing and/or seeing sensory information which is not actually present and is not apparent to others." Writer Susan Scutti said in her article over schizophrenia for Medical Daily, “Doctors treating patients usually aim to help them break what many people with schizophrenia experience: cycles of episode-hospitalization-discharge-relapse.” Psychotic disorders can “sometimes be brief, lacking in hallucinations, or may be the result of a head injury." One out of 10 people struggling with psychotic disorders will take their own life, a fact that has left the discussion of mental health awareness. Sometimes when we see tragedies being committed by those with extreme mental illness, we often place a stigma on those struggling with the same illness.
Anxiety and depression can ultimately be as dangerous to one's health as any other mental issue, however there are significant factors within these extreme illnesses that need more support. Powerful allies are essential in finally scraping away the final bits of stigma on mental illness. If you know someone struggling with receiving proper medical treatment and care for their mental illness, or know someone coping with a psychotic or bipolar disorder, remind them that there are supporters out there who can understand and make the burden of mental illness easier one step at a time.
