Anxiety and depression are two words that are tossed around so carelessly in today's society. I wish that it were more clear that there is a difference between being anxious and having anxiety, or being depressed and having depression. Every person on this planet gets anxious or sad relatively often, but that doesn't mean that they have anxiety or depression. These are actual mental health disorders and people using these terms unnecessarily are a big reason why many disregard the illnesses as something less than what they are.
Having anxiety is not just being a worrier, an over-thinker, or getting more nervous than your friends before a test. It is a disorder that is completely debilitating and out of control. It's finishing a conversation and immediately rethinking everything you said and convincing yourself that you said all of the wrong things or offended someone. It's replaying a scenario that occurred earlier in the day and tearing yourself to shreds about something you did or said, not realizing the other person probably didn't think twice about it. It's taking the smallest situation possible and letting it escalate in your mind to the point where you can't calm yourself down. It's getting more anxious about why you're feeling anxious for no reason. It's being sore the next day from being so tense and procrastinating on all the things you need to get done because you're too nervous to get started. While all of these may seem like normal parts of life, they are taken to extremes in a person with an anxiety disorder. They are controlling thoughts that debilitate us until we start having a full-blown panic attack. Sometimes the only way to overcome a panic attack is to get reassurance from someone else that everything is going to be okay and there's nothing to be worried about or that you didn't do anything wrong.
Depression is different than just sadness. In fact, I wouldn't consider it to be just sadness at all. It's having a mental breakdown for no reason and crying uncontrollably. It's not being able to get out of bed no matter how hard you try, and then just wanting to be alone. It's feeling completely hopeless and constantly wondering if you will ever feel normal again. It's wondering why you feel the way you do because you can't think of anything that's bothering you.
Depression and anxiety are misunderstood by most. In fact, unless you have studied the disorders in depth or have one yourself, I don't think they can be understood at all. Many people believe medication is unnecessary for a person with anxiety or depression because they think there are other ways to cope with their illness. While this is true to some extent, medication provides relief that no coping mechanism ever will. We use our coping skills when we are already in a panic or depressed moments. Medication helps prevent these attacks from occurring. Until someone understands what it is like to have a mental health disorder, they won't understand the need to take medication. It isn't always understood that mental health disorders are a result of neurotransmitter imbalances in the brain. These aren't just people who can't handle a bad day.
The point that I am trying to make is that anxiety and depression are real illnesses that affect real people and they aren't words that should be used lightly. With that being said, those who suffer from these disorders are fantastic people. It's often unnoticeable from the outside that they even have a mental illness. Awareness needs to be spread about anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders so that they are respected and treated accordingly.
