Although the origin in unknown, we can all agree that the first to say, "The struggle is real," was probably a college student. Statistically,
almost 60% of college students say they have experienced overwhelming anxiety at some point in their academia. But instead of facing this mental health crisis, many of us are denying it. We read relatable Buzzfeed articles, like this or this, that make anxiety out to be a trivial part of the college experience. We laugh at our own stress, posting statuses saying things like, "I had three exams, two papers, and four assignments this week and I still got a solid two hours of sleep last night," or "mental breakdown to commence in 10 minutes." Instead of acknowledging the state of our mental health, we often suppress our emotions and relate this serious disorder to a punchline.A recent Facebook post has come under fire for shedding light on the topic. Amber Smith, a 22 year old from the U.K, posted a normal photo of herself followed by a photo taken moments after an anxiety attack. Her purpose was to raise awareness of the often overlooked mental disorder.
"I'm so sick of the fact that it's 2016 and there is still so much stigma around mental health. It disgusts me that so many people are so uneducated and judgmental over the topic," she wrote in her post.
What's more surprising than the photo she took are the comments strangers made about it. Dozens of users accused Smith of seeking sympathy or following the "trend" of mental health.
"I've been battling with anxiety and depression for years and years and there's still people that make comments like, 'you'll get over it', 'you don't need tablets, just be happier', 'you're too young to suffer with that,'" she said.
Generalized anxiety disorder, depression, and other mental illnesses have been trivialized to the point that we have become completely unaware of the real struggles other people are going through. I think we've become accustomed to seeing the "normal" side of each other, as Smith explained, that we've either ignored these mental disorders or we view them as weakness.
How are we able to tell someone else that they aren't struggling, or that we have it worse? We don't know what is going on in their head. Everyone has a different normal side we don't see, and mental disorders are different for everyone.
Smith's post opened a dialogue on the topic and gave other sufferers the opportunity to discuss what they go through. Instead of questioning the validity of her illness or further perpetrating the ignorance our society often has about mental health, perhaps its time we recognize the growing issue and support people in our lives who may be struggling.
