Stop glorifying anxiety.

“Anxiety queen,” “Anxiety since birth,” “High-anxiety,” “Low power mode,” “Oops, I’m sad again,” “2% girl 98% anxiety,” “Anxiety club.”

Okay, I’m tired of it. I’m tired of looking around and seeing disturbingly “cute” posters or phone cases, screensavers or stickers that glorify anxiety. I’m tired of the jokes that seem to be “relatable,” but are actually quite serious.

Stop glorifying anxiety.

To be able to be optimistic about mental illness is a great thing. It is important, more than anything. I am a huge believer in positive psychology, and if being humorous or comical is what is going to get you through your day, then more power to you. Do not get me wrong, I also try to make light about my anxiety here and there to my friends to try to get me through bad times.

But…

I am working hard to overcome my anxiety in time and to ignore the triggers around me. For people like me, seeing these unsettling quotes makes our stomachs churn. On behalf of the people who suffer from anxiety, it is not fun, we are not proud of anxiety, and we do not want anxiety.

Stop glorifying anxiety.

I love a colorful background and funky font, but is it truly necessary to mock a human variation that can cripple lives? Stickers and phone cases are an advertisement for our personalities, and I can only imagine my fellow anxious humans do not want anxiety to label or define them.

Stop glorifying anxiety.

It reminds me of the popular "boy who cried wolf" story. If you joke about your disability, there is going to become a point in which people will not believe that it is as serious as it actually is. I am a strong advocate for opening up conversations about mental health.

I also believe that it is important to talk about your feelings rather than bottle them up, an act that took me years to realize. However, I do not think glorifying anxiety is the answer to anything.

So, stop glorifying anxiety.