Dear society, let's have a little talk.
Michelle Obama once said: "At the root of this dilemma is the way we view mental health in this country. Whether an illness affects your heart, your leg or your brain, it's still an illness and there should be no distinction."
So a lot of people seem to romanticize mental illness. On the other hand, so many people have this stigma about it, some people seem to think it is something that can be controlled. As a person who has to live with both bipolar and anxiety let me tell you that it is offensive when you romanticize it because it is not cute, no mental illness is, it is not something to make cute or adore or want. That being said, it is also not something you can control. Hearing "oh just snap out of it, you have nothing to be sad about" or "just get out of bed" and the worst "why are you being so moody" these do not help. In fact, they just make the situation worse. It is not a cure and will not get me out of my mood or out of bed. Anxiety is not just shyness, bipolar is not just you being moody. One of these is bad enough , but dealing with both is a constant battle and nobody living with them appreciates you telling them to snap out of it or making something they suffer from everyday and struggle with seem cute, that just makes the stigma even worse and their goal to be taken seriously even harder. No mental illness is not fun, feeling like your drowning and have no way out is not fun, no it is not okay to act like you have it and act like it's some sweet and amazing thing. No it is not something we can control and people need to understand that. And another thing, people need to stop knocking people who take medication because to many people taking those medications can literally mean the difference between life and death, the difference between being able to function a better (not completely but much better than if they were not taking them) and being unable to even get out of bed. Nobody wants to have to take these ,and constantly seeing people talk down on taking them ,just makes it worse. No fresh air does not cure mental illness, and those who suffer do not want to hear your know it all, I'm better than you opinion. No, nobody wants to listen to you and your douchey comments so keep them to yourself. So hopefully you learned something.
Thank you.
-The girl who is sick of putting up with the shitty stigmas of society on mental illness.
