If I were to ask you how you are doing right now, would you tell me that you're stressed? A person who feels pressure from demanding tasks and who puts an immense amount of pressure on themselves has definitely felt the pain of what feels like the weight of the world on their shoulders. With National Stress Awareness Day Approaching on November 4th, it's important to be aware of the stress factors in your life and how to approach them. However, it's also of significant importance to recognize when your mind and body are just stressed, and when you're going through something more.
Some of the closest people in my life are battling a mental illness. In fact, a few are just now identifying as one of the 54 million estimated Americans who suffer from a mental illness in any given year. I interviewed my twin brother Nikolaus back in May about his more recent diagnoses of ADHD and anxiety for Mental Health Awareness Month, and he shared some powerful insights on what it's like to live with a mental illness. This time, I wanted to explore the difference between everyday stress and mental illness.
It's no surprise that some people realize later rather than sooner what they're really up against; there's a huge stigma that surrounds mental illness, which makes it difficult to talk about and accept.
"A lot of people are afraid to see a mental health professional because of how subjective symptoms can be and might feel like their concerns might be trivialized." - Nikolaus G.
As a college student, feeling stressed is sometimes an understatement. There are days when I have so much to do, I can't bring myself to get out of bed for hours. Unfortunately, stress can affect us all, and our bodies, moods and behaviors are compromised. Common effects of stress on your body can include headache, muscular tension, fatigue and sleep problems; common effects on your mood can include anxiety, lack of motivation or focus, anger, sadness and depression; common effects on your behavior can include overeating or under-eating, drug, tobacco, or alcohol abuse and social withdrawal.
According to mentalhealthamerica.net, most people believe that mental health disorders are rare and "happen to someone else". They might try to play it off as just stress. However, when I asked a close friend about the difference between "just stress" and a mental illness, it wasn't something you could just disregard.
"Normal stress is having to take a deep breath and calm yourself. Mental illness is sitting on the bathroom floor at 3 AM not knowing where the bad feelings end and you begin" - Norris G.
"Gauging mental health is tricky. Signs of psychopathology can't be read as easily as one's temperature on a thermometer, or a biomarker from blood work. Many people struggle when distinguishing between normal stress and mental anguish with symptoms that might require professional care." - Nikolaus G.
Some warning signs and symptoms of mental illness in adults, young adults and adolescents include confused thinking, depression, sadness or irritability, feelings of extreme highs and lows, excessive fears, worries and anxieties, social withdrawal, dramatic changes in eating or sleeping habits, strong feelings of anger, substance abuse, growing inability to cope with daily problems and activities and suicidal thoughts.
Notice the similarities and differences listed. Both stress and mental illness included sadness, changes in sleeping and eating habits, substance abuse and feelings of anger, just to name a few. Now I want you to take a look at the language used. You can almost feel the difference between the two. "Excessive". "Dramatic". "Strong". "Growing". It's not something that decides to just show up one day. Everyone has "one of those days" where you're tired, stressed, and don't feel like eating or socializing. Mental illness, however, it lingers and grows.
Note that stress is not always a bad thing. The way I see it, if you're worried and stressed about something, it's because you care about the outcome of it. It is something that will impact you positively or negatively. Of course, too much stress is rarely ever a good thing, and it's important to recognize whether you just need to stop and take a breather, or if it feels like you're suffocating.
"Stress is good, stress is what drives us to be productive members of society. The challenge is knowing the limit- when stress no longer is advantageous." - Nikolaus G.
If I were to ask you how you are doing right now, would you tell me that you're stressed? While stress is not abnormal and is something we all encounter, mental illness is not something to be treated lightly. Knowing the difference between mental illness and stress is the difference between receiving proper care and letting it go. The difference between facing challenges and facing something more. The difference between discussion and silence.
