Depression. Anxiety.

What do you think of when you hear these words? Who do you think of when you hear them?

The Merriam Webster definition is shown here:

Depression: a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way.

Anxiety: apprehensive uneasiness or nervousness usually over an impending or anticipated ill: a state of being anxious (2): an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physical signs (such as tension, sweating, and increased pulse rate), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it.

Every day I hear people use these terms so loosely, and I cannot stand it. There are people every single day dealing with this medical condition. Sometimes they can’t even get out of bed because of it.

When I over hear someone say, “Gosh, I’ve just had the worst week, I have such bad depression," or something along those lines, I become enraged. Just because you have one bad day in life, it doesn’t mean you have depression. Depression isn’t just a once in a while type of thing-- for those suffering from depression, it’s an everyday battle. Sometimes it is so bad that they can’t even get out of bed. Depression is a completely serious and potentially life threatening disease. The people who are medically diagnosed with depression face an uphill battle every day of their lives. Stop using this term so loosely.You’re taking attention away from those who actually need attention, those who are struggling internally with the real medical diagnosis.

Please, stop using this term so loosely. I know people who have depression, and are suffering every day, and they are sick and tired of hearing people use this medical term like it's nothing. (Depression ranges for every person who has it, but here I’m just trying to make our generation more aware of what they say and the effect it has on people.)

Anxiety is something that shouldn’t be taken lightly either. There are many different levels of anxiety in this world, ranging from once in a while panic attacks, to not being able to get out of bed and on medication. I have an old friend who suffers from anxiety so bad that she checked herself into a self-help clinic. It got so bad that she couldn’t get out of bed and she had turned to self-harm. Anxiety is not a term that should be used lightly, because it is a serious medical condition. Please be more cautious of what words you choose. (Anxiety differs for everyone, but as stated above, I am just trying to make our generation more aware of what they say and the effect it has on people).

Let’s make a change within ourselves and our word choices. Let’s be the generation who make this change a reality.