Growing up the way I have has exposed me to a wide variety of situations that have altered who I am solely because of how negatively they initially impacted my life. I have many close friends who have also gone through similar situations, but obviously, not everyone sees things the same way and all I can do is share my own encounters. Both good and bad experiences can develop a person, but it is my opinion that I have learned an incomparable amount from my negative experiences as opposed to my positive ones. I would go to the extent of saying they changed how I think and function in every moment of my life, I would not be who I am today if I had somehow shirked one single negative event.
While I drowned in the waves of the
more burdening issues from my past, namely that of my abusive ex, there were
many times when I questioned whether I perceived my situation accurately; was
it really as bad as it felt? Or was it simply an overreaction to a common issue
in life, one that everyone just deals with? Was I just expecting more than
everyone else? It was much later on in my life that I discovered what sort of
role my anxiety played in my day to day trials and how that affects my
perception (evidently, once an internal issue such as anxiety becomes enlarged
you’re bound to notice it more, just like a tumor). Even so, before I knew
about the extent of my disorder and how to accurately label it, I experienced
what’s known in the psychological sphere as “med student syndrome”. In a
nutshell, this concept is an affliction of the educated population to diagnose
oneself with serious psychological disorders by acknowledging seemingly
relevant symptoms within oneself. It was around that time that I started learning
more about the variety and weight of psychological disorders; before I met my
ex, I had only heard of schizophrenia in passing; I never understood what it
really meant and how it could affect a person. After many mixed messages and
improper web-based self-teaching, I started thinking too much about what was
wrong with me than what was right. Egged on by his constant berating, I
questioned everything about myself and why I couldn’t fit in to the schema
rather than questioning the schema itself. Eventually I convinced myself that I
was borderline “crazy”, and that nothing could change it no matter how I tried.
The stigma associated with
psychological disorders is one of the unhealthiest parts of the diagnoses
process. In the past, before psychology became a dignified field of study and
before our society reached the level of knowledge that we have attained in this
day and age, being “crazy” was incurable. Without a doubt, treatments were
sought for those afflicted by these disorders; however, the options included
ancient shock treatments, bloodletting, emetics, exorcisms, certain tortures
including beating and stoning, and more commonly abandonment or exile simply
because no effective alternative could be found at that time. With advancements
in research capabilities and modern medical knowledge, these options are no
longer necessary and these disorders can be properly accommodated in a humane
and respectable way. Mental illness, like other illnesses, should not be an
inclusive determination of one’s character.
Psychological disorders should not
be spurned, especially not by those who don’t understand it. People don’t
degrade those with other serious illnesses by labeling them with derogatory
terms or social treatments. People don’t look down their noses and say “why
don’t you just get better” to people with cancer or other serious illnesses.
Psychological disorders are illnesses of the mind, just as cancer, AIDS, and
heart disease are illnesses of the body. Telling people to “stop moping”, “stop
faking”, or to “get over it” is not an acceptable way of addressing these
issues, by any standard.
Once my personal judgment became
unclouded regarding the problems I faced, it was clear to me that society’s
perception of mental illness was grossly misinformed and the willingness to
throw around terms without knowing what they mean was far too prevalent. Everyone
can feel depressed or anxious or unstable at times, but that does not define a diagnosis.
The differences between mental illnesses, even different kinds of the same
illness, are immeasurable and each diagnoses consists of a wide variety of
symptoms, all of which can usually be interchangeable. Not every person
experiences mental illness in the same way, and by no means is a diagnosis
exhaustive. In addition, people who are not doctors should not make any kind of
diagnosis of someone else or themselves. People who aren’t doctors don’t really
have a right to label you with anything, illness or otherwise. Personal
infliction with poisoned connotations of mental illness also should not be
applied. If you feel like you need help, if you suspect yourself of having such
issues then seeing a professional is a must. Don’t become misinformed and don’t
let the negative feeling linger. There is a solution. It just takes being open
to help and rejecting negative social stimulation.
