One in eight people around the globe live with mental health conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.
Depression is a war. You wake up every day and go to battle. Depression clouds your judgment. Depression tells you that you are worthless and that no one cares about you. Depression convinces you that there is no point lasting another day. Depression tells you that you are helpless and hopeless, and the world would be better off without you. It tells you that you are not deserving of good things. Depression convinces you that you are a failure and in extreme cases, it convinces you that ending your life would be a welcome relief.
Anxiety is one of the most common psychiatric disorders on the planet. While millions of people received formal diagnoses for anxiety disorders, there are undoubtedly many more who have never been diagnosed. Anxiety symptoms are also very common. Many people experience these without meeting the criteria for a full-blown anxiety disorder.
Wouldn’t it be great if we could just tell a depressed person that none of that is true? What if we could tell an anxious person they have nothing to be anxious about. To convince them that there is so much to live for? To make them see how so many people in this world have it so much worse than them or their anxiety is in their head.
Statements like these don’t take into consideration that people with depression cannot make it go away by simply “cheering up” or using will power. Anxiety doesn’t go away by telling someone to “calm down” or to “stop being so anxious.” When it comes to mental health, we are profoundly deficient and sorely lacking in understanding.
If you or someone you love is struggling with your mental health, please seek help. Asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness. You don’t have to fight this alone.
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