Mental Health as an Accessory.

Explosions erupting all round, the central nervous system kicks in, this must be battle. The physical feeling of impending conflict, its fight or flight. The worst part, the mind knows, the conscious intellect reminds the physically-stimulated body that things are OK and this is not a "battle."

It is the body's familiarity with explosions associated with impending death of self or loved ones that a soldier must endure while children run around laughing and a father with beer in hand lights another one.

Light it up Johnny!

This is what the Fourth of July might mean to those who served so we could celebrate. This is PTSD as reported to me and this is what America tends to forget.

However, the blanket way in which we refer to mental health has become an overlooked nuance.

"I was anxious last night." Much different than, "I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder."

"I was feeling depressed." Much different than being sad.

"He's schizo." Much different than, "He tends to overreact."

The way in which we use our words seems to lose their meaning the more we use them. Just this last week a tweet from the President of the United States used the word, "lit" to describe a successful week. A damnation for it's street cred, "lit" will soon rest in the graveyard of other words like, "bling" and "wack."

Mental health is different however, to overuse a diagnostic term would be like saying you have cancer when you have a cough, or saying your leg is broke when it hurts. People tend to overreact initially, but overtime it just loses its significance for the person saying it and everybody else. Much like the boy who cried wolf, the world no longer taking the time to respond to something our grandparents would have stopped their world to understand.

That soldier from war, that mom who escaped an abusive situation, that cowering child in the corner of the playground, all representing symptoms, all indicative of the depth to which a diagnosis roots.

Major Depressive Disorder is not just an acute emotion, but a set of criteria. It does involve emotions, however to feel, "depressed" or, "sad" is not the same as a diagnosis and therefore to use words interchangeably like a pizza and flat bread (however their is flatbread pizza) is misrepresenting Major Depressive Disorder. Over time a numbness ensues where the generation behind us will no longer have a proper way to get treatment.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is another one, for I have this diagnosis and many of the criteria are felt by all at any given time. Feeling anxious at times, a good thing. Without it, we might not get out of bed in the morning. Getting excited and anxious are one in the same, we just don't want to be excited when we are sitting on the couch or trying to go to sleep. However, it does not mean that because I drank three energy drinks in an hour and am now contemplating my place in life, that I have Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Other mental health symptoms we all experience, which is why it is so important to differentiate between mental health, and diagnosis. A diagnosis involved symptoms, criteria, and when you are evaluated by a clinician of the proper credentials and experience to have a certain number of reported symptoms based on questions to indicate authenticity and understanding, then you can receive a true Mental Health diagnosis. Now, certain symptoms like sadness, apathy, feeling tired, those too are symptoms, however might not qualify for an actual diagnosis, a significant difference.

OK, so when or if we receive a mental health diagnosis, do we then use it as an excuse as to why life is not going the way we want? Or does that mean we have something to be aware of, to work on? Does it allow us to fault or does it mean we have to work harder to overcome? This part depends on you, but also how society treats mental health in general.

Still, there remains a stigma to a Mental Health diagnosis, and unfortunately the route of making it common also has its consequences, involving complacency. Mental health is something significant and if you feel you might have something significant to get addressed, then I suggest you see a professional to help you cope and learn about your illness.

As for the rest of us, or I should say you, for I have a diagnosis, you can see that separating them and us, or you and us, is the same a separating you from the kid who broke his leg, or the kid who can't eat gluten. An illness or reported symptoms of the brain are apparent in us all and what our environment exposes us to can either exasperate these symptoms or provide safety enough for a person to work on themselves and be open and vulnerable in the process.

However, to claim depression, anxiety, or any other mental health diagnosis as a feeling you had last night, might be a little too, um, whats the word.....farfetched?

God Bless.

I wrote a book about my mental health symptoms that accumulate into Body Image Disorder, specifically Muscle Dysmorphia, a subcategory of an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. My story is available HERE.