Mental illness misconceptions need true definitions

It’s a similar scene played out in classrooms all over the world. A student has over-prepared for an exam, crammed flash cards and reviewed notes for 48 consecutive hours.

Ever since this student was little, every time the spotlight was on them or they were in a high-pressure situation, they folded. They failed.

In some cases this person just lacks confidence, but as modern medicine and the study of the human psyche evolves, so does society’s understanding that this student has a legitimate condition. They battle anxiety.

As a mental illness, anxiety is highly misunderstood. According to the Mayo Clinic, people with anxiety “frequently have intense, excessive and persistent worry and fear about everyday situations.”

As with many other mental illnesses, anxiety is not a problem until it becomes chronic and affects everyday activities. According to a study conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety is diagnosed when a person has excessive worries about everyday problems for six months.

People with anxiety often avoid everyday activities and loose interest in their hobbies. Anxiety is not just an uncomfortable feeling, but an urgent feeling of danger when performing daily tasks.

The Mayo Clinic lists the symptoms as, but not limited to: persistent worrying, inability to let go of worry or to relax, and obsessing over the most negative possible outcomes. Physical symptoms include: fatigue, muscle tension, sweating, trouble sleeping, and headaches.

Depression:

Coming home in a bad mood is normal. Being upset from time to time is normal. Wanting space and time alone is normal. But hopeless, taunting sadness and unsubsiding pain is not normal.

While many think that depression is just a case of the blues, it is much more than that. Depression is defined by teenmentalhealth.org as, “a dysregulation of the brain function that controls emotions (or moods). It is a mood disorder characterized by intense and persistent negative emotions.” Depression is misunderstood and undermined; many people have misconceived it as a state of mind that will pass.

Teendepression.org is a website dedicated to educating the general public on depression specifically in teenagers. According to data provided by this website, about 20 percent of teens will experience depression before reaching adulthood. Counselor Kirstin Gregg explains what she sees as part of her profession, “people who are depressed have a difficult time finding joy in their life”.

Depression is extremely detrimental to everyday life. “If you are unable to go through your day and get things done and find joy in life, that’s a problem” says Gregg. It makes normal activities much more difficult and exhausting. Symptoms of depression include, but are not limited to: persistent sadness, empty feelings, intense pessimism, loss of interest in hobbies, fatigue, overeating/appetite loss, and thoughts of suicide.

OCD:

Double-checked and the iron is definitely off, she thought.

Triple checked.

Turn it on and off again, just to be make sure.

The iron is off, but the inevitable urge to check again remains. It’s not right.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a mental illness that must be split into two parts to be understood; the obsession and the compulsion make up the illness as a whole. The first part, the obsession, is defined by teenmentalhealth.org as “persistent, intrusive and unwanted thoughts, images or impulses (urges).” The second part, the compulsion, is an uncontrollable desire to carry out these actions.

OCD of one person cannot be fully understood by another because it is specific to the individual. Gregg explains her perception of the illness as “obsessions that you feel that you have to do in order to take control of your life.” People with OCD often find small things to worry about, such as obsessing over pen strokes or number patterns. They also have rituals which they must perform no matter what.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 2 percent (1 out of every 40 people) will be diagnosed with OCD throughout their lives. Although this may seem like a small percent of the population, many go undiagnosed. About 60 percent of adults with a mental illness and 50 percent of youth have gone untreated.