It is getting quite aggravating recently when more and more news and studies tell of tens millions of people affected by mental illness, just because they have some negative feeling. I don’t get where all this is coming from, really except the modern fetish for victim mentality. If you do not fell you have oppression brownie points, you can easily claim mental illness. The multi-billion dollar industry behind mental illness does not improve the situation either.
Honestly, there is probably more to do with the modern view that everyone should be so damn happy all the time. People should not be expected to be permanently cheerful. It is not how the human brain works. Sometimes there are negative emotions, sadness, anger, anxiety, and stress. It is normal. It happens. It is not mental illness. It is just life.
In fact sometimes I wish some people would stop being so damn cheerful all the time. It is suspicious. You can’t trust someone who always seems happy. Must be hiding something. Think about it.
There was a Guardian article which claimed up to a third of UK high schoolers have mental health issues. This meant things they disliked happened, or they were occasionally bored or unhappy, or their expectations were not being met. You know they were teenagers. Since when the hell is that mental illness?
Another article gave eating poorly, procrastinating, being tired, or lacking in focus as a list of signs of mental health problems for students. If those are not normal characteristics of university students, I don’t know what are.
Kids with all sorts of disorders are often bored or just being kids. I mean given the state of education, is quite understandable that young people are bored, stressed and confused. It would be strange if they weren’t. Ritalin will not fix this.
People these days are constantly given lists of potential issues and are bombarded with advice, tips for mental well-being. This may lead you to think you actually have a problem. Wow I have those symptoms. Wow so many people have issues, why not me?
People are constantly told they have mental illness, they start to believe it. And this is not good. People are being told that negative feelings are abnormal. This is not good. I get that modern life can be stressful for many. I get that stress and anxiety are bad. But they are part of life, and must be managed like many other issues that appear.
It’s great being happy. But that does not mean being giddy every day. If you are truly not happy, there is a distinct possibility that you should change something in your life. Not pop a pill.
Mental health is very important. And it should not be trivialized. If everything is a problem then nothing is, to paraphrase. Some people do have genuine problems and need help, and it does no good for them to be lost in a mass of the pseudo ill.
Sometimes one must work out his own normal, human, internal issues. I do not mean never talk about stuff or seek help. But you cannot get help for everything. Sometimes you just need to get a bit of introspection. Think about things. Figure them out. By yourself, without expecting external intervention. Not with pills, psychiatrists or support groups.
Or, if you are feeling down, do what I do. Drink more. Also, I heard good things about weed.
Note: panda images were google image searched