"My friend had anxiety and he was behaving weirdly, breathing heavily and crying for no reason. I just gave him one slap saying there’s no such thing as anxiety, it’s all in your head, just be normal now.” This was just a typical conversation someone was overheard having.
This kind of thinking can be very dangerous. The person who underwent an anxiety attack episode will feel like they are not normal; they will feel aloof from everyone, and henceforth, not express it to anybody else.
People tend to turn an ignorant eye towards mental health issues. In India, the gravity of this issue is seen as very low. Mental health illnesses are called many things like laziness, carelessness, drama, but not a disease.
“You need to go out more, hang out with friends”
“You have food, shelter, and a job, then why are you always so sad?”
“Going for a walk will make you feel better”, etc are common remedies provided for depression. The truth is that these suggestions don’t always help.
The stereotypes in society do not help either. If one visits a therapist, they are tagged as weak, emotional or just crazy. These are just assumptions. The older generation has a standpoint that all these are modern gimmicks.
They say, “Earlier, we never had these issues. You people create new things because it is trending.” Well, that is simply not true. A mental affliction called melancholia was first formally identified during the late 18th century, its symptoms being depression and mood disorders. Therefore, it is not some new phenomenon.
Signs That We Should Worry About
You rack your brains. You do not understand what is happening to you. You ask yourself for explanations, but in vain. Sometimes, people do not even know if they are depressed. At certain times, you feel like you are making stuff up and you can be fine, but you never feel normal.
You find no reason to get up from bed every morning. Depression does not have to mean sadness. It feels like you are in an emotional loop and cannot get out of it. It feels like the darkness will eventually engulf you and there is no escape.
There are various reasons to be depressed, and sometimes, there is no reason. People suffering from midlife crises, existential crises experience it.
Due to lack of proper education and awareness about the issue, people do not recognise that they are going through an illness. They keep blaming themselves, which in turn increases the stress.
Anxiety is often taken very lightly. You are always sad or freaking out, panicking, getting angry for no reason. You feel breathless, helpless, sometimes crying the whole day, or wanting to cry, but the tears refuse to come.
It’s just a sinking feeling and nothing seems alright. Nothing is ever going to be alright. There is no purpose in your life. You will not be happy in a relationship, you will not be happy even if you are single. You are in a constant state of agony.
The pain does not go anywhere. Somewhere, you hold on to that pain. There comes a stage when that pain keeps you going. You need that pain and cannot let it go. It becomes like a drug. You do not want yourself to be happy; it puts you in more agony.
You wonder what is wrong with happiness… Why do I not want it? The answer is that it does not last. It goes away soon and it takes away whatever hope that little happiness had brought into your life.
You are so anxious that your anxiety is causing trouble to your loved ones. You feel you do not have anyone and fail to see the people who try to help you. You feel that you do not need anybody, people just disappoint you.
There was never another way. It is certain that people disappoint, but there is no other alternative to that. People are all we have. However, you hold on to the negative aspect of it. You cannot imagine getting happiness from anything in life.
A person with social anxiety disorder has to struggle their whole life. They are scared of social interactions. Interacting with people is a difficult task for them as they feel insecure of the crowd and are afraid of being judged. When put in such situations they might experience hot flushes, sweating, breathing heavily etc.
Stress eating is a pattern found often in people suffering from depression and anxiety. You think eating helps while you are low, which leads to obesity, self-loathing your body and suffering from low esteem. There are some comfort foods or alcohol, which people turn to during stress.
Apparently, the adrenal gland releases a hormone called cortisol, which motivates us to eat food in response to a stress episode. After eating, the cortisol level may fall, but the stress level does not.
If you have experienced a certain trauma in the past, it revisits you, even if you avoid thinking about it. Your childhood trauma can be triggered after listening to a particular song, visiting a specific place or coming across a particular person.
You are grieving a loved one’s death and it is affecting your day-to-day life. You just cannot go back to your normal life. The grief does not give you closure and affects your decisions.
You had clear imaginations earlier, now you cannot settle at a single thing. Your mind wanders. You want to be heard, but you cannot find the right person. You are afraid they will not understand.
Insomnia a sleep disorder can cause anxiety and depression or vice versa. You cannot function properly without proper sleep. It leads to irritability, mood changes, and difficulty concentrating.
Even overthinking may lead to depression, insomnia and other issues. However hard you try, you cannot shrug off those thoughts, which keep you awake at night. It disrupts your sleep pattern, sometimes it also causes panic attacks.
Some Mental Health Books That Can Help
Extreme highs and lows in mood, suicidal tendencies, hallucinations, changes in sex drive etc. are some signs. Timely action is required. People do not take these symptoms seriously until the last moment.
Educating the masses and spreading awareness about mental health issues should be a priority. The support of family and friends is definitely beneficial. As the world is falling apart due to a pandemic, hatred, war and a looming climate crisis, we can only survive by being there for each other.
Here are some books, which can help, especially people who find solace in books:
We Make the Beast Beautiful, A New Journey Through Anxiety, by Sarah Wilson.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, by Lori Gottlieb.
Young Mental Health: Mindscape Series, by Amrita Tripathi and Meera Alva.
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, by Robin Sharma.
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This article is published on www.youthkiawaaz.com
https://www.youthkiawaaz.com/2022/04/signs-of-mental-health-issues-you-should-not-ignore
