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For someone with a history of anxiety and depression, I don’t believe in mental illness. Yes, I think some forms of mental illness exist in extreme cases, but from what I’ve seen in the mental health community, many people use the term “mental illness” as an excuse not to take responsibility for their own behavior. Having a mental health diagnosis can be a crutch.
Here’s what you need to know about mental illness, and why I personally don’t use the term when discussing mental health and wellness.
1. Mental illness sets you up for failure.
“Mental illness” is a medical term used to lump together a particular set of psychosomatic symptoms. If you’ve read my tips on how to heal yourself, you know that I believe that healing from illness is possible. I believe healing from mental illness is possible too.
You see, the term “mental illness” sets people up for failure because it has negativity built into it. How can you focus on healing if you’re constantly thinking about your illness?
The solution? Focus on mental health instead.
I prefer the term “mental health” or “mental hygiene” because this focuses on the positive, and therefore inspires hope.
Mental illness says, “I’m sick.”
Mental health says, “I’m pursuing the best possible version of myself.”
And mental hygiene? Well, I like that term because it says, “I take action to keep myself going in a positive direction. If I get a cavity now and again, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed.”
2. You over-identify with your diagnosis.
Honestly, I don’t think my frustration with the term mental illness has as much to do with what it implies as it does with how much people identify with it. Deep down, people like being sick. It’s familiar and therefore safe and comfortable. The irony is that being sick entails dealing with chronic anxiety and depression, both of which are extremely uncomfortable, yet people put up with these things simply because they’re used to them.
People like being sick because then they get to play the victim. If they’re “sick,” then they don’t have to take responsibility for their thoughts or actions. It’s a lot easier to say, “The bipolar disorder made me do it,” than it is to step up and admit, “Hey, I messed up and deep down, I’m not the person I want to be.”
The solution? Heal your trauma.
A month or two into therapy after getting diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I started getting better, and then I got worse! I became completely and utterly depressed. I didn’t know who I was outside of being hysterical and erratic. Without my illness, I was lost.
My identity was so wrapped up in my illness that when I started healing from it, I was left with just…me.
But who was I?
Who was I without the anxiety, depression, and mood swings?
I didn’t know.
And that was scary.
I self-sabotaged and prolonged my healing process because I wanted to hold onto the familiarity of who I was instead of embracing the unknown of who I was meant to be.
Conclusion
Please don’t misunderstand me. Anxiety is real. Depression is real. Your issues are real. Seek professional help and heal yourself. But also understand that these are all symptoms of a deeper root cause. You can treat the symptoms, but if you don’t treat the root cause, you’ll continue to encounter issues and never truly heal from your situation.
The term “mental illness” is designed to keep you in your place. It’s a lie society tells you to keep you going to clinics, taking pills, and doing what we’ve always done without asking the most important question…WHY?
Because the truth is that if you branch out and do something new, if you stop identifying with your illness and start embracing who you are, you’d be powerful. You’d change the world.
So what sounds better to you—living a life of illness, or pursuing health?
And if you’re serious about wanting to pursue mental health, what are you going to do to cultivate that in your life?
Listen and subscribe to the Chronically Conscious podcast to learn how you can shift your mindset and take your life to the next level.
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