TW: mentions of mental illnesses, bullying, social pressure, and suicide
I do not mean to offend anyone by writing this chapter! I love and appreciate all of you and if you are going through anything, feel free to message me! you are all valid and special and appreciates! I love you all so much!
I should probably begin by saying I have no idea how to start off this chapter. I know what I want to say, but I don't know how to say it.
1 in 5 young people (ages 13-18) either will or do suffer from mental illness. that's 20% of our population, but yet only 4% of the total health care budget is spent on mental health.
that's so saddening to me, a constant reminder that 20% percent of the population will probably go to sleep unhappy, or feeling like they don't matter.
I'm going to start off with a few things that might cause some of these illnesses.
with the rise of the media, came the rise of many social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. where people can post and say whatever they want, sometimes resulting in people using it to put someone or something down. people can express their opinions and beliefs, and I'm not against that, it's when you're using them in the wrong way, specifically to hurt someone, that I, personally, will get mad.
online, people are free to judge, and anyone can read what they've posted, which can lead to many people having anxiety because what if "they start judging me because my legs don't look good in these shorts?" or "what if I take too long in line and the person behind me gets annoyed?" or "I want to wear this... but I don't want to get catcalled today or anything..."
a lot of things can lead to social anxiety, different things for different individuals. I, personally have social anxiety because I'm very self-conscious of my body and everything I do.
people can also message over apps (Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, etc.), which can lead to online bullying and pictures to be shared. which, a lot of people don't use it for, but a lot of people do. and a lot of people are victims of this.
being afraid to post a picture because you're afraid someone will call you ugly, or fat, which they shouldn't even be allowed to do, honestly, is the worst feeling in the world. who gets pleasure in just sitting around, staring at a screen, waiting for someone to post something for them to hate on? it's absolutely disgusting.
this can also lead to depression. a lot of other things can lead to depression as well, such as horrible event(s) happening in that person's life, horrible people in that person's life, horrible thoughts, or anything toxic in their life, really.
this can apply to anyone, not just younger people, and I'm sorry if I haven't been focusing on that. no one should be categorized like that, being told that only younger/older people can feel certain things.
that can also lead to depression, instead of helping, telling them that their feelings aren't valid, and deeming them 'too young ' to have those feelings. ALL. FEELINGS. ARE. VALID.
and although it is the actual term, to call it an 'illness ', I don't like to view it as such. lots of people can't help it, no one wants to feel like that.
and the so-called 'illnesses ' can range from depression, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, PTSD, ADHD, OCD, dementia, schizophrenia, psychosis, etc. *will be a note at the end giving definitions for all in case you guys don't know what they mean*
I hate referring to these as ' illnesses ' because every. single. person. I know that has one of these ' illnesses ' doesn't want it, and a lot hate themselves for having it, myself included. no one wants to feel like that, trust me.
my friends with depression and anxiety, I can see how sometimes they do have to fake a laugh or a smile because they don't want to bring down the mood, or sometimes their eyes will just... turn sad? and I can actually see the sadness in them, for one vulnerable moment. and I try not to press, but I'm so much more concerned than I seem, because I love them, and it hurts to see anybody you love hurting.
my friends with ADHD, they're so kind, funny, and caring, but people usually only focus on how hyper they are. and while, yes, they are more hyper than some, I love them for it because when I hang out with them, everything is just that much more exciting and interesting because they're happy and excited and that makes me happy and excited.
my friend with OCD, I see that it will irritate her when something isn't perfectly straight, or if a long pencil is in a stack of short ones, but I don't understand why this is classified as a mental illness when it's just... a condition, I suppose. nothing that's dangerous or harming, to the body or mind of themselves or anyone else, they just like things to be in order.
most people I know, are in the age range of 12 to 16, and very few of them have not had some kind of mental illness. very depressing to me, because they're some of the best people ever, and most of them usually seem pretty happy and contempt.
but I realized I was somewhat stupid for thinking that because a lot of people try to hide it, because most of them are self-conscious of it, or don't want anyone to see it. no one's proud of it.
I have no idea how to conclude this.
but, if you need to talk, just dm me.
-ryan
