The danger of a diagnosis.

I swear, if I hear one more person tell me that they have anxiety...

I understand that I don't understand what other people go through. Let's get that out of the way. 

So maybe people announcing it at every possible opportunity is a side effect of their anxiety, I don't know. 

But the problem is that everybody these days claims something. And maybe it's because for some reason, this generation just has a lot of mental problems. I don't know. 

But the problem with a diagnosis is that it's used so much as an excuse. People stop working at work because their having panic attacks. Students tell their teachers they can't do this or that because of a condition. And it has essentially lost all meaning. Because if everyone has problems, then nobody really does, right? We're all just people living with problems and feelings, just like we've always been. 

Don't get me wrong, I have been that person at work. I got fired for my episodes. I don't take it lightly. I missed taking my midterm for a class because it was during the week where I was so far down and ready to get suicidal, and my teacher still wouldn't take it after I told her. I wasn't trying to make excuses, I just presented an argument, and I lost. 

But a diagnosis is not meant to be an excuse. It's not to say "please excuse my behavior because I'm mentally unstable." (and if you have a self-diagnosis, please just have some dignity and get an actual diagnosis, you're ridiculous.sorry, but seriously.) It's not an excuse to do whatever you want and have it all be okay because you have some sort of chemical imbalance. 

I believe there are blessings of a diagnosis too. But I think that comes when you stop proclaiming to the world that you have issues and only tell those who need to know. When you start using your diagnosis to explain rather than excuse. You then take a step from being affected by your circumstance to take back control (even though it's but a small bit) of how you're viewed and how you present yourself. 

I'll admit, I have been changed by my problems. I have been changed a great deal. I'm more easily irritable. I sleep a lot more. I cry a LOT. I lock myself in my room a lot. 

But the difference is, I don't tell the world. I keep it between me and the people who need to know. Because though I can't help it if it sometimes controls me, I can make sure that it doesn't define me. 

The danger of a diagnosis comes when you give it power to govern your life.