UNSUNG BATTLES [2/2]

MY ILLNESS IS NOT AN AESTHETIC

It just didn't make sense to me. Why do I wake up with my head feeling so heavy. Why do I wake up wake up with my bedsheets so wet with sweat. Why do I wake up with my stomach hurting so badly, as if there's been a dagger dragged up my sides. Why do I feel like throwing up words that's been bottled up inside. why do I wake up in the middle of the night with my temperature so high. And sometime, why can't I wake up at all.

My head throbs from the anxiety, my stomach twists into an endless loop , my eyes tear up, my body shakes, my body aches and my vision fades in to pitch blackness from the anxiety.

But they tell me, "It's all in your head".

When physical symptoms are caused or made worse by your mental state, it’s called psychosomatic. Many people believe that psychosomatic symptoms aren’t real, but they are in fact, very real symptoms that have a psychological cause. You might have heard of having a “fight or flight” response to danger. When we see danger, our bodies get ready to either fight the danger (fight) or run away (flight). Our bodies become filled with two stress hormones: adrenaline and cortisol. This increases heart rate and blood pressure, suppresses the digestive system, and affects the immune system. This is meant to help us exert a lot of physical energy, which we’d need if we were fighting or running away from danger. After the threat goes away, our bodies usually return to a resting state.

This is an evolutionary response that’s meant to keep you safe. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, as it helps you avoid or deal with danger. A certain level of anxiety known as ‘optimal anxiety’ can be very helpful in raising one’s motivation to an optimal level, In this way, anxiety and the bit of stress it creates provides the energy and interest required to complete many daily tasks. But if you’re in a constant state of stress or anxiety, it can wreak havoc on your body. What’s more is that anxiety and depression may actually lower your pain tolerance. The parts of the brain responsible for pain reception also relate to anxiety and depression, and the two neurotransmitters (serotonin and norepinephrine) that are responsible for pain signaling in the brain and nervous system are also implicated in anxiety and depression. Therefore mental illness is more of a double edged sword, it is not "all in your head"

However what needs to be discussed is how mental illnesses are portrayed in movies, TV shows and books. It is often romanticized while mostly ignoring to portray the psychosomatic symptoms. Due to which suffering from mental illness has become 'Beautiful', 'Trendy', and 'Quirky' in the eyes of young audience. They believe that it makes them feel unique and special. The use of mental illness in merchandise and media that follows the cliché narrative waters down the actuality of real people's experience. It also makes it seem more desirable to have a mental illness because of how it is now perceived. Even though it's progress that people are more openly talking about mental illness, it's important to realize how impressionable people can be without even realizing the depth of the struggle. Instead of watching shows such as 13 reasons why, ask for more accurate depiction of mental illness. Any depiction of such topics should be backed up by research and the experience of those who have it. Rather than just buying merchandise that has mental illness slogans, donate to trusted organizations and foundations. Because mental illness shouldn't be someone's aesthetic.

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By Ayshka Najib

Content writer at But Society Says