You Are Probably Fine
It only became apparent to me after lockdown ended, this vocabulary once reserved for niche medical fields now diluted and colloquial. Suddenly everyone is neurodivergent, with trauma to heal and adult ADHD to treat. My family is toxic, he's gaslighting me, she's such a narcissist. Hurry and find your place on the spectrum... and then make a TikTok about it. After all, what's the point of being unwell if you can't monetise it?
I'm not insightful enough to easily identify the root cause of this madness, but I suspect the consequences are going to be greater than anyone realises. There is an entire generation being told that feeling good is the ultimate goal. They are being convinced that normal, human emotions are actually illnesses to be treated with expensive therapies and potentially damaging drugs. Here in the UK, there are so many people in the NHS mental health queue that some are waiting up to two years for an ADHD diagnosis. How many of them truly need it? Why is no one talking about the dangers of these ubiquitous medicines?
The study found that people prescribed stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin were 17% more likely to have cardiomyopathy at one year and 57% more likely to have cardiomyopathy at eight years compared with those who were not taking these medications.1
Feeling sad is okay. Being anxious on occasion is natural. Some people are a bit scatter-brained, others simply don't like loud noise. None of it means that there is something medically wrong with you. You're just human!
When we pathologize every aspect of our own humanity, we minimise the painful experiences of people with proper mental illness. We also rob ourselves of potential opportunities for real growth. Sadness ≠clinical depression, nervousness in crowds ≠agoraphobia, short attention span and procrastination ≠ADHD.
Don't let a Zoomer with a Youtube channel and a case of the weepies tell you that you belong in a certain category, that you need to label yourself a certain way. Even worse, don't take their nonsense life-hacks as gospel or spend your hard-earned money on some sketchy mix of herbs and heavy metals.
If you're feeling something, just allow yourself to experience it. Reflect. Turn your phone off, get off the Internet, and go outside for a bit. Talk to someone in real life. Know that your nature is not somehow deficient. Not only can you handle this, but you might actually learn something.
True mental illness can be serious and debilitating. If you're feeling hopeless and/or you believe you might harm yourself or others, never hesitate to seek assistance. Everything passes and there are people eager to help.
