Personal Essay Sample about Anxiety and ADHD

Dealing with Anxiety and ADHD disorders, I constantly fight battles in my own head. They can start from almost anything as small as an argument with my friends to someone cheating on a test in school. Nobody really understands how much I have to fight throughout an entire day. Due to the stigma we lose so many lives everyday and people are either going through the same amount of pain or even more than what I go through on an average day. It is so sad to see people post about mental health and  choose to be mean or tear a person down by talking behind one's back. The stigma provides those with non issues to think they are better than me and the others who struggle. However, that is not the case everyone is equal and we deserve to be all treated with kindness and respect. The Mental Health stigma is harmful to those individuals who live with it everyday. 

The negative stigma from mental health is harmful in how one looks at oneself from the inside which can be difficult in the workplace. For example, people do not want to let his/her employer know that they are mentally struggling and in need of help. One of two things could happen (“Where does the stigma”). The boss could not care about your issue or will look and treat you differently.  This is why mental health changes the appearance of people on the outside, but the individual is still hurt and has a poor self image.  If people were more informed the stigma might not be so damaging.

Another harmful result from the negative stigma is social isolation. According to a blog from Tulane University issues such as anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem often result from social isolation, but they can also cause it (“Understanding the Effects”). Through a series of events such as negative stigma which causes people not to talk about their mental health results in low self esteem. Then, the low self esteem can enhance one's anxiety or depression causing them to isolate. During the past year and a half through Covid-19, the isolation has made things worse. No one seems to take the time to help others and understand what they go through on a daily basis. Therefore, the individual feels all alone and fears peoples reactions if revealed. All of this is a harmful result of the negative stigma of mental health. 

Lastly, fear of rejection or not understanding is another major part of the negative stigma. People do not want to get help or treatment because they “don’t want to be judged for seeking treatment. We don’t want to be defined as weak or incompetent, or even worse, seen as unable to take care of ourselves (NAMI)” 80% percent of people with a mental health challange are not seeking help becuase they feel they are afraid of being looked at differently. According to Krista Kaczynski, an expert in analyzing behavior and mental health, “From the time a teenager experiences the symptoms of a mental health challenge it will be ten years before they get the help they need.” That's the reason why the stigma is such a concern because it takes someone that long to feel comfortable for someone to reach out for help. This is why the stigma is so harmful. A lot can happen to a person mentaly within those ten years. That is a scary thought. 

Some may think that mental illness is just an excuse to get off school, tests, and responsibilities. Many people who can’t see something broken don’t believe anything really is happening.  It is often in schools that when a student is out a teacher will say what is wrong now? It is the misunderstanding and one’s own anxiety towards their mental health that leads to this poor way of thinking or judging people. If someone breaks their leg, would you expect someone to walk across the room without a crutch or wait two weeks to get it checked out and casted? Just because you cannot see what is happening doesn’t mean they are not struggling. It is this negative stigma that is creating more harm.

More people than one realizes suffers from depression or anxiety. They either are suffering silently. It is actually more common than not.  Lack of knowledge creates the negative stigmas which produce harmful effects on individuals. If we educate one another on mental health and understand the effects our actions have on others then maybe the stigma will break and communication and kindness will replace it.