01/21/2026
Let’s slow down on turning every human emotion into a diagnosis.
As a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner, I see this all the time.
Nervous before a presentation? “I have anxiety.”
Heartbroken after a breakup? “I’m depressed.”
Zoning out during a boring meeting? “I think I have ADHD.”
Here’s what often gets missed:
Anxiety, sadness, and distraction are normal human experiences.
They become clinical disorders only when they are:
✅Persistent: lasting weeks or months, not days
✅Pervasive: showing up across many situations, not just one stressor
✅Impairing: interfering with work, relationships, or daily life
✅Excessively distressing: beyond what the situation reasonably explains
✅Resistant to coping: not improving with healthy support or skills
The difference matters.
Social media is full of well-meaning but unqualified “mental health influencers” promoting self-diagnosis checklists and quick fixes. That creates a cycle where:
• Normal emotions get medicalized
• People skip learning coping skills
• Real mental illness gets minimized
When we label every hard feeling as a disorder, we quietly teach people they’re not capable of handling life’s ups and downs.
But when we normalize human struggle, we build resilience.
A lot of what brings people into my office isn’t mental illness.
It’s life being heavy.
It’s seasons of stress, grief, change, or exhaustion.
And sometimes the most therapeutic thing I can say is:
“What you’re feeling makes complete sense given what you’re going through.”
That’s not minimizing pain.
That’s honoring the human experience.
If this resonates, share it. And follow along for grounded, honest conversations about mental health…without turning normal life into a diagnosis.
