trend
a general direction in which something is changing or developing.
So many discussions I have had, and heard, about anxiety recently all accuse people of 'jumping on the bandwagon' and to be perfectly frank, it's pissing me off. Perhaps the reason why anxiety has become a 'trend' in newspapers, magazines and on social media is because it is a trend. Something has changed and developed in our society that means more young people cannot keep up momentum with the expectation that has been set for us.
Me? I can go for weeks feeling incredibly excited about life, and then all of a sudden I lose all 'control', whatever that word means. However, the momentum first caught up to me in the summer before I received my A Level results, and I was convinced I was not going to get into the university of my choice (I did). My friends didn't understand what was wrong with me. Heck! I didn't understand what was wrong with me. Things became strained and frustrated, but if this had taken place in the here and now, things would have been very different. Even now I have difficulty keeping up with the momentum, from the 'Why are you not married?' questions, to the 'Oh, still living with your parents then...' statements. But guess what makes it easier? The fact anxiety is now a trend, and that with trends comes interest, and with interest comes downright open and comforting conversations.
Don't get me wrong though, we mustn't forget that Anxiety is a spectrum disorder, so whilst most of us are affected in one way or another, there is a proportion of us whose experience cannot be described, and is possibly still under wraps. That is why anxiety must continue to be obsessively discussed at the pub; in the park or on the bus to work.
We're all on the anxiety spectrum, and the more we talk about, the more we can look after ourselves. Let's make anxiety trendier than Beyonce, so that it's the talk of the town, and has nowhere to hide.
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