It's Not a Valid Excuse

IT’S NOT A VALID EXCUSE

“It’s not a valid excuse,”

That's what they all say,

“So what if you get a tummy ache,”

“You just don’t want to do the work”

“You’re just lazy,”

“Just get over it,”

They say.

If only it was that simple,

To them it's not a big deal,

It's like they think that,

We don't want to fix ourselves,

That we don't want to be able to function “normally”.

To them,

We’re just making excuses,

“They probably just didn't do the work”

Is what we hear, when they think we're not listening.

“You have to do it or you fail”

“Just get over it”

These are the things that make it worse,

The things that make us hate life and society,

The ignorant people who don't believe in mental illnesses.

They think it’s just lies,

That we don’t know that it’s not a valid excuse.

They don’t know that we hate ourselves because of it,

That we want to “just get over it”,

If only it was that simple.

They don’t know what it's like,

Going through life with constant fear,

Having panic attacks sometimes for no reason at all,

Not being able to go out places with friends because,

We live in constant fear that we can't control.

They don’t understand,

That it’s become an issue just to get out of bed,

And not because we're lazy,

But because,

When we do, we go running for the bathroom to puke,

Or we can’t stand up without,

Having a panic attack,

Feeling like we're going to implode and our lungs tighten,

Making it feel like we can’t breath,

Making everything appear in a blur.

If they only knew,

The pain we go through,

How much we want to be “normal”

How much we want to be able to function like everyone else,

How much we hate ourselves,

Our lives,

Everything.

They're wrong,

Anxiety is a valid excuse,

When used in the right situation,

A person who suffers from a mental illness should not be penalized,

Just because it stops them from doing something,

Because they already feel bad enough,

And they don't need your crap making it worse.