As the 2017-18 school year comes to a close, the stress levels among students is on the rise, whether it be about grades, graduation, college or getting work turned in. However, this kind of stress is commonly being confused with the mental disorder known as anxiety disorder due to the lack of attempt to decrease stress levels.

Stress and the emotion of anxiety happens to everyone. According to mayoclinic.org, making no attempt to decrease stress can lead to problems such as irritability, fatigue, headaches, undereating or overeating and many other negative symptoms. The symptoms can lead to future, long-term health issues.

However, anxiety disorder is completely different. While common, it is not to be confused with general stress or the emotion anxiety itself. Anxiety interferes with everyday life and function. Anxiety disorders can be accompanied by panic attacks, recurring flashbacks or nightmares that induce the feeling of anxiousness, irrational fear, and so on. These are just a few of the side effects that are paired with anxiety disorder which impair normal human function.

No, your sweaty palms before a test you chose not to study for is not a sign of an anxiety disorder. Neither is not wanting to confess to your parents about a mistake you made, or being nervous before a date you have been looking forward to, or literally any other human situation that would induce nervousness in any other individual.

The only thing that is probably even more irritating to those who actually have an anxiety disorder than when people use their stress as an excuse to say they have anxiety, is when they use it to compete with other people. Absolutely no one — especially those diagnosed with an anxiety disorder — wants to hear you and another person compete to see who is more stressed, or “has the worst anxiety.” No one wants to hear who got the least amount of sleep, or who had the most homework, or who has the more stressful schedule.

If anything, the thing that people want to hear is how to reduce stress, which everyone could use in their life every once in a while. If you have a busy schedule, share tips on how to manage. If you struggle with sleep, share tips on how to get to sleep faster or stay asleep longer. If you struggle with a large amount of homework, share tips on how to stay organized and focus. And so on.

The stress levels among students, as it increases, only rubs irritability off on other students, causing everyone to be hostile toward one another. Not only does that create a negative environment, but it carries to places outside of school as well, creating a never-ending cycle of negative emotion. In order to ensure that the last few weeks of the year run smoothly, the best we can do as students is encourage and help one another. Bragging about your stress will not help you or anyone around you. In fact, it only hurts you.

Instead, use that breath and energy to instead pay someone a compliment about how well they are chugging along in the year or maybe even what they are wearing that day. It is small compliments and gestures like that that give people the people the energy to power through their day.