Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of mental illness.

The line reframes “stress” not as an inevitable badge of modern productivity but as a culturally normalized pattern of psychological distress. By calling it “socially acceptable,” it suggests that people and institutions often reward or excuse chronic agitation, overcommitment, and rumination—behaviors that, under different labels, might be treated as symptoms requiring care. The provocation is meant to puncture complacency: if stress resembles a mild, normalized form of mental suffering, then it deserves the same seriousness, compassion, and intervention we would offer for mental illness. It also critiques a culture that treats being overwhelmed as proof of importance rather than a signal to change habits, boundaries, or expectations.