I will never forget the look on my mother’s face during my senior year of high school when she walked into my room, just to see me bawling my eyes out. She was scared and because I hadn’t talked to her, it made it worse.

What should you do?

Talking to someone — anyone, even — is better than bottling it up. Letting yourself open up is something society needs to praise.

Why not try therapy? There’s a stigma that surrounds the term. Telling a stranger all your deepest fears and secrets, and suddenly that will help? Per MHA, over half of adults that suffer from a mental illness receive no help. I had the same idea about therapy — that it would feel like I am accepting defeat.

To create a perfect version of yourself, you are often pressured to have no flaws — you have to be this specific height or have these specific friends or be in these specific organizations.

That’s not true. It’s normal to be sad. It’s alright to be on medication. It’s OK to tell someone how you really feel instead of pretending you’re perfectly fine.

Why me?

I am a 20-year-old college student, trying to balance seven classes, an upcoming internship, extracurriculars, friendships and just time to eventually take a nap. I have two loving parents and a great support system in my family. So why am I the one who has to walk through these struggles?

I know I am not alone.

This problem affects more people than just me. I would speak about other people’s experiences, but they are never talked about. For years in my friend groups, any sign of emotion would be brushed off and forgotten about. Sitting down and actually discussing what’s on our minds was never part of the conversation.