"Take it easy" or "relax" a sentence that I have heard many times before not only from my friends, but mostly from my mother. Every time something would go as wrong as I thought it could go then I would call her only to hear her say, "relax" most of the time it helped only because the idea of having someone I trusted helped me through it and I couldn't have asked for anything better. And for most people this was the case having someone they love helping them get their stress under control is enough.

But this is quite different in our family, I am American because I was born here, but Mexican because my parents immigrated from their country to come here. At the age of 19 I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and a minor anxiety disorder nothing that I couldn't get under control with some breathing or exercising. I never told my parents mostly because I didn't want them to think that I was crazy or that what I had could be fixed by giving me Advil, or Tylenol. Mostly I didn't tell them because as a Mexican in our culture there are many things that Mexicans with "traditional values" do not understand or wish to know about.

For many Mexican parents including my own the phenomenon striking this nation known as mental illness is not real. The idea that something as thoughts or feelings can be so crippling is not real or not possible. I mean why would they be, if you feel sad it is simple right? "Just be happy" if you are feeling worried, no problem of course, "Just stop worrying" and of course when you say it that way it sounds so simple when you just say it.

But let me enlighten you when you tell someone with depression to just be happy, or someone with anxiety to just stop worrying, it is kind of like telling someone that is physically handicap to just do something like walk, or run or, grab a hold of something. And of course these actions are impossible for the people suffering from these things, as is with mental illness.

I believe it is time that we educated people on the seriousness of mental illness, and how sometimes it can be so crippling and difficult you almost feel like you are having a battle within yourself. What makes this worse is when someone is having these issues and they feel as if they are fighting a battle on their own. Nothing feels worse than being in a room full of people and feeling you are so alone.

Some people might say that my parents are right and that I simply over thinking or overreacting that if I just got thing under control and stop worrying or being sad I would be fine, that I just need to stop and relax. And of course that sounds right, but to you I would say that.

If we could just understand that mental illnesses are no joke and the way in which these can be mentally and physically crippling. Sometime so much so that we are unable to concentrate or continue with our daily activities i know i have days were after i come down from an anxiety attack i am so exhausted all i can think about is sleep.