Have you ever had a day where it feels like you are in a constant battle to keep your thoughts focused? To the point where you wonder if you are in control at all? Recently I read an article talking about high-functioning depression which means basically means that someone is really good at functioning normally but inside that person is in a battle against a mind that's not well. When I read it, my heart broke.

What must it be like to essentially be at war with one's own self-day in and day out? And not only that, but possibly not even being aware that something is wrong? Even though I don't know exactly what it feels like I've seen the toll that it takes on my friends who have struggled with it. But one thing I do understand it what its like to feel like your mind is at war with itself.

See for me, my fight in my head comes from the outside constantly under attack. It's under attack from a society which tries to tell me who I should be, from well-meaning comments that don't land quite right and even from myself and my own perfectionistic tendencies. Put all that together and I can start to see how some days just surviving is an accomplishment for some people.

And somehow even though we know how hard it can be with these attacks from outside, that are essentially hidden, we still seem to think it's okay to joke or make light of depression. Yet we can't see diseases like cancer until it's either in treatment or it's too far gone. I would argue it's the same with depression.

We don't know it's there until we begin to treat it or until it's too late.

So why do we treat it differently?

Maybe it's because we're scared.

Scared that it might be passed on to us? Scared that we might be forced to confront our own issues regarding mental health? Scared that we might have to start treating all people well because we have no idea if they are healthy or not?

Honestly, I have a hard time understanding why there is any such stigma surrounding mental health. I don't have any scientific facts to back me up, but I wouldn't be surprised if everyone on Earth at one time or another dealt with some sort of mental issue.

Life is hard, and our society makes it especially easy for us both to have doubts about ourselves and to turn what should be a safe haven—our minds—into a war zone.

So the next time you hear a joke about depression or see someone getting made fun of for acknowledging their health problems, do me a favor and stick up for them.

You never know, you just might make a difference.