Today I want to take the time to tell everyone about this thing I deal with each and every day. It's anxiety, depression and panic disorder.

This means I can have a panic attack for no reason.

This means I get into sad moods and I can't seem to lift my spirits.

This means there are days I never ever want to get out of bed.

This means I overthink every single little thing.

This means I view the world in a different light, but this does not in any way make me damaged.

This is a genetic chemical imbalance in my brain, not just "in my head." I take medication every day to manage the symptoms that come with these disorders, but that does not mean I am crazy.

The hardest thing for me to do was admit that I needed help.

I am forever thankful for the university I have the privilege to attend. Here at Emporia State, we had the opportunity to take a depression screening for free as a way to earn extra credit in class. A couple of friends and I went filled out a ten question survey, and then we're debriefed by a counselor. I answered honestly on this survey. The counselor took me back to a private room and discussed my scores, ultimately deciding I had signs of anxiety and that she wanted to follow up with me. Me being me, thought it was just the stress of being a freshman in college, until about a week later I had a panic attack while driving. What set this panic attack off, I don't know if I'll ever know. It was by far one of the scariest things if my life not being able to breathe and crying so hard I almost passed out. Shaking uncontrollably and feeling like everything was crashing down on me. Luckily I had friends I turned to when I needed help. That night I emailed the counselor I had met with and decided to schedule a counseling session.

Within the next couple of days, I went into the wellness center on campus embarrassed that I was seeking help and kept telling myself that there are people who have it way worse than I do and they deserve the help and I'm just wasting their time. Turns out I was very wrong.

No matter what you are going through, you deserve the help.

Now I openly admit my struggles. One of the most important things I have learned about my anxiety and depression is to find that one thing to hold onto. When you have the hardest days, look to that one thing to help you get out of bed and go on with the day. For me, it's my family, but especially my niece and nephews. They are the one thing that I think about when I don't feel like functioning anymore. I think about how much they look up to me and how much they would miss me if anything ever happened to me. I think about how much they have impacted my life within the short amount of time they have been on this earth.

So, here I am. Pouring out my deepest secrets to you all. Please, don't treat me any differently than you have before. Walking on eggshells around me makes me feel worse and more damaged.Through this whole journey, I have learned so much about myself and what is good for me. Taking the time to put my health first saved my life.

Please don't ever be afraid to seek help and remember that you are worthy.

You are worthy of being happy and feeling loved.

You are worthy of feeling like yourself.

You are absolutely worthy.