Recognizing mental illnesses can be difficult.

There doesn't seem to be anything wrong on the outside, but on the inside, it can feel like a disaster has destroyed all that you know. Although mental illnesses can be hard to detect just by looking at the physical features of a person, their body is being severely affected. During my first year in college, I knew something was off. I knew that I wasn't the person I used to be. I didn't know why.

The first step to seeking out help is to identify the problem. I knew that I had been acting strange. I found myself to be disengaged from social activities, I was constantly nervous about the world around me and what people thought of me, and I did not feel like the cheerful, bubbly girl that I once knew.

At first, I thought I could have been having these feelings because of my transition to college, but as time wore on, the feelings of loneliness and nervousness only persisted.

After identifying that there was definitely something wrong, I sat down to think about why. I thought that writing about my feelings and keeping a journal would help, just as it did in the past. However, this time was different. Not even writing brought me solace. Something I once enjoyed became something that meant nothing to me. Now, heightened feelings of worry overpowered my mind. What was wrong with me?

Through attempting to figure out the problem on my own, I decided that I needed to seek help that consisted of more than a journal and a pen. This is when I made the decision to seek out help through counseling. To this day, I will say that this was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

In our society, there seems to be a stigma against seeking out mental health help. Some can be seen as weak, and some may feel embarrassed to reveal that they are going to counseling. Some people seem to think that people who attend counseling are not strong. However, going to counseling has made me stronger than ever.

More people need to realize that getting mental health help enhances your strength. It shows that you are strong enough to find help for issues that you may be encountering in your life. It shows that you care about your mental well-being. It shows that you are important, valuable, and worthy of becoming a healthy being again.

Counseling has taught me some of the most important life lessons. It has taught me how to be vulnerable, how to love myself more often, and how to find myself and become the amazing person that I was meant to be. Do not let society's views on seeking help deter you from bettering yourself.

Each one of us was put on this Earth for a reason. Be the best version of yourself that you could possibly think of, and do not be ashamed if this comes with a little mental health help. Mental health is not a joke, and I say that it's time we start taking it seriously.