In my opinion, mental health has one of the worst stigmas tied on to it than anything else with a stigma. It's something that a lot of people fake to get attention or a lot of people think is fake unless they personally have experienced it.

Mental health is very real and very brutal, but that doesn't mean it should be covered up.

Covering up your struggles doesn't help you. If you have struggled with any sort of mental disorder then I am confident you know how it feels to get the looks people give you when you open up or the sound of disapproval in people's voice when they tell you "it will get better." Those things make you want to hide it.

But, despite that, I am sure you also know how comforting it is to hear success stories of other people how have battled these diseases or how great it is to talk about the different types of therapies or medications people have taken that have or have not helped. It makes your battle easier knowing that there are people who have walked in your shoes, people who have experienced the relapses, people who have experienced the calm days.

You shouldn't have to hide something that has taken away most of your life just because the world thinks that covering it up is the best thing for you. In all honesty, people should know because it explains everything. It will explain to your professor why some days you can't focus in class. It will explain to your boss why you can't come to work on time. It will explain to everyone that the checkups with your Psychiatrist or your therapist are just as important as their trips to the dentist or their general practitioner.

Your mental health does not make you who you are. It does not define you, it does not label you, and it does not make you any less human, but it is a part of your life.

It might not be the part you want and it definitely is not the part you chose but it is a part all the same and you shouldn't hide that.

It's going to be something you're ashamed of, but when you meet someone walking the same road or fighting a similar battle as you it makes it better. Or when you see similar symptoms that you have had in someone else it will help you be able to help them. Your disorder isn't the brightest part of your life, but it doesn't have to be something that hinders you.