I'm sure many of you know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. As the month winds down, I wanted to write a letter to those who struggle with their mental health; although this month is meant to provide awareness, living with a mental health disorder is a year-round battle that often feels lonely. It is a struggle that others do not always comprehend.

So, to those who are struggling with their mental health,

I'm sorry.

I'm not just sorry that this is part of your life and that, often times, it feels like it controls you and decides who you are. You have heard this apology many times and I'm not here to give it to you again.

Instead, I say that I'm sorry for all the times others have made you feel like less of a person because of your struggle. You know what it feels like to be in a constant battle with your own mind to a degree that others do not understand and, as a result, these people often diminish its severity.

I understand.

I understand that you may be in the grocery store one afternoon and overhear a teenage girl tell her friend that she's "so OCD" because she hates a dirty room. You feel your stomach curl up and wonder if she has any idea what it's like to have a disorder that controls every ounce of your being, telling you what to do and exactly how to do it.

I know that you have woken up some mornings unsure if you would be able to go to your classes because your depression is begging you to stay in bed. You cannot send an email that says, "Sorry, I'm too depressed to do anything today," so you consider pretending you have the flu or a cold. You wish you could help them understand. More so, you wish you could just force yourself out of bed. "It shouldn't be this hard," you tell yourself.

I see the way the media glamorizes your anxiety disorder. I know that you watch a teen movie and see the main character suffer from an anxiety attack, only to be comforted by his/her love interest and everything is suddenly alright. You know that this is not how anxiety feels. You know that being surrounded by love and logic does not always calm the storm.

I'm sorry that others have made you feel poorly about your disorder. On behalf of those who make light of your struggle, ignorantly calling themselves "bipolar" or "schizo," and on behalf of the media for glamorizing mental health disorders: I'm sorry.

I know that this apology is not nearly enough when it comes to mental health awareness, but this is the first step. Before we can all begin to help, we must first begin to understand and listen. I hope that we all begin to become more conscious of what the world is saying about mental health, both as individuals and as consumers of media. Once we begin to recognize these problems, we can then become more understanding and compassionate. This is what I hope we can achieve as this month winds down and we start to apply its lessons to every other day of our lives.