Why is it when we tell you that we have depression you reply “sometimes I get really sad too”? Why don’t you really believe it when we say “I can’t get out of bed today”, or “I felt so anxious today that I threw up twice this morning”? Why do you belittle these severe symptoms? Like with any illness it hurts, there's so much pain that goes along with illnesses. But the issue is that when you break your leg or have symptoms of diabetes, you immediately go to the doctors. No one questions it when you are physically or visibly hurt. You clearly need help so you go to a doctor or a hospital. But when your hands are shaking while you’re studying for your final or you don't want to be alive anymore, nothing happens. You try to tell us that it happens to you too, and in a way that makes us feel like telling you when we have these symptoms is pointless. Really, the only words we want to hear from you are: “I love you, I’m sorry you’re suffering, can I do anything to help?” There is such a stigma about mental illness that even when we are hurting and we feel hopeless and alone, it's too scary to talk about because you can't see the pain. You can't see the way our chest aches or our mind races or our palms sweat. The fear of being called “crazy" or an "attention seeker" need to stop. You need to talk about mental illness as often as you can. You need to talk to your kids about it, your family, they need to know that it's okay to talk about. You need to know the signs so you recognize it in yourself or in others, you should know where to get help. We have to start educating everyone, and not just young people but older people as well. The more 'normalized' having mental illness is, the less silence and self harm and suicides there will be. The more teens and young adults who come forward talking about their experiences with mental illness, the more acceptable it will be to talk about.

Sincerely,

A girl with a mental illness