May is the Mental Health Awareness Month, and I hope you have been taking care of yourselves a little bit more this month, at least.

According to studies, roughly 18.5% of the population suffers from mental illness in a given year, which comes to be about 43.8 million people in the United States. Despite the small percentage, the total number is huge. Funny thing, anybody that we know could be part of that 18.5%.

Mental health is something that has fortunately been a topic that has been taken a little bit more serious lately. We all understand the hardships that anybody can face due to mental illness. It is an underlying tormentor, and people sometimes can muster the will to hide it from the eye of others.

This month, we should be more aware of those we think less likely to be suffering from some sort of mental illness. We all know the claws of depression and the terrors of anxiety. In some point in life, we've all experienced it. In many ways that we know, we could help each other. As to this, it is also good to be aware of your own mental health.

You can be observant and caring for other people, but are you observant and caring for yourself?

A friend of mine once told me that it is ok to not be a good friend all the time. Sometimes, your own bundle is too heavy to carry, and you don't think you can handle anything else. That is ok because you are your first priority. Nobody knows you better than you.

A little time alone to breathe is ok.

"No, I don't feel like it." Is a reasonable excuse.

Disappearing from social media is, in fact, a blessing.

This month, we need to be aware that other people could fall victims to this evil, but that so can we. Our mental health should be our own priority. The way we feel dictates how we are going to act in a day. Giving yourself time to work on your own is not selfish and mean. It doesn't make you unreliable. It doesn't make you fake.

It doesn't make you half-ass friendships.

It's May, and we should love ourselves in every way.