In 2018, 18% of American adults have a mental health condition and nearly half have a corresponding substance abuse problem. Over half of those with a mental health condition report not receiving treatment. In addition over 1.7 million American youth with "major depressive episodes" received no treatment.

I spent high school recognizing how many of my friends experienced some form of mental illness.

In addition to diagnosed conditions, crippling anxiety and borderline depression are a reality for most teenagers in America today. I moved on from high school to realize that many of the seemingly perfect adults in my life were experiencing similar issues. I recognized the history of alcoholism and addictive tendencies in my family as a cry for help due to untreated mental illness. I'm positive that my experiences aren't singular and that as human beings we have a tendency to not acknowledge when we need help.

Students today are expected to perform at such highly competitive levels that they sacrifice their well-being to get ahead or achieve certain things.

Furthermore, social pressures have become ever more persistent with the constancy of social media. Teenagers, who are already insecure, are faced multiple times daily with the seemingly perfect lives of their peers and celebrities. The comparisons are unavoidable and every adolescent finds themselves wishing they could be somewhere else or someone else. The continuous wish to be someone other than yourself is mentally deteriorating on several levels.

The more one dehumanizes themselves the more unaccepted they will feel.

These struggles faced by high school and college students find their way of creeping into adult life as well. I spent my childhood with the impression that all of the insecurity and doubt would disappear once I became an adult, but that is an entirely unrealistic expectation. I've come to learn that adults also struggle with fear of failure, dreams unfulfilled, and still an insecurity that they will never be accepted. Carrying these burdens for a lifetime leads to turning to drugs and alcohol as an escape.

Adults that hide their mental illnesses further breed children that hide their mental illness.

Growing up we learn from our parents what's right and wrong and if parents don't acknowledge their own problems, they are unlikely to seek treatment when their children need help. Not receiving treatment leads to a lifetime of denial, especially when young people don't recognize their own illnesses. Friends have explained behaviors to me that obviously indicate a mental illness, yet they are entirely unaware that they could be sick.

So how do we solve such a pervasive issue that seems never-ending? Things like more public funding for mental health care and better government-funded healthcare could provide a solution, but practices like self-care and simply being kinder to each other from the beginning of our lives could also hold the answers. We are so caught up in the endless expectations of life that we don't take time to acknowledge the positives of everyday things and we certainly don't take time for ourselves to process our thoughts and well-being. Everyone needs some restorative "me time" and allowing yourself that kind of a break could be the answer to both acknowledging your mental state and improving it.