Mental health is something often overlooked in society today. Most people do not believe it is a real issue, some even say “it’s just in your head”. Yet, being home for the summer after my freshman year of college I can tell you mental health is not just “in someone’s head”. Mental health is an umbrella term for a number of related issues such as eating disorders, depression, anxiety, etc.

In today’s society everyone is quick to turn and judge someone based on how they appear, or act. Everyone tries to put on a facade when they go out around other people making it look like their lives are completely put together. Whether it is making their Instagram picture just altered enough to make it look like they have the skinniest legs and the “perfect” toned abs or competing with each other to see who can get over one hundred likes on a picture. Everyone tries to make it look like their life is perfect, because who wants to seem vulnerable and not perfect?

I have seen how detrimental it can be for girls that try to keep up with this facade because at some point, they break down. Mental illnesses are not something we can just brush under the rug. They are real, they are important and they are something that needs to be talked about.

Telling someone to “shake it off” or “get over it” does not help anyone involved. Mental illness is something that needs to be advocated for. Many people who experience a mental illness such as depression, or bipolar disorder often feel isolated and alone. They tend to not want to do many things. Many people mistake it for being lazy, or tired. Yet, for them it is a daily struggle, a real daily struggle that is more than just “get over it” ideals.

According to Kadima Mental Health Services and ASHA International, “Mental illnesses do not discriminate – they can affect anyone, men, women and children regardless of gender, race, ethnicity and socio-economic status.”

In our society today, everyone is fixated on having everything put together and being perfect for the outside world. Mental illnesses and mental health have become taboo in society because we do not want to hear that someone may need help, or someone may not be what society deems “put together.”

We as a society need to do something, we need to come together and fight back against the stigma against mental illnesses because they are real and becoming very prevalent especially among young adults and adolescents.

Suicide is raw and something that can be caused due to a mental illness. More often than not it is the outcome of a mental illness that has gone untreated. Instead of a society that labels people who have mental illnesses we need to be educated, learn our facts and be able to help fight back against the stigma that mental illnesses are something people just need to “get over” because it stems from something far more complex than feeling “down”