Feeling like you hit rock bottom in life is a scary and dark place for many people. Oftentimes this place is extremely hard to get out of. Sometimes you don't want to get out of this place, and sometimes you feel like the only way out is by checking out of life. Every morning you wake up and look outside the window and think, "Not another day". For many people, trying to climb out of that hole takes a long time: weeks, months, even years.

Anxiety and depression affects a lot of people in many different ways. As someone who is trying to come to grips with these mental health issues, climbing out of that hole has not been easy. Imagine a deep crater in the earth; a crater so deep that when you look up you can barely see the light from the sky, much like you can just barely see a star in the middle of New York City. At my lowest point, this is what my feelings would look like.

Much of it comes from fear of the unknown. For example, I wanted to get an internship this summer. I only applied to less than a handful before summer hit. I heard nothing back from anyone. While disappointed at first, I made it my mission to get one this fall. It was a mixture of self-discipline and self-doubt that ultimately led me to hit rock bottom in the middle of the summer. I would say I that hit rock bottom about five times in my life, and every time I felt like checking out.

But that feeling doesn't last forever, even though it feels like it will. I don't so well when I don't have a plan. I like structure; it feels safe. Without it, my anxiety levels peak, and subsequently lead to a depressive state. But now that I have an internship this fall, those feelings aren't as strong anymore. So now that I have figured out what causes these feelings to flare up, I have a better idea and plan of what to expect when they flare up again in the future. I have a great support system, which is all that I can ask for really.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to seek help if you feel like you need it, or if things just don't feel okay. It's okay to not feel okay, but it's not okay if you're not getting better. I think that everyone should go to a therapist at least once in their lives, or perhaps once a year, even if someone thinks that they don't need one. Believe me, you will come away with learning something new or different about yourself; I can speak from personal experience. It's socially acceptable to get a physical once a year, so why not get a check up on how you're feeling with a professional too?