Therapy has a stigma behind it. "If you seek therapy, you're crazy." Sound familiar? Plenty of public figures and everyday people have been leading the charge to knock down that stigma, but it's still there. This misconception has been pretty detrimental to those that suffer from mental illness but has been even more detrimental to those that aren't suffering from a diagnosable illness.

I'm a huge proponent of therapy and medication. If you can pursue a solution to a problem, do it. This applies to everyone. Therapy is awesome and it can be really helpful to simply talk through your everyday frustrations with an unbiased third party.

There's a reason that colleges across the country are starting to offer therapy to their students. Here at WVU, we have the Carruth Center. They offer counseling and psychiatry to students. Most of my friends frequent our mental health offices and use all the services offered to them.

Unfortunately, this is more an exception than a rule. Whenever therapy is mentioned, a lot of people brush it off with a comment like "I don't need therapy. There's nothing wrong with me." This statement is HALF true. They're right–there's nothing wrong with them. But as far as the other statement goes, they might need therapy. There's something really freeing about talking through your stressors with someone that's removed from your situation.

I'm not a therapist or a psychiatrist or anything else having to do with this field of work, so I can't give many specifics as to how it helps the average student, but believe me–I've seen counseling work wonders for plenty of my friends.

Don't write it off just because you don't think you need it. If you're stressed and overwhelmed, take advantage of the services offered by your university.