College students need to start talking about mental health

College is no walk in the park. With exams, relationships, parties, etc. it is completely normal to feel overwhelmed and stressed at times. Everyone has felt anxious about an exam, sad over a breakup, or nervous to go on a date with the guy they’ve been in love with since freshman year. However, it is when these emotions begin to interfere with everyday life that there becomes a problem.

Mental health is your condition with regard to your psychological and emotional well-being. In simple terms, mental health is single handedly the most important part of your life. It is how you feel mentally and emotionally overall.

Yet, many students are hesitant to open up to people about how they feel mentally and this is understandable. Unfortunately, one in four students have a diagnosable mental illness while 40 percent do not seek help. Now, before you get scared away by the word “illness” please keep in mind a mental illness can be anything from general anxiety disorder to an eating disorder to bipolar disorder.

Depression, another mental illness, is the number one reason students drop out of college. Think back to all your friends who have gone home or taken a semester off from school. It is more than likely the reason they have left college has something to do with their mental health. Even more devastatingly, think about all the articles and news reports you’ve seen about college students taking their own lives.

Suicide is currently the SECOND most common cause of death among college students. Over 1,000 college students die from suicide each year. Many of them are among the brightest, most genuine and intelligent students. Last year we lost one of our own students, Paul Walker, who was one of the best people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Young people are losing their lives over this issue. Why then, are we still so scared to talk about something one in four of us experience daily? Odds are you communicate with someone every day that has a mental illness and you are not even aware because they do such a great job at hiding it. Having anxiety or depression is nothing to be ashamed of. We did not choose to suffer. These illnesses are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Me participating in the Big Event with the National Alliance on Mental Illness on campus

With treatment such as medication, exercise or hobbies, you truly can improve. I know sometimes it is humiliating to admit that you are not okay. It is not easy to ask for help. It is not easy to open up to someone about something you do not even want to face yourself. But there is nothing worse than going through life with an illness untreated. You need to take care of yourself before you can accomplish anything else in life.

You are the most important part of your life. You deserve to be your best self.

I promise that things will improve the moment you start seeking help. Pain is so excruciatingly real. But so is hope.