According to the National Institute of Mental Health as of 2019 51.5 million people suffer from some type of mental illness. Even though society as a whole is slowly starting to accept these illnesses and the people with these illnesses, people are still fighting societal stigmas and stereotypes everyday. When living with this, sometimes it can start to feel lonely to find that person to talk to that won’t judge you for the things you feel or say. Therapy is an amazing way to get help understanding what’s going on in your head and it also provides that unbiased person that can help you in a way that works for you.
Most colleges and universities offer counseling services, but yet we are slow to use them. Some schools don’t promote their office leaving students to feel like they have to struggle by themselves. When universities don’t have conversations about mental health so they are only contributing to societal stigmas and stereotypes instead of fighting against it like they should.
Luckily my university made sure that all students knew that counseling was there to help, but I thought for a long time that it wasn’t something that was accepted in the student community. I had this thought in my head that my friends or people in my class would find out I was in therapy and make fun of me or talk about me behind my back. When I first transferred to my university I was overwhelmed, I was dealing with my anxiety and depression alone. The first time I walked into the counseling services office, I had an excuse ready incase anyone I knew saw me walk in there. Luckily the counseling office is the same office as health so if anyone questioned me I was going to say I was going to health so look at a scrape or something.There was always this voice in the back of my head saying that what I was going through wasn’t enough to bother someone with it. I was also worried about what I was going to say, I have always had a problem with communicating my thoughts into words, thinking that my words don’t make sense.
As I went through my first session at first I was a little nervous and uncomfortable. I was fidgeting and avoiding eye contact with my therapist. As the session progressed I started to become more comfortable with her. I didn’t feel that she didn’t care about my problems. Instead I felt validated, and she actually wanted me to feel better and comfortable telling her anything. Therapy isn’t something to feel ashamed about or even kept hidden.
Making sure we as human beings are mentally and emotionally stable and getting help when we aren’t is especially important in times like these. Therapy is you taking that first step to you saying “okay maybe this can help.” It shouldn’t matter what any of your friends or family say, if you believe that therapy can help you then don’t listen to negative comments. Listen to yourself, and start taking care of your mental.