With June just starting up, that officially marks the end of May being Mental Health Awareness month.
So why is it that I’m only just now getting around to writing this?
I’ve always been a strong advocate for mental health as I, like many others, have anxiety.
I knew back in April that this was something I wanted to talk about, and throughout all of May I kept telling myself, “oh I still have plenty of time.”
I would add more things onto my to-do list, causing other things to fall behind.
I would worry about not being able to get things done on time, causing me to shut down at points.
Having anxiety isn’t a bad thing, although it can lead to some complications in life. For instance, the timing of this piece.
Anxiety has many ways of manifesting.
For some of us, it causes us to put too much on our plate. For others it causes us to overthink every detail possible. Some worry about things constantly. Sometimes it’s a combination of things.
Some of us may not even realize we have it because we’ve dealt with it for so long that it’s just “normal” to us.
Maybe it’s you who suffers from this, or maybe it’s someone you know.
At the end of the day, it’s important to be able to recognize these things in order to, get help should you need it.
Being able to accept the fact that you have anxiety (or any sort of mental-health-related thing) can be scary.
Sometimes we keep all of these things to ourselves because we’re afraid people may think of us differently.
While I agree that it can be scary, it’s important to know that you’re not alone.
I hope we can reach a point where mental health becomes something we talk about enough and are then able to take away the negative stigma behind it.
Ultimately, remember that you’re not alone in what you may be feeling, and there are resources available to get help if you think you need it.
Hector Lucas is a SWOSU graduate with a knack for video and design and a ready hand at storytelling.