Mental health struggles are on the rise. So many people, a really sad and tragic amount of people, struggle deeply with their mental health and battle every day, even without anyone around them knowing at times. Maybe even you do. 

Mental illnesses are a real thing; they take lives away, even outside of suicide. It is grim, it is awful, but it is a reality. People lose all sight of themselves and the environment around them due to their poor mental state. Being in this state of mind for a prolonged period of time, primarily without any outside support, can and will eventually take a toll on your physical health as well. For example, people with depressive and/or anxiety disorders can experience headaches, stomach pain, nausea, body aches, and the list goes on and on. 

What’s also scary about mental illnesses is that they have a tendency to, when untreated, build into more difficult, harder to treat disorders. This is why it’s so important to take care of and maintain your mental health to the very best of your abilities; not only is it pertinent to your safety and happiness, it can be super rewarding and you learn a whole lot about yourself by caring for yourself and, in turn, learning to appreciate yourself. An appreciation for yourself will spread to those around you, and thus begins quite the ripple effect of a little bit of joy in this world. 

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Many are fearful they have no purpose in this world. I think almost everyone feels this fear that we have to “make a difference” and “leave an impact” in our lifetime. However, we all are making differences every single day of our lives, no matter how insignificant we feel. All of our little actions add up and change the lives of those around us one by one, and you really end up impacting people that you will never even met! I promise that you are not unknown; you make such a difference even outside of your small circle of people you know. Every person is so very important in their own niche way, and it would be ignorant of yourself to consider yourself out of this importance as well. As cliché as it may sound, you really do matter and your presence is noticed and loved by so many people. Your impact goes far beyond what you could ever imagine, and most of our lives have barely even begun in the great scheme of life. 

Despite countless setbacks that many people experience in their adolescence (whether it be situations, disorders, or both,) these individuals grow up to not only succeed, but also flourish, and even learn to appreciate parts of them that they hated for so long. Everything is temporary, including the seemingly concrete-set headspaces that keep us from getting to a place we are happy in. Though completely changing an outlook overnight is quite frankly impossible, through small changes and correcting your thoughts, it is very possible to make gradual changes in your psyche. You may not even notice for a while, but surely people around you will notice. You aren’t required to have validation from those around you to do better, but being told “you’re doing well, keep it up” can mean the world to someone struggling but persevering and working tirelessly on improvement.

Whether you or someone you know struggles with mental illnesses and/or a poor state of mind, change is always possible and within reach. Struggle makes us who we are, and we learn so much about ourselves when we go through seemingly horrible and hopeless situations. We will always go through setbacks and situations we feel are impossible to deal with, but we always pull through to the other side and live to tell the story and further spread our knowledge. We will all be okay and we will all enjoy our time on our shared planet Earth.