“Every year in the United States, approximately 1,100 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 commit suicide, and nearly 24,000 attempt it,” according to the National Library of Medicine.

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. This month, it is important to let everyone know that they are not alone. In the brain of someone battling depression or another mental illness, suicide can sometimes feel like the only option, but it’s not.

GCSU has so many resources to help when you feel helpless. Attending the free counseling sessions that the school offers is a great way to get started on your mental health journey.

I started going to Counseling Services my freshman year when I just really felt like I needed help, which is nothing to be ashamed of, by the way. From those counseling sessions, I was referred to a psychiatrist. Through this whole process, I was able to discover more about myself and learn how to take better care of myself.

But I get it, asking for help is hard. Whatever is stopping you, whether it is pride, fear or lethargy, please do not let that prevent you from getting the help that you need. I know it can sound cliche, but it really is okay to not be okay.

I think the hardest part for me is sticking with regular appointments, especially when other things come up or I just get really busy. Counseling Services will work with you on that; the therapist that I meet with is very amenable and lets me schedule appointments more than two weeks in advance so that when the time comes I have no excuse to push off the meeting or delay talking through my worries and stressors.

If you are unsure how to start going to Counseling Services, I would recommend going on the GCSU Counseling Services website and reading about all of the counselors that you could meet with. They all have descriptions about what they specialize in, and you can take that information and decide who might be the best counselor for you. Then, you could email the one you chose or call the counseling center to make an appointment. This is not the only way to go about setting up an appointment, but it offers you a lot of control and choice, which for me was very relieving.

I will tell you though, going to therapy is hard. Talking about what bothers you, upsets you and makes you tick can be very draining. After sessions, I either need a nap or a sweet treat to pick me back up, but I also leave knowing this work is so worth it.

As hard as it can be, therapy can also be a safe space. You can talk about anything you need to and feel no guilt about burdening your friends or feeling as though you are gossiping about someone you care about. For me, it is a place to relieve my stressors without feeling indebted or guilty for doing so.

I never want anyone to feel as helpless as I have, and know that everyone around you would rather find out that you are going to therapy than to have to wonder what could have been saved happened if you did.

I have never tried to end my own life, and I have never even harmed myself, but there have been times in my life when I did feel hopeless, and I wanted to just stop. I used to hope that I would go to sleep and maybe that could be it, but I am so glad that life did not end when I was 16. Going to therapy now helps me when I have flare-ups of hopelessness.

Life is so worth living, and even with the stress of young adulthood, hormones and our impending careers, there is so much time left for you. There is so much hope left for you.

Therapy is hard, being diagnosed with a mental illness is hard and just learning how to navigate life with it is really, really hard. But nothing is as hard as going through it without help. “Toughing it out” is just not worth it guys, so please get the help you need, and if you see a friend struggling, let them know that they are not alone.

Sometimes a message from a friend that says they love me or something funny they saw that reminded them of me keeps me going. Those little things remind me why I am trying so hard to be okay, and why it is fine that I am not okay all of the time. So be that person for your friend.

Take a look at GCSU Counseling Services, and please call or text the suicide hotline at 988. They are available 24 hours a day if you need to speak with someone immediately.

Your life is worth the extra work.