In today's generation, it seems as if people can either be the happiest as they can be or incredibly sad and unhappy. There are some people who are living their lives and doing very well but more often than not, there are people who struggle with life and find it to be difficult. I will throw myself into the second category listed above. What I am saying is that people like me have their own inner demons and issues to battle.

There is nothing wrong with seeking professional help, but it's also fine to neglect help and deal with problems head-on. Sometimes people just don't want help and develop the idea that no one can help them…which is also fine. However, no matter how people look at it, people will always deal with their darkest moment.

I'm not writing this to tell people how to cope with their problems, but I am writing this to help people to understand that they are not the only ones who are hurting. They are not the only ones who are in pain. They are not the only ones who may say evil and negative things about themselves. This is a simple and basic understanding that we are only people and we deal with real-world problems.

Think back to your high school days. What were some of the things you always looked forward to? The football game every Friday night, Homecoming, the cliques you always hung out with, Prom, or even an assignment or exam you were fussing over and studying hard for. None of those things were the case for me in high school, especially my sophomore year. I would not say nice things about myself, I would not compliment myself, whenever someone complimented me I would always shrug it off and give a defeatist response to them, and I felt isolated from everyone.

There were consistent patterns of behavior that I would have where I would be extremely happy one day and then extremely sad the next. I would be the nicest person to all my friends and teachers and then the next day I would be harsh and mean to them.

The reasons why I had these problems was because I dealt with a heavy stress load of depression, and I still do today. I was also grieving over a personal loss of mine but never summoned the courage to tell anyone what I was going through. As a result, no one took me seriously and they began to eliminate me from any aspect of their lives. That resulted in alienation and isolation for me. Sophomore was my best academic year, but I was socially awkward and introverted.

As mentioned, I said there is nothing wrong with getting help from a professional in the field, but it's also valid to avoid seeking professional help. It was the case for me because I neglected help from anyone. If you want to try and do what I did, I won't encourage you to do so but depression is a state of mind that effects someone mentally. It may be fine to not get help, but getting help would be in your best interest to make sure you are content with life.