Even though May is mental health awareness month, there is never a bad time to bring attention to an issue that affects over 40 million Americans. As a Psychology major, I am captivated by the human mind and our complicated behavioral system. I find myself constantly questioning why we feel the way we feel and why we react to situations in certain ways both physically and emotionally.

Despite the fact that we, as a society, have come a long way towards better educating ourselves about mental health, mental illness continues to be stigmatized. People are afraid of opening up about their internal struggles in fear of feeling socially ostracized. We should never feel afraid. So many people struggle with their mental health every day, yet society makes us feel as if we are all alone in our abnormality everyday.

What many people, unfortunately, do not understand is that a mental illness is not the product of your parent’s divorce, the death of your loved one, or betrayal from a best friend. In fact, mental illnesses are a product of a chemical imbalance in the brain—something you have no control over. Sure, the situations mentioned above can trigger or even prolong the duration of your mental illness, but those situations do not fully address the underlying issue.

We need to be proactive about raising awareness about an issue that affects millions of people in our country and around the world. There are so many different ways to support mental illness and get involved; all it takes is our willingness to make a difference. I recently volunteered at the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) walkathon and it was honestly one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I felt fulfilled and proud knowing my efforts that Saturday morning at 6:00 A.M.—yeah I know, pretty early right?—helped make an incredibly impactful event succeed. There are many other mental health awareness organizations that you can become an active part of, such as, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH), the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH). These are just a few of the countless organizations that strive to raise awareness and build a supporting community for those who struggle to maintain a healthy state of mind.

Another way we can help make a difference is by making sure to see the person as a person, not the person's illness. The illness does not define the individual. Look at it this way, when you break an arm or a leg, do you say, “I am a broken leg”? No. You say, “I have a broken leg.” Therefore, why shouldn’t we express ourselves the same way when talking about mental illnesses? Instead of saying, “I am depressed,” we should say, “I have depression.”

Educating ourselves about the subject is another easy way to become part of the mental health awareness movement. You may think you know everything about having depression or anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder, but do you really know what these illnesses mean or how they impact an individual’s life? Probably not. So, do research or talk to somebody who struggles with a mental health issue because you will be surprised with what you learn and most likely has never crossed your mind.