The first thing I want to say is...if you are in crisis and need immediate emergency assistance, call 9-1-1 or Crisis Response of SE Minnesota at (844) 274-7472. The second thing I want to say is you are not alone dealing with depression, anxiety, bi-polar, or a ton of other mental health issues. You're not broken, you're not weird, you're not a mistake, and you deserve respect and love just like everyone else. It is easy to think and feel like you don't matter, but. You. Matter.

There are so many "national months of...", why does Mental Health Month matter? One in five Americans is affected by mental health conditions, but many won't talk about it because there's still stigma attached to mental illness.

Physical health and mental health are closely linked. There's one place they un-link, though, and that's in perception. When someone shows up with an arm cast, people understand and relate to a broken arm. When someone is having an anxiety attack, very few people know what that looks like, so very few people can relate to it. We tend to stigmatize things we don't recognize or understand.

The good news is, this stigma can be overcome with education and conversation. And as we walk that road, more and more people will be honest about issues their facing. Over the next month, we'll be continuing to talk about mental health on the air, on this website, and in person. I hope you will, too.