There is no shame in admitting you need help. In fact, your life will get so much better when you do.

Between 9am and 10am this morning I got a phone call from my daughter who was calling from her college campus where she had arrived to her class building to find emergency responders and students gathered around the ground floor of the inside atrium where a 19 year old female student had fallen from the fourth floor balcony. Witnesses reported that the young woman jumped from the balcony in attempt to commit suicide. She was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

I could clearly hear in my daughter’s voice how shook up she was being there on the scene as the emergency responders were working. She just kept repeating how solemn the feeling was and how heavy it felt standing there with the other students in the atrium – I could hear the sense of shock in her voice. Shortly thereafter the university announced it was clearing the building and cancelling classes held there for the day. My daughter called me back to tell me she just wanted to come home so I hurried to head home so I could be with her. The first thing she said when she arrived home was, “I just need a hug.” You could see it on her face how much it had affected her. When I asked what we could do to help she said she really just needed to sit and talk about it with us so we spent the next several hours letting her tell us everything she had experienced and felt.

I can’t even begin to imagine how traumatized the students who actually witnessed the full incident must be. I truly hope that each of those students will seek out a professional counselor to help them process everything they witnessed today and let them talk through it all.  It was a very serious trauma and no one should attempt to handle that alone.

The name of the girl in critical condition has not been released yet so I have no idea who the family is. All I know is that my heart and my prayers go out to them and I would ask that anyone reading this consider offering a prayer in their behalf as well.

To anyone who is struggling with depression, or low self-esteem, or mental anguish of any kind it is my prayer that you be willing to seek out help. There is NO SHAME in seeking out help!  It is actually a show of tremendous courage when you can admit you are struggling and say you need help! It shows humility and fortitude and strength to be willing to get help! I admire people who are willing to seek out help when its needed.

I myself have needed help in my own life after going through a difficult divorce in my twenties and so did both of my children. We went to counseling and it helped our lives become immeasurably better. My current husband has also seen counselors at times in his life when he had difficult things to overcome and he too shares how it has changed his life for the better in the most incredible ways. Our lives have all been better because we sought help during those times we have needed it – Yours will be better if you do so too.  Remember, there is NO SHAME in admitting you need help.

~Amy Rees Anderson