How many of you have ever struggled with mental health? I know I have since I was 3 or 4 years old. It’s like being chained down with no escape.

The average person spends 55 minutes per day worrying. However someone with an anxiety disorder worries over 300 minutes per day. With the six different anxiety disorders I have, including general anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, major depressive disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, I spend about 500 minutes worrying each day.

There are only 1,440 minutes in a day, so I spend nearly half of the day worrying.

You probably know more than 20 people, and one in 20 struggle with America’s most common disorder — anxiety. The reason this is such a big problem is because someone you know is struggling and they need your help.

But we have tools that can help us work on this issue, such as coping skills. Coping skills include talking, using distractions like art or hobbies and self care. Together, we can talk and bring this issue to light.

I need you to take care of yourselves and others with anxiety by helping them out. Take a bubble bath, or shower, do something relaxing, even brush your hair. Whatever makes you feel better, that is positive.

If you or someone you know needs help, ask for support or support them. You can do this by saying to someone, “I need your help to be safe,” or listen to someone when they say, “Hey, I need help.”

This is important to all of us because a lot of people struggle with anxiety and it may be you or someone you know. Anxiety is like a monster who makes you afraid of the world and everything in it.

Kilee Busch

Bothell