Ren Cardenas always had a sense that they needed help. 

“I noticed I needed help mentally when I was young,” they said.

Cardenas is a first-year Highline student who has gone through many hardships with mental health.

Cardenas said they always knew something was off with how they felt.

“It started to feel like every day was a hassle and starting to feel like daily tasks were too much for me,” they said. “I would go on days feeling like there would be this massive empty feeling in my torso.”

Some people know how to get help, some don’t. The real question remains: How do you know you need help?

Joshua Magallanes, a counselor and therapist at Highline, explained some common signs.

“My inner therapist goes off when I start to notice people are not doing the things they love, and if they are, they’re not enjoying the process,” Magallanes said.

Magallanes said folks may be missing something in their lives that is eroding their happiness.

“What is it that they’re needing? I wonder what they’re missing, what they’re needing, or wonder what’s not present that they would like to be present,” he said.

People need some sort of confirmation that will help them understand what they’re feeling, he said.

To get that confirmation, people tend to self-diagnose, but sometimes it does more harm than good, he said.

“I think self-diagnosing is challenging in the way that there’s so much information you can search. Then people start to attach to that identity based on the criteria,” he said. “The criteria can change for everyone. You have to look at the situation.”

Cardenas agreed with this as well.

“It [self-diagnosing] can be unsafe for you if you misdiagnose and try to convince your doctor you 100 percent have a certain disorder if you haven’t searched anything properly.”

Looking at situations, the pandemic has created this gap with mental health, Magallanes said.

“A lot of people hold a lot of feelings and frustrations in because they don’t have the day-to-day distractions,” he said.

He said people may not realize how deeply their feelings affect them until they seek help.

“I really do think a lot of people who thought their mental wellness was good, have been hiding for a very long time, and hurting for a long time,” he said. “We had to stay in our body, in ourself. We didn’t know how to express it, and we [therapists] are seeing more folks come out and want some mental health support.”

Cardenas said they knew they were struggling.

“When it started to feel like daily tasks were too much for me is when I really started to notice my mental health,” Cardenas said.

Their mental health improved, but they still have moments where it’s difficult, they said.

“I think over the years its improved slightly, you can tell a physical difference, but there’s been waves of mental health not doing its best,” Cardenas said.

They were able to get medication.

“I was only medicated for eight months back in 2018 for antidepressants, and I felt like it was better,” they said.

Cardenas only took medication for eight months because their doctor took them off it once he said that they were “better,” they said.

It wasn’t ideal for them, but Cardenas has been able to find other ways to help improve their mental health.

“My best friends have supported me throughout every breakdown I’ve ever had,” they said. “They understood firsthand how I felt.”

No matter how tough times are, Cardenas will persevere, they said. 

“As of today, I’m doing not so great, but I’m trying to just do what I need to do,” they said. “But I plan on getting help soon.”

To reach for help, Highline provides counseling, free for all students.

To reach out to the counseling center and schedule an appointment, click here https://counseling.highline.edu/contact-us/

To read more about the counseling center and gain more resources, you can go to Highline’s counseling website https://counseling.highline.edu/