Juliette Virzi

Oftentimes, we millennials are viewed as being unable to handle the challenges life presents. When you struggle with a mental illness, life can be really difficult — and struggling doesn’t mean you don’t have resiliency skills. So, to my fellow millennials struggling with mental illness, this one’s for you.

I become aggressively social when I’m out with a lot of people. I don’t want to seem nervous so I start talking and sometimes can’t stop because if I do, my momentum will crash and I’ll feel myself panicking.

When panic attacks started to rule my life — everything revolved around them. That’s when I realized I couldn’t go on like this.

Any “adult” task added to my to-do list brought on a wave of anxiety about the impending need to accomplish it. I became so overwhelmed by these thoughts and how much I had to do that I felt immobilized. It was easier for me to pretend like I was managing just fine than admit I needed help.