Coming to terms that I needed help was puzzling to say the least. For a long time, I believed that being mentally ill would mean that I was abnormal.

For the larger part of my life, it felt normal to not be expressive. Since I was a child, I expressed my emotions so rarely that even as I entered adulthood, it still felt embarrassing. It felt weird to put myself out there and I was content about not wanting to talk about myself. Eventually, I grew to become really passive in social situations.