TROY, Ala. (TROJANVISION) — April marks Counseling Awareness Month, a time where people are encouraged to focus on their mental health and care.

In light of this month, TROY’s Student Counseling Center is working to help students help themselves.

“Mental health is a very important thing especially nowadays it’s becoming more talked about,” said Student Counseling Worker Ellie Meredith. “While that’s amazing, I feel like there should be more awareness towards mental health and getting counseling and talking to somebody, if you want to.”

Some common problems students might have include depression, stress or loneliness. However anyone can visit the Student Counseling Center no matter how small they think their problems are.

“It’s really just good for anybody,” Meredith explained. “You can get into counseling and start talking about something that you may not think is a big deal. You start to learn more about yourself.”

The counseling on campus might not be for everyone and that is why Troy University has resources for you to find the help that you need.

We have a website called troy.thrivingcampus.com and it connects you to all the third party mental health resources in the area,” Meredith told TrojanVision. “It finds your location and it’ll connect you on everything based on insurance and needs and all of that.”

According to Meredith, taking that first step toward self-help can seem scary but the best thing you can do is put that fear aside.

“Reach out,” Meredith said. “It’s scary and it’s a big thing but once you get here, you can see that’s not so scary and you’re just talking to another person.”

For more information about TROY’s counseling services, visit the center’s website.