Recently I met an inspiring woman named Lauren Cook, also known as “The Sunny Girl.” I immediately connected with her and was drawn to her optimism and work in the field of mental health. I admired her positive outlook and motivation to live the best life possible.

Lauren, who’s working toward her doctorate in Clinical Psychology, is an author, therapist, and national speaker. She travels around the country, giving presentations to college students on the importance of mental health and how to achieve happiness and fulfillment in life. She stresses mindfulness and making time for self-care.

I was amazed to see the correlation between Lauren’s presentation and mine. I’m a speaker for NAMI’s in-school mental health awareness campaign, “Ending the Silence.” One of the main differences of our programs is that I talk to high school students and Lauren speaks to millennials.

But the message is the same: It’s okay…