By: Chloe Rocha

The national suicide hotline is 988. This is a 24/7 hotline available in many different languages. There is also a texting method; the number is 741-741, text Home to start the conversation.

Mental health issues are something that almost everyone deals with. It is not uncommon to experience some signs of mental health issues at one point in your life.

Common signs of mental health issues can include, but are not limited to:

• A sense of feeling sad or down.
• Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate.
• Excessive fears or worries, or extreme feelings of guilt.
• Extreme mood changes of highs and lows.
• Withdrawal from friends and activities.
• Significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping.

There are also many more signs, these are just a few I have listed.

If mental health is something that everyone can experience but can’t control, then why should we have to pay for the resources to help get better? There may be some resources already available for free, but just because it’s free doesn’t mean that it’s good quality. To get the best out of these resources, it takes money.

I have been on the side of needing mental health resources but not being able to acquire them because of cost. Just recently, I wanted to seek help for something going on in my life, but wasn’t able to receive it because we didn’t have insurance or the amount of money that it would take to pay without insurance.

In Minnesota, the average self pay price for therapy is about $130 according to an article by Talktomira.com. However, the cost of seeing a therapist depends on the number of sessions you desire and book, your location, and many more other factors.

Although therapy is the most common mental health resource there are other alternatives that include:

• Exercise
• Meditation
• Art
• Music
• Journaling
• Reading
• Peer support
• Eco-therapy
• Medication
• Self help books

Some of these alternatives don’t require money, and are something that you could do on your own time, and in your own space. But these alternatives may not be effective, depending on the person that does these methods.