LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Sharing can be hard to do. Especially when it comes to the topic of mental health and an individual's journey with mental illness.

This week, during our mental health awareness week, we're looking to feature the insight from some strong members of our Biola Athletics community who're brave enough to talk about what they battle and how it's interwoven with their personal story.

As we're beginning to learn - a lot of times the sharing itself can be the first step towards healing but can also be the hardest part of the journey.

A lot is expected from student-athletes. They're individuals who must maintain a full-time course load, work 20 hours a week at practice and conditioning, participate in competition and travel to and from competition and still maintain a healthy and active social life and perhaps part-time work.

That burden can add up quick, and the pressure from all sides can feel suffocating. It's a challenge for anyone, and for someone who's lived with tendencies towards anxiety for a decade, there's been nothing more valuable in combating the stress than community.

"It goes in cycles. I always have it, but it will get really bad every couple of years and this year has actually been one of those tougher years," she said.

She describes the anxiety as "feeling trapped, alone and kind of lost." She mentioned episodes of the anxiety that have made it hard to breathe and brought about dizziness. "It's kind of an everyday battle," she says.

This student-athlete has dealt with high anxiety since she was in fifth grade. She's kept it under wraps for most of her life, but over the course of the last 12 months is beginning to take steps to be more and more open about the topic.

"This year I opened up to my team about it," she said. "I am fighting the urge to want to keep it in, because I hate feeling alone in it. I want to be able to be there for others who struggle with it, so that they too can know they're not alone."

The student-athlete described the temptation towards secrecy as one that's motivated by a desire to maintain a sense of normalcy. She says it's easy to keep the topic hidden inside because then there's no room for anyone to judge her. Once it's out in the open there's space for people to push her away because she's got this heavy topic associated with her.

That fear is what's kept her from sharing for so long, but now that she's seeing the opposite effect she wants to be transparent to others and encourage them to also seek the help of their communities.

"I want others to know that there is a ton of people who deal with this," she said. "I was always afraid of being alone in it, but I was also afraid of telling people. Don't be afraid of telling people out of fear of being alone."

The act of sharing her story has not solved everything, as she describes feelings of anxiety as still being a daily battle, but now she's established people she trusts as sources of comfort and guidance. She mentioned how her coach in particular has been a big support, whether it's during the course of competition or during long road trips.

"I know it's better to face the fear and get over it, rather than letting it determine my life," she said. "I've finally learned that I WILL be OK. I just have to remind myself of that."

For more information on mental health resources at Biola, please visit this link https://athletics.biola.edu/sports/2018/11/16/student-athlete-mental-health.aspx.

Feel free to reach out to Rachel Reynolds (Women's Golf) for more information on her journey.