Diana is the Content Developer at mindyourmind. She enjoys coordinating content, interviews and all your submissions! Her favourite sections on the site are everything in Personal Stories and Music & More! Occasionally, she'll throw her two cents into a blog as well.

Goes to show anxiety can affect anyone.  Not that I ever doubted this, but when you think of the carefree rowdy party bunch from Jersery, you probably don't think of any of them in any sort of serious context. And yet it's not surprising to me that Vinny Guadagnino recently shared his story about struggling with anxiety. Anxiety is the most common mental health disorder and an estimated 1 in 4 people struggle with mental illness, so faux-fur and cheetah-printed cast not exempt.

Recognizing that there are good ways to cope and ways that would only actually make the anxiety worse, Vinny noted after leaving a recent episode of Jersey Shore, "It's a terrible environment for me to be in when I'm anxious because there's drinking involved, there's fighting involved, a lack of sleep, a lack of privacy. It's just not a good place for me." He highlights that a resource we all have available to us, when faced with a hard time and are in an environment that doesn't help the problem, is to leave or remove yourself from that environment! I find this super useful myself. When I'm particularly stressed out or depressed, I know there are certain people that tend to make me feel worse, so I avoid them. Surrounding yourself with supportive people is always important, but especially important when dealing with a hard time. Understanding yourself and your limitations, such as how much sleep you need, for example, is also key.

I think Vinny talking about his anxiety issues is a good sign! It seems that as a society, our understanding of mental health issues and healthy coping strategies, is increasing. We are talking about it more, without shame or embarrassment and I'm always happy to see this when it happens - more MEN are talking about mental health issues! Mental illness was once only seen acceptable as a women's problem, a stereotype that we still struggle with today, so the more this myth gets disspelled, the better it is for everyone! The more men talk about mental illness frankly, openly and without apology, and deal with it in healthy rather than destructive ways, such as ignoring the problem, the easier it is for them and the people close to them.

In a video from Half of Us, an MTV mental health awareness initiative, Vinny talks about his experience with anxiety and really encourages those struggling with the disorder to reach out and get some help. He urges those struggling that, "Speaking up is the hardest part", but that once you do help is available.

To watch Vinny's video about dealing with anxiety issues and for more info visit  http://www.halfofus.com/vinny/ .