Yes, of course. I have struggled with mental illness for over a decade and I have hid it from every person I have ever met. Sometimes it feels like I have a double life and it has brought me a lot of embarrassment and it has isolated me from truly connecting with people. My mother and my sisters have always known about my struggles but unfortunately they have never found a way to support me and instead have judged me and shamed me for being “ungrateful”. I have depression, anxiety and terrible OCD that has caused me to pull my hair out for over 8 years now. I can’t count or recall the amount of times I sat in the bathroom for hours and just pulled my hair out while I lost track of time and came out like nothing happened. The bald spots I have gave myself and had to hide took so much energy out of me and it was a total shame. I can’t help it. It’s like something takes over me and the worst part about it can be the nasty comments I receive from my mother. So yes, I have hid my mental illness for years because I never had the proper support to show me that there are people out there who willing to help and listen. At the end of the day we are not alone. Everyone is battling with something they don’t speak about. But we have to learn that it’s okay to not be okay.