Mild stress and low-level anxiety are not only common in college students, but they often motivate students to prioritize and accomplish their work.

While it's likely every student has felt stressed at one point or another during his or her academic career, we believe it's incredibly important for college students to be aware of the difficult and dangerous side of mental illness.

This week, the student organization Active Minds is holding events during its "Stomp the Stigma: Mental Illness Awareness Week." The group is using this week's events as an opportunity to educate students on mental illness and depression. We strongly encourage students to attend the events Active Minds has organized and to stop by the group's booth on the second floor of the Alumni Memorial Union, open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day this week.

While Active Minds has set up a week's worth of events, including panel discussions and a showing of "A Beautiful Mind," we believe this evening's event is the most important of the week. Tonight at 6 p.m., a Marquette student will speak on dealing with suicide and bipolar disorder in the AMU, room 227.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 5.7 million adult Americans suffer from bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Symptoms can occur throughout a person's life, but bipolar disorder typically develops in late adolescence or early adulthood — around the same age as many of the students on this campus. Similarly, anxiety and panic disorders are often diagnosed when patients are in their college years. Panic disorders affect about 6 million American adults each year, and they are twice as common in women as in men.

With many mental illnesses manifesting themselves in college-aged individuals, it is vital that students are aware of these illnesses and know where to turn for help.

Marquette's Counseling Center offers counseling and screening for many mental health issues, including perfectionism, stress, anxiety, loneliness and depression. Students can call 414-288-7172 to set up an appointment or follow the link on the center's Web site for an online self-screening program.

Every student should know about the types of mental illness that affect young people, and we hope every student takes advantage of this week's offerings to educate themselves.

Further, we hope students use this week to put a stop to the stigma of mental illness. It is never weak or silly to ask for help or to call a counselor. Even mild stress and anxiety can put a strain on students, and it's always better to talk to a mental health specialist or doctor than to let mild symptoms take a deeper hold.