asking for help with problems?

[SWM]

If you ever had trouble with a mental illness, did you find it hard to ask for help or go for counseling?
I'm wondering how people think and what their experiences have been.

[Shell]

I had trouble going for counseling.  I dealt with my issues for two years before I finally broke.  We are mandated to attend a sexual assault prevention and response training every year.  Well, while in this training, they played a movie which displayed a detailed rape scene (it wasn't real, but close enough).  I got sick to my stomach and had to leave.  The sexual assault coordinator caught me after I came out of the bathroom, when I tried to leave.  He finally convinced me to work with him about getting myself assigned to a victim's advocate and seek counseling.

It was very strange, scary, stressful, and just uncomfortable.  Two years of suffering from PTSD by myself made it hard for me to talk about it with anyone.  It was as if it were a permanent part of me that no one else would know.  But over time I was glad I chose to seek therapy.