As difficult as alcohol and drug abuse are, they’re not hopeless conditions. There’s often hope all around if you know where to look for it.

For example, if you’re a student at a college or a university, you probably have a health services facility available on your campus. These facilities often offer medical professionals who can conduct preventative checkups or can help you if you’re sick or if you need medications for various conditions. They also often offer mental health services.

Such mental health services can be critical. So many times, we use medication for infections or diseases or visit doctors to apply casts to our broken limbs, but we neglect the most important organ of all—our brains. But without good mental health, everything else in our lives could suffer.

Unfortunately, some people try to treat such mental health conditions themselves by using drugs and alcohol. After all, we might reason, drugs and alcohol are mind-altering substances. We might be looking for a way to alter our minds so we’re not anxious, depressed, or struggling with an eating or bipolar disorder.

But using drugs and alcohol can make such conditions worse. That’s where your friendly campus health services can help. These facilities often employ counselors who help their clients acknowledge their mental illnesses and help them develop tools to deal with these illnesses, tools that don’t involve the use of drugs and alcohol.

If cost is a concern, many campuses offer low-cost health and mental health services that tuition might partially cover. Some students might still be on their parents’ insurance as well, which could drive down the cost of such services.

Campus health services can also help clients find further help. They can refer students to doctors and facilities that have experience and success in treating complex disorders such as drug and alcohol abuse.

It isn’t easy to admit you need help, but seeking help can mean the difference between struggling through life and enjoying it.