Let me take a guess. You are not that good at asking for help.

Chances are that I'm probably right about most of you. Women in particular have a problem asking for the help that they need. Life can be hard and overwhelming and we all need help from time to time. I know in the past I was really bad at this myself. I thought that I needed to do everything myself and didn't want to tell family or friends that I needed help.

I didn't even want to ask my husband for help in the beginning of our marriage. Then, I would feel resentful that I was doing too much and no one was helping me. Luckily, I learned my lesson.

I ended up learning this lesson the hard way in life and that is why it is so important for me to share this message with everyone that I can. I ended up doing too much and putting myself under way too much stress. My marriage was in a bad place, we were under financial stress, we were moving into a place we couldn't afford. I felt scared, overwhelmed and alone. I needed help and was too afraid to ask.

I didn't want my family to know I was going through all this and I felt like a failure. I was trying to handle it all on my own. I didn't want my husband to know that I was scared and to put him under stress as well. So I sucked it all in and didn't ask for help.

The result. I had a massive stroke.

I can't prove that the stress caused it but it seems most likely. I had the stroke the day we moved into that too expensive apartment. They ran all the tests and there was no medical cause so the most likely reason for it was too much stress.

So, now you know why I think this is important. Although you will probably not have a stroke because they are pretty rare. The thing is that being overwhelmed and doing too much and not ask for help does affect your health in many negative ways. You can have trouble sleeping, bad headaches, stomach issues, risk of major health problems. We all don't want that.

Why you should ask for help and not worry about it

1. People you care about want to help you

That's what I forgot when I was getting myself all overwhelmed and stressed. I should have realized how much my husband and family loved me and that they wanted the best for me and were willing to help me when needed so that I could be happier and things could be better.

2. You will feel healthier and that's what everyone wants

If you aren't feeling like you should ask for help from family or friends because you feel bad, you need to remember this. By them helping you, your health would be better and those who love and care about you want to help you be healthy.

3. We all need help and struggle

There is no shame or reason to be embarrassed by needing help with things. I don't know anyone who can do everything that needs to be done in life on their own. That is why you should ask for help because it's normal to need it. We all need the support from others.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on A Fresh Start on a Budget. It has been modified and republished here with permission.