When I was creating this blog, I put the "life" bit in the title to leave it open for me to talk about things that aren't writing related, but still important.
So today I'm writing about
mental illness. I've had depression and anxiety for years. And for ages, I didn't tell anyone about it, because I was scared of what they might think. I'm not sure when I started talking about it, but I'm glad I did. Not only because it's a relief to be able to tell my friend that I need to take a minute by myself to breathe, but also because I want others to be able to talk about it. I want to fight the stigma surrounding it. I want to make it so that others can speak out, without fear of being judged. And I also want to give those of you who struggle with mental illness a pep talk.
Mental illness is hard. It sucks.
But you know what? I think we're some of the strongest people alive. Because
we're fighting a war in our head every single day. And not only are we winning,
but we're also going about normal life, to the best of our ability. Sometimes
victory is having a great day, but sometimes it's making it through without
having a panic attack. Sometimes it's getting your homework done, or talking to
people. Sometimes it's being able to get out of bed. We know that this thing
will always be in our heads. We know that people won't understand that we can't
do this because of our mental illness, because there's this stigma. But we
still manage to function. We still live. Sometimes just staying alive is a
victory.
So, I want to tell you
this. You aren't alone. You are so brave. So far you have a 100% survival rate.
That's pretty darn good. You will have bad days. But you've had bad days before
this, and you've made it through those. You can make it through this one, too.
One more thing--
please, please, don't hurt yourself. You don't deserve that. There are people
who care. Even if you can't see that right now, people care. Even if I've never
met you, I care. It breaks my heart to think of you, not knowing that. Having
people who care about me has been my greatest blessing through this. Please,
talk to someone. Your parents. A church
leader. A school counselor. A professional therapist. These people can help
you. It might be hard for a while, but one day, you will be glad you lived. I
promise.
Love,
Katelyn
