Depression

The main thing I had to keep telling myself, reminding myself during the 3.5 years that depression tried to steal my life away, was that it was alright for me to experience happiness. Even if it was fleeting, even if it was just a laugh, a smile, it was still okay for me to experience those things, even if I felt like the piece of garbage my brain was telling me that I was. Just because I felt worthless, that didn't mean that happiness was off limits or that I didn't deserve it. So little joys like that helped. Also, making a point to not give up on the things that made me who I was. Like, I've always loved reading and writing, creative things, things that require imagination. Depression makes all that stuff really hard, it makes everything hard because of the weight that it's constantly trying to crush you beneath, and if you let it stop you from being you, then crush you it will. So I had to force myself to keep reading, keep writing, and doing those things helped me quite a bit. Whatever it is that makes you you, keep doing it. There is light at the end of the tunnel, however far away it is or seems to be. But it's not going to come to you, you have to keep moving toward it. The depression will tell you that it's too much work. Don't listen. You can make it. And when you don't think you can, find someone to lend you a little strength. Someone's always willing to help, even you're not comfortable sharing everything that you're going through.