In this life there are many of us that struggle day in, and day out to just get up in the morning. There are days where all of the anxiety we experience begins to flood our brain making it hard to see clearly. Days where depression has us glued to our beds as if it is the strongest bond on earth. There are other days where recovery doesn't seem achieveable Sometimes we may even think that its time to throw in the towel, but sometimes we need to take a step back and realize that this crazy world needs someone like you in it.
1. Even though you may not think it, your family couldn't live without you. I know there are days where sometimes the reason you think about giving up is because of your family. Many times our family knows we are struggling but never really knows how to help us. I can tell you that regardless of their abilities to help, they would go to the end of earth for you. They love you more than you'll ever know, and if you shut yourself out of that love, and blind yourself to the magnitude of love they have for you, you're hurting yourself. Although you may think you deserve that feeling, I can tell you that your wrong, and you deserve all the love this world has to offer.
2. I know that your friends, that you may have pushed away, would take your pain away if they could. I know that at times we get in the mindset where we feel like we are a burden to our friends, so we slowly begin to fade back into our own world. We tell ourselves that its okay, and that we can deal with it on our own. (I thought the same thing too) I hate to tell you this, but sometimes having people is the healthiest coping mechanism we can use. I promise that those who love you, and care would never feel like you are a burden to them.
3. Recovering from a mental illness is so worth it. Although, we may not think so, it is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. I'm not going to sugar coat it, recovery is extremely hard. Recover requires a lot of hard work and dedication to loving ourselves. Healing is not linear and its okay to have bad days as long as you push through to see the good days as well. Recovery teaches us where we have been and how far we can go, as long as we make the commitment to bettering ourselves.
4. You are not alone. I know there are days when we feel so alone we wonder if people even think about us. We feel like its us against the world, and that feeling is one of the scariest feelings. I can tell you from experience that we are not alone, whatever mind games we play on ourselves to tell us otherwise, deplete the truth that lays somewhere in our head.
5. You aren't a burden. I know that for yourself you feel like you're a lot, but thats mainly because you're trying to tackle to many things at once. If you allow yourself to talk to a friend, or family member, I promise they will listen. Being open with others invites them to be more honest with you, which can open a whole new door you never knew existed. You may even connect on a deeper level that allows both of you to be there for one another which is a really great feeling, and it definitely boosts your mood.
6. For your kids now, or your future kids(even if they are furry and have four legs). Sometimes its hard to picture the future, its hard to get past this big wall that seems like it may take forever to climb. But I promise once you commit, you have committed to yourself, the young self that still resides somewhere within your soul and the future you that will thank you. You may one day grow to be one of the best parents to a child, you'll be kind, caring, and loving because you've seen the worst of the worst. Some little piece of you will be running around, and they're going to think your the best human alive, and if that doesn't make you smile, then maybe a furry four legged animal will. Even if your kids are pets, they will love you so much, and if you give up now that cute little puppy you see at the store may not ever get to love you as much as it would.
7. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. I know it is extrodinarily cliche but, it is the truth. You may hate hearing it now, and every day until you recover, but it is one of the most valid statements that I have heard. Being someone who is in recovery, there are days where the light isn't there, and others where its shining brighter than ever. When it shines so bright it blinds you, thats when you have to run towards it, because when you have a bad day, you'll be that much closer to the light on a good day. The tunnel may be long but I promise you're almost to the good side of it, so don't turn back now.
8. You'll be someones whole world one day. It doesn't matter when this day comes, just as long as you know that its there. Someone will look at you whether it be a friend, or significant other, and they will be so glad that you are in their life. They would not be able to imagine a life without you, and maybe you'd even be the reason they stick around on their bad days. Just by being you, you could save someone, or be the person that they think is the greatest person walking this earth.
9. You will make a difference in the world. With all that you have been through, you know to treat people with the upmost respect and love. You know that even the littlest things like a smile could turn someones day around. Even if you don't make a difference in the whole world, you will make a difference in someones whole world. I can promise you that because you have a perspective on this place that no one else gets to see. It makes you so resilient and makes you wary of others emotions. This will make you one of those people that walks into a room, and you light it up. You won't even have to be smiling but just simply being you will make the room light up.
10. That little 5 year old you had dreams, and that little you intends to keep them. Remember when you wanted to be a teacher, or an astronaut, or even be the best parent ever. Well, I have good news, if you stay on the road to recovery, and keep pushing through the bad days, that little 5 year old you will achieve their dreams. You, the amazing person that you are, can achieve the dreams that you once had. Even if you never become a teacher, astronaut, or the best mom or dad, you're going to be the best at something. Even if that something is making people laugh, I promise that smile you bring to someones face can flip their bad day on its head, and they'll keep pushing forward because of you.
11.Prove them wrong. You may wonder who you're proving wrong, and when I say them I'm talking about the demons that reside in your head. Those mean things in your mind that tell you a bunch of lies that hurt you. What they don't know is that you're a kick ass person and you don't give up without a fight. You may have been in the ring with them for a large amount of rounds but look at you, you're still fighting, and that says something. Theres something inside of you that wants to hold on, and that little something is what you should listen to.
12. You should stick around because you have survived EVERY SINGLE bad day so far. So if you have made it through every single bad day, whats the point in stoping now. Look how far you've come, even on the darkest days you have experienced you still woke up the next day and kept going. I'm not saying that these bad days are and easy task to overcome, but you did it, and that makes you super resilient. You may think you're weak when you hit those lows, but you're not being realistic with yourself. Pushing through those bad times, means that you're extremely strong even if you can't see it. It takes someone extremely strong to climb mountains even when they'd rather climb hills.
13. This too shall pass. It may pass like a painful kidney stone but, it will pass. If you push through this pain, there will be something on the other side that will sooth your pain. I don't know what that something, but I'm sure its different for everyone. I still struggle knowing that there is that something but look, I'm here doing the best I can even if it sucks. I know that "this too shall pass" is cliche, but man its one of the truest things ever. Do you remember when you had a bad day a year, two years, or even ten years ago, you didn't think you could get through it did you? But you did, and that says a lot about who you are.
There are of course more than 13 reasons to stick around and not give up, and the reasons are different for each person. We all have our own list that if we really tried to write out we would find that we could go on and on, until our hands hurt from writing before we ran out of reasons to not give up. I'd like to think that even in the black and white world we fall into, theres part of ourself that, if we release it, can color our world in colors this earth hasn't seen yet.
Trust me, I know this is a crazy list, it was even hard for me to right, being someone who struggles pretty significantly in their life but I still managed to do it, and you can too.
Remember that if there is no rain, theres no flowers. Without bad days, we wouldn't know what good days looked like.
If you or someone you know is struggling call the national suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255. Or text CONNECT to 741741 if you'd rather chat over text.
