This is for anyone who knows what it's like to not to be OK so much that you worry people may notice that you're not OK, so you pretend that you're OK just so you don't have to explain yourself...again. You feel like no one around you knows what you're going through. You're trapped inside your own mind. You've made your own personal hell for yourself. These illnesses drain you, keep you in bed, give you trouble breathing, make you shake, cry and give you headaches. Studies show that one in five people suffer from anxiety and over 350 million people suffer from depression, but still our society doesn't take mental illness nearly as seriously as physical illness. Some days it's hard to face a world that doesn't accept these things as "real." Some days you feel alone.

You are not alone.

Every day is a nightmare and every night is worse.
At one point,
you don't even remember when,
your life became all pretend.

Every day is a game,
to make sure no one sees,
the pain you hold inside,
the words that make you bleed.

Every night is a struggle to sleep,
and a struggle to stay awake,
you toss and turn and lose your mind,
and lay in bed and shake.

You wake up with no motivation,
and you can't leave your bed,
you have all of these scenarios,
that you made up in your own head.

You have to get out, you need to leave,
the world doesn't stop for you,
you look for help, but no one can,
they just haven't got a clue.

You don't know why you feel like this.
You're stuck. You're lost. You feel insecure.
you feel like you can't escape,
this is the one thing you know for sure.

They tell you "suck it up"
"you're OK" "life goes on"
but what life are you even living
when everything feels wrong?

There's no cure-all medicine
to heal all of your pain,
take away every angry thought,
to make your mind feel sane.

You need to remember,
you are not alone,
you are loved,
so many have been lost too soon.

You might not believe a stranger,
but we are more alike than you know,
I'm just like you, hiding myself,
I'm afraid of what I'll show.

I'm here to tell you,
everything will be OK,
just give it a chance,
tomorrow is a brand new day.

Help is here. No matter you are going through, there is always someone willing to help. Someone who is walking in different shoes of the same size. Find them. Reach out to them. You're going to be OK.