I know sometimes life gets tough and it feels like there’s a monster on your back,

Whispering in your ear all those “I can’t do it’s” and “I’m not enough’s."

It shines light on all your demons, the ones that hide under your bed at night.

It takes pieces of you; the pieces that believe you are strong.

Don’t listen. Close your ears to the monster.

Sit on the floor and read good books until your imagination comes back.

Cuddle up in blankets until your heart feels warm again.

Look up pictures of baby animals until you can sit up straight and smile.

Fight off the monster on your back. Push back until you feel whole again.

I know some days it feels like everything is coming down around you.

It gets easier to give up then to try and fix it.

The motivation to live that used to run through your veins, inherently given to you,

Has been stolen by the monster.

The fight or flight reflex we are all given made you fend for yourself;

You’ve decided that fighting isn’t worth it anymore.

Don’t listen. Close your heart to the monster.

Don't cut your limbs like unwanted branches from a tree;

You are nature that needs be preserved and appreciated too.

Sit outside and look at the life around you,

The flowers, the birds, the bugs and the strangers surrounding you,

Sit there and watch until life feels real again. Until the idea of living feels real.

Fight off the monster on your back. Push back until you feel whole again.

There will come a day when the first thought you have when waking up,

Isn’t "When can I shut my mind off again."

There will come a time in your life when each day doesn’t feel like a battlefield

Scattered with bleeding parts of you.

There will come a place in your life where you can feel safe

From the monsters that plagued you when you were younger.

There will come a time when society will no longer have a hold on you,

Telling you who to be and how you should be it.

Instead, you will decide who you are and be proud of every decision you made to get there.

Don’t listen to the monster that whispers to give up. To give in.

Sit and think of the future days you have to come when the dark isn’t so daunting.

Fight for the times of light that you have ahead of you. Push back until you feel whole again.

Write down a good memory you have. Now write down another. Write until you feel whole again.