Real Life

An Open Letter To Everyone Who Struggles With Depression


From the outside looking in, I look fine to you. But inside of my skin and through the thickness of my bones grows a shattering soul that is withering away with each breath taken

Depression Girl Sad

The above-mentioned statement is the only way I can describe depression to someone who hasn’t experienced it, because until you have gone down that road for yourself, you will have no idea how much pain depression can cause, and the lives it takes in the process, even if they are still on this earth. Depression is the illness that can come, get better, and come back even worse; a comeback with a vengeance. This illness can start in early childhood and progress into adult years.

Depression can be triggered by anything: stress, trauma, a bad relationship, loneliness, abandonment, or low self-esteem. But at the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter what caused depression to attack you in the first place. What matters is that you are a fighter. You are in fact fighting for your life every single day, and I am in awe of you. You’ve greeted strangers with a smile, you’ve gotten up and put your clothes on, you’ve put on your makeup right after wiping away those tears; I know how much effort you made to do all those things. You are scared silly by the path that you never imagined you would be on, but look at you: you are still here.

What many don’t know is that depression is an illness. It isn’t a state of mind in the same way as fleeting sadness and negative thoughts are. Depression is an attack on the mind, the soul, the being as a whole, that depletes our energy. And as human beings, we need good energy to survive in this world since our bodies are like machines that need to be refuelled continually in order to operate, to simply be on this planet.

Depression is a silent killer, one that I know you have not asked for. You would not wish it on anybody, not even your worst enemy. I know you look at your beautiful face every morning and wonder: why you? Why were you the one to be affected? Why did you have to go through it? I have thought the same thing over and over again. Depression is an illness that makes you unable to give yourself the credit you deserve. But right now, I am giving you that credit for fighting the battle of your life. I salute you for being brave enough to share your story with others when you feared judgment, and I salute you for being courageous enough to make it this far because depression is far from easy. You’ve had to deal with the comments from others, maybe family and friends who ask you why you are even depressed. You’ve had to hold your head up and fake a smile when people have asked you how you are, and I know it hurt you to smile and say “Great!” when you know you are slowly collapsing inside.

I don’t know your name, I don’t know your story, but I do know your life is worth living and your battle will not be in vain. Congratulate yourself for becoming a stronger man or woman because of what you have experienced. Depression came, but you are here. I salute you. 💗

Girl watching sunrise sunset

 


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