the thing about being depressed

"i feel off" // "i don't feel great" // "i'm just feeling a bit down" // "i'm sad" // "i'm depressed"

the thing about being depressed is that it's a whole spectrum ranging from mild to extreme. you can get sad when something bad happens, like losing a loved one, or a break up. or you can get triggered by something & be depressed for a couple of days. or you can just get sad for no reason, bc you have depression & it just comes out of nowhere

the thing about being depressed is that sometimes it can be all- consuming. sometimes you just want to stay in bed all day. sometimes you can't fall asleep. sometimes you feel like everything is pointless. sometimes you want to kill yourself- i hope it never gets that bad for you

i hope you never feel like you don't belong in this world. i hope you never feel like life is so awful that you'd be better off dead. i hope you never feel like you are alone. i hope you never feel like nobody cares. i hope you never feel like you can't do anything right. i hope you never feel like your only option is to take your own life. i hope you never do take your own life

almost everyone has their off days/months/years- you are not alone. you're not the only one who feels this way, even if you feel as if you are. you're not the only one who wants to retreat into themselves, even if the world makes you feel that way. you're not the only one who cares & feels too much, even if others seem completely fine & normal

always know that someone, somewhere, cares about you. even if you can't think of even one person off the top of your head, i can- me. i care about you. i don't even have to know you to care about you. people care, they really do. i've sent many a message (on/off anon) to people who i saw were feeling down, feeling out of it, feeling suicidal. i've checked on my friends who haven't talked to me in years to make sure that they are ok. i've sent random tumblr users messages just wishing them a good day bc i know that it can make a difference. i would do that for you too if i knew you were struggling

sometimes, we who struggle like to pretend that we're fine. we push it all down, we bottle our feelings. we tell ourselves that everyone gets sad & that we're just making too big a deal out of it. we ball it all up & try to throw it as far into the back of our minds that we can. we try to distract ourselves & we don't tell people what's wrong. but why not?

there's a stigma surrounding mental illness, depression, just about everything really. & it's so ridiculous bc so many people suffer from it & feel as if they are the only ones. so maybe what we, as a society, need to do is open up & stop being afraid of being sad, of letting people know that we're sad, & of feeling weak. you're not weak just bc you're depressed. you're strong bc you are depressed but you still go through each day, living, fighting, staying strong

i just wanted to let you know that i love you. no matter what you are going through, you are not alone. people really do care, I CARE ABOUT YOU. if you need someone to talk to, reach out to a friend, an adult you trust, or even me. i will listen to you. i hope you know that you are loved & that you are a wonderful human bean. i'm glad that you are alive & that you're on this earth

much love, samizaweirdo