Dear You
I want you to know that you are not alone, I understand, I believe and I know
I have stood in that never ending dark tunnel with no light or ending in sight
I have looked into an empty bottle of pills after I have consumed them all
I have drank the last dregs from a cheap bottle of cider to numb the pain
I understand how it feels to slice a razor blade across your skin to allow the poison to escape
I know your pain, as I feel it too
I know what fear feels like and have stared it in the face
I know how it feels to be alone
I believe you, I hear you
I understand what it’s like to feel worthless
I know all too well how exhausting the fight is
I feel the shame and the guilt just as you do
I know what it’s like to not want to wake up
I believe you but I also believe in you
I need you to believe me too, to know that together we can stand tall, united together and we can seek help and we can speak out.
We can survive and we can fight this illness. We can manage and we can cope, we will not lose this fight. Do not suffer in silence, I am here for you. When you have nobody else to turn too, know that I am thinking of you.
I promise you I will keep fighting; I need you to promise me that you will too. Then I know I am not in this fight alone.
(World Mental Health Day Wednesday, 10 October 2012)