Hi guys. I've been reading so many of your stories on this forum and I
felt so moved I just had to start this thread. This post will go on for
a while, but please read it. I hope it will be able to help you in some
way. So many of us are hurting and ...
View more
Hi guys. I've been reading so many of your stories on this forum and I
felt so moved I just had to start this thread. This post will go on for
a while, but please read it. I hope it will be able to help you in some
way. So many of us are hurting and feel like there is no hope in the
future. But the fact that you are here, on this forum, shows that you
are strong. It shows that you want to fight to keep your head above the
dark, cold sea that is depression and mental illness. I have been so
inspired by the sheer willpower that so many of you have shown. When you
reach out for help, you might see a weak arm grasping at nothing... but
I see huge bulging biceps that are clawing you through the water toward
light and land. You guys give me strength and hope and encouragement. I
wish you could see how amazing you all are. And so because of that, I'd
like to share with you something that I have done to help me see just
how far I've come. When I start to feel like a failure, like nothing I
do is good enough or right. When I feel ugly and weak and stupid, I stop
and I read a letter. It is a letter I wrote to myself, a love letter of
encouragement. I think we should all write a love letter to ourselves at
least once in our lives. Strip back the lies that our minds push on us
for a moment and really look at our lives honestly. Yes we have flaws,
yes we have failed sometimes... but we are more than our failures! We
are unique and beautiful, we have talents, we have hidden strengths, we
are on a journey and not yet at the end. It's good to remember these
things. We NEED to remember these things, and to be honest with
ourselves enough to be able to see these things, not just our flaws. It
can be such a trap, the lure of believing the negative and blowing it
out of proportion, while we crush the positive aspects of our natures
into a dark, hidden corner. I know it sounds crazy but sometimes it's
easier to believe the bad in us than to face to good of us. Well, that's
how it is for me anyway. So, I'll stop rattling on now but I hope you
understand what I'm trying to say. Sometimes we need to be reminded that
WE ARE ALLOWED TO LOVE OURSELVES. And the best reminder has to come from
us. So I will share my love letter. I wrote this to myself last month.
It’s a poem, although it doesn’t rhyme… but poems don’t always have to
rhyme. It’s probably the most honest thing I have ever written and it is
a big deal for me to share it. But I hope that by sharing it, maybe I
can help you guy see the beauty and worth in yourselves too.