For most people, depression feels like an abyss of never-ending darkness. It feels like drowning with a dark desire to give it all up so that the pain can stop. Depression is like a recurring nightmare you hope to wake up from. I know how defeated and tired you feel from all the internal wars. It’s even more exhausting trying to conceal it so that you can feel like you’re functioning normally like everyone else.
It’s truly okay that you feel overwhelmed, angry, sad, uninterested in things, confused and you desire to be left alone. These are not bad feelings just tough ones that point to the battles you’re fighting. I’m sorry if you’ve felt less than good enough when you recognized that the depression had a hold on you or when others trivialized how you felt. You have the right to feel what you feel. You aren’t being unreasonable, exaggerating, too sensitive, or dramatic. You are hurting and that’s a valid feeling.
You should be proud of yourself for how far you’ve come without giving up on yourself. You’ve survived your worst days and depressive episodes. You’ve held on to hope no matter how small. You’ve given yourself a chance every single day to get to the end. You've been doing so great even if it doesn’t look or feel like it. Every breath you continue to take is a blessing you ought to acknowledge. See and celebrate your strength and how it’s carried you thus far.
Every mile you’ve taken has mattered. You survived the storms of the high highs and the low lows. Remember when you thought you couldn’t climb up from rock bottom? Look at you now! It could be one step or a thousand steps of progress but I am incredibly proud of you. You may have done just one thing to feel better but that one thing matters! Don’t despise your story. Use it as a lesson plan. A map to guide you to where you need to go more often…where the sunshine abides. And to show you the dark paths you shouldn’t take anymore.
Life is unpredictable for all of us so how yours may have turned out is a completely normal thing. Don’t believe that your pain can’t be healed or that there isn’t hope for how your story ends. If the rain has come, so will the rainbows and sunshine. It won’t always be an endless pit of despair. The feelings won’t always be heavy to process. You can and will feel joy and peace again. That is a very realistic dream to have so entertain that thought.
Let me remind you what you deserve:
To feel like yourself every day and to love who you are…flaws and all.
To wake up looking forward to a great and productive day.
To go through life experiencing all its goodness.
To enjoy your favorite activities without guilt.
To love and be loved wholly and purely.
I urge you again to entertain the thoughts of what life could be like for you. You can have a better life than the one you had before the depression hit. What I ask is that you keep the hope alive, you seek help, and you try your best to be better. Where there’s a will to change, there will be a way for the healing to take place. There’s no situation too big for a solution…just seek the answers from others if you can’t find them within yourself.
There’s room for you at GabbyCares to process everything you’ve been going through. We are very intentional about creating a safe space to help you overcome any mental distress including depression. Depression can be healed or managed better and you can trust us with that process. Kindly contact us for a consultation at contact@gabbycaresofsouthflorida.com or call us at 786-490-5988.