⚠️🥑 TW: DEPRESSION. ONE YEAR AGO TODAY I WAS SUICIDAL... And I’m still here. Ironic that September 1st is also the start of #SuicideAwarenessMonth. I knew how I was going to do it. I knew my approximate death date. I knew where I wanted someone to find me. It is a scary feeling being that far gone. It feels like nothing and no one could bring you back to feeling like yourself. It’s natural to have these thoughts because you ARE human. You are not wrong, less than, or broken, but you DO need help no matter how much you fight it. Like my avocado tattoo symbolizes, everyone has that darkness; only to varying intensities. ⚫️ No matter how small or large that darkness seems to be, you MUST embrace it with light. 💡 Let your light shine brighter than it, surround it with love and understanding just like you would for someone else. It’s easier said than done, but that practice is what saved me. I was able to climb out of that black hole over time 🕳 through meditation (there’s a great Shifting Out Of Depression playlist on @insighttimer), journaling, drawing, therapy with @betterhelp, and allowing my brain a break to heal and rebuild serotonin with medication (just like most of us would for a physical injury). 👉 If you are feeling lost, down, depressed, frustrated, lonely, confused, resentful, guilty, or any other negative emotion right now or recently, this is your reminder to keep going. It will be hard. You may not even remember or know how to be happy or anything else, but somehow, over time, you learned how to feel depressed. You are resilient and capable. Oftentimes we joke about perfectionism and use self-depreciating humor to relate (like this reel), and while it may help you feel less alone, it can ultimately do no good because the thoughts do not serve you. Start to build that awareness and celebrate yourself for who you ARE — not what you look like, what you have, who is in your life, but who that soul is INSIDE. The consciousness you are in between your inhale and exhale. I know I got a little woo-woo, but if any part of this helped you, please let me know in the comments. It’s why I share more than just the highlight reel on my social media.