God created you to become a wonderful human who is confident, unique and deserves the world. You are not to blame yourself for everything. The more you punish yourself, the more pain you cause in your own heart and mind. Mental illness is a disease. It does not mean that something is wrong with you or that you are not strong enough. It is a stigma in your life which holds you back in every possible way. It does not let you move forward in your life. It comes uninvited and never leaves until you make it go. It makes you live in the shadows and you’re the only person who can come out from that darkness into the light. It feels like an anchor is tied to your foot and no matter how hard you try to come above the surface, you just cannot.

All the best moments of your life fade away and you remember just the dark, scary ones. Mental illness leads you to fight a war with yourself. You start losing your confidence and doubt yourself more often. It cooks up insecurities in your mind and laughs on you. It makes you feel as if you don’t have a purpose in life and that you’re a burden to the world.

You can never let mental illness consume you completely. You have fight against it. You have so much pain inside you which you can use either to destruct or to create. You must channel your pain into something creative. You must find your worth. You can’t let mental illness define you. You have to remember that you are not broken, just different. Don’t ever let the past haunt you. Focus on what is ahead of you.

You have to be happy and do stupid things. You must appreciate all the little things. Whenever you feel too consumed with life, watch your favourite rom com, eat lots of junk food and buy new novels (clothes maybe). Do what makes you happy and you feel full. Help other people with your story, hold their hand and lead them out of their sickness. Talk about mental health often. Please know that you aren’t alone and I am there with you.

Love,

Divyanshi Gupta

VSLLS 

3rd Semester