Living with depression is not easy. From the moment you wake up to the moment you are finally asleep, that wave of sadness, lack of motivation, and suicidal ideation are always over your head. I had been suffering for years but just recently found a way to manage my illness.

One thing that I learned to do is to treat each episode of depression as temporary. The mind is the most powerful thing you have, and you can let your mind make you or destroy you. This is easier said than done but at the end of the day, it is a form of practice that will last a lifetime.

I remember sitting in therapy and my therapist told me something that stuck with me to this day. He told me that I was accountable for myself, and that meant I was accountable for my actions that lead to how I take care of myself. Ever since then, I started doing things that lead to feeling like I'm living the best life that I can.

It took days of staying on track with medications, and days of therapy to learn that, but I can live a happy life and still suffer from depression and other mental illnesses, and I will have my bad days. It's perfectly okay.

When I have my bad moments, I stop and tell myself that "tomorrow will be a good day" or "next week should be better." I never go beyond a week because to me, the shorter the time that you give yourself the more temporary your episodes of depression or anxiety becomes.

Although mental illness is something that will always be a long-term thing for most people, the ability to think of it as temporary makes it easier to get through life. It makes it easier to motivate yourself to do things that will help you get better such as taking meds, eating, showering, or even going out with friends.

I want you to know that it won't be easy at first, but as you keep trying it will be more bearable. Because of my thinking, I am able to face the world as a stronger person and I am able to have less frequent suicidal thoughts.

I admit that there are times I will end up thinking dark thoughts but when I do I learn to turn to people I trust. It is okay to have days when you feel like you failed as long as you are able to get back up and keep on going.