To whom it may concern,
You and I have a lot in common, even if we're total strangers. We both have hit rock bottom, so hard we thought we were trapped in the crater we made upon impact. It's a scary, metaphorical place that can be caused by a number of things, but leads to one result: despair. Depression was my gateway to rock bottom. Panic attacks were frequent, days were spent crying in bed because of the past, present, and terrifying future. Solitude was my friend, and just like it's depicted in the commercials (surprisingly) it felt as if my depression was a black blob, following me around and growing until it ultimately consumed me. For those of you who fortunately have never taken the trip to "the rock," I'm sure you can envision it at least a little.
Rock bottom was one of the scariest times of my life. Not only was I hurting myself, but I knew I was hurting my friends and family, who were only trying to help. There were times, of course, where I felt as if I was climbing out of the abyss, and it felt really good. What didn't feel good, was the fall right back down, injuring me more and more each time. The amount of self-hatred I had for myself was unreal. I wasn't strong enough to finish the trek to the surface, which hurt because I always thought of myself to be strong as all hell. It took a long time, but guess what happened next...
I got up.
OH YES, I got up. I got out of bed one day, looked myself in the mirror and smiled. I refused to continue to feel sorry for myself for whatever reason, I refused to let others push me around. Everything that lead to my plummet downward, was everything I needed to get back up.
If you're still stuck, just know that one day you're going to wake up and realize how freaking amazing you are. You'll cut all ties with "the rock" and climb your way out of there. It'll be such a dramatic change that everyone will notice, without knowing what actually happened. Your smile will be bigger, your skin will glow, and you'll have this certain look in your eye that no one will fully understand, but know it's a great thing. I hope you know that there are so many people out there just like you, so don't feel alone.
If you've completed the climb, I'm proud of you, and I know there's a bunch of other people who are too. I hope your outlook on life has improved times a million. I hope you have that big smile, that glowing skin, and that look in your eye. I hope you know that there are so many people out there just like you, so feel good knowing you're among a very strong group of individuals.
So, here's to you, rock bottom. Thank you for making us the strong, beautiful people we are today. Thank you for making us, us.
Sincerely,
Me
