Dear kids, teens and adults suffering from depression,

I know times can be tough for you and believe me when I say I know the feeling and I don't like to see you like this. You are someone I care for, truly and deeply, and I hate to see you ache of reality but you have to realize that you are human. We all feel pain -- sure, some more than others but you are not alone in this fight.

Sadness is one of the worst feelings to have and arguably the hardest to shake, I know that. No matter how many times you shake your ears the insistent humming of flies will not guarantee-ably go away but remember the constant buzzing of inadequacy and self doubt aren't always a bad thing, they can make you critical and allow you to develop as a person. You are able to push yourself past the nonsense and better yourself from it. You just have to know when to listen and when to ignore their buzzing.

You were cursed with a brain large enough to not only see your own pain but the pain of others. A brain that sees things through a sort of kaleidoscope of black and grey never quite lining up to make out the color white in their images that you think all your friends can see. You try to focus a little harder on the positives, the whites, and yet all you can think about is the black, the failure. But the truth is your friends see the gray too. They just remember that to make gray you must have white, it's just a little harder to see.

Things never seem to be going the way you want them to and even if they do you are constantly waiting for things to go South just like they always do. Your highs are rare and your lows are more like plummets and you may sometimes feel like you're drowning in a sea of instability pulled down by the heavy weight of mental illness wrapped around your throat and it's breathtaking in the most horrible way.

And that just makes your lungs stronger.

But sometimes you wish it wouldn't. Sometimes you wish that the plastic bag of disease wrapped around your head was more literal rather than figurative. Sometimes you wish you could just leave this body, this Earth, this world, and find a new home among the constellations but my dear friend you are already made of stardust and sunshine. You are the Earth. You are strength to grow life inside of you. You are beauty in the sky as the sun sets along your horizon.

I know it's hard living with this constant weight on your shoulders, the Earth isn't a very small place, but you have to trust me when I say that things do get better and you are no exception.

Just keep on pushing. Never give up. Stay strong not only for you but for the people around you.

Depression is a sickness and not every battle can be won but before letting your illness end you please remember that fighting is always an option and there are people who are willing to fight right there with you.

You are beautiful and this illness does not define you.