We begin this story with a much younger version of myself. She was lost, scared, confused, and sick. God, she was so sick.

My mom realized something wasn't right and called the therapy place my sister had gone to for years. She told me that I was going to have a little chat with a really nice lady named Dawn. Dawn was going to help me sort out the things that were going on in my life. Dawn was going to save me.

I was skeptical at first.

I knew the stigma around therapy, but I also knew that in my house it was perfectly OK to admit that we needed a little back up and to go and get that help. And so I sat on that couch and poured my feelings out to her. I showed her the rows upon rows of cuts that I put on my arms when the world was bending so harshly that I thought I might've fallen off of it if I didn't feel something, anything, even pain. She sighed, and she began our journey.

I have spent many Saturday mornings sitting in her little corner office on the fourth floor of that weird shaped building. I have cried, I have screamed, I have begged, I have laughed so hard that abs appeared. I have sat in silence while I begged the universe to explain to me why I was so messed up. Dawn has sat and listened to it all.

She has taught me thousands of things. She has shown me the beauty in everyday life; there's still beauty in the flames if the world is burning down around you, you know. She has taught me how to love myself, even when I can't stand the sight of myself. She has shown me that I am worthy of so much more than my brain lets me believe.

She has proven to me that I have a life to live and reason to live it.

There is something so magical about having that one person in your life that is dedicated just to listening to you talk about anything that could be possibly bugging you. Just knowing that there is someone who has no bias against you that will listen to you rant for hours while understanding that you are trying your best is something so much more comforting than your friends' empty promises of "being there for you."

Dawn has been through everything with me. When I'm really bad, she'll text me in the morning just to remind me that I am living for a reason; that I am enough. She calls me when I'm having breakdowns and reminds me to breathe, to allow myself to feel out all of the emotions that are plaguing me. She reminds me that I'm sick, not crazy, and that it's perfectly OK for me to be feeling all of the things that I am.

There's a way that the world feels just before it bends, and I pray that you never have to feel it, but if you do, just know that there are people out there that are willing to help you. Dawn has saved me multiple times and has taught me the skills that I need to get through my daily struggles. There is nothing wrong with trying to take care of yourself. You are not being selfish.

Let someone help you. Let someone save your life.