If you’re thinking about giving up, read this
5 years ago I tried to kill myself. I spent weeks in a psychiatric hospital.
4 years ago I hit rock bottom. I went through a breakup, was diagnosed with a new mental illness, spiraled out of control only to find myself in a psychiatric hospital yet again.
3 and a half years ago I committed to getting better. I started a DBT therapy program. I got the large DBT workbook, and went to therapy twice a week. I paid attention, I participated, and I put in the effort to make a change for the first time.
Around the same time, I started my first full time job and I met the love of my life.
1 and a half years ago, I got an apartment in my dream neighborhood with my partner and we started a life together.
1 year ago, I landed my dream job.
Today, I am happy and healthy. None of it would have been possible if I had given up all those years ago.
I want to emphasize that getting better is HARD. People will give up on you. People won’t want to see you get better. They’ll leave. They’ll root against you. But the people who stick around will make it worth it. And all the new people you meet along the way.
And people will LOVE the new, recovered you. It’s possible to recover, it’s possible to live a normal life, and every single person is worthy of redemption. So if you’re reading this at rock bottom, thinking about giving up, think about this: if I had given up all those times I wanted to, I wouldn’t have seen this beautiful life. There was nothing I wanted more than my life to be over all those years ago, but this life is better than anything I imagined. You have the power to live a beautiful life, and you DESERVE it.
