September is Suicide Prevention Month.

I’ve debated whether to write this, because talking about the darkest parts of your life isn’t easy. But I’m a survivor, and if sharing a piece of my story can make even one person feel a little less alone, then it’s worth saying.

I know what it feels like to reach a point where you don't want to die so much as you desperately want the pain to stop.

I know what it feels like when your own mind becomes a place you don't feel safe in. When getting through the next hour feels impossible. When you convince yourself that everyone would be better off without you.

I know that darkness.

And somehow, I made it through.

Not because everything magically got better. Not because I suddenly became stronger than the pain. I made it because I stayed long enough for things to change.

There were days I didn't believe there could be anything beyond that moment.

I was wrong.

My life isn't perfect. I still have hard days. I still carry things from that chapter of my life. But I also have laughter, people I love, dreams I never thought I'd get to see come true, and moments I would have missed if I'd let my worst day write my ending.

So if you're reading this while sitting in your own darkness, please hear me:

You don't have to figure out your whole life tonight.

You don't have to be strong.

You don't have to have the right words.

Just stay.

Tell someone you're hurting. Let someone sit with you. Call for help. Put some distance between yourself and whatever you could use to hurt yourself. Make it through the next ten minutes, then the next ten.

You don't need to see the light yet.

Just don't let the darkness convince you that there isn't one.

I'm still here.

I'm still fighting even when i feel like im drowning, yet everyone around me is still breathing. 

And I'm so fucking grateful I stayed.

Please stay too. 🖤

#SuicidePreventionMonth #SuicideAwareness #Survivor #YouAreNotAlone #PleaseStay