Taken yesterday for To Write Love On Her Arms day.
I understand self-loathing and pain well enough. I slowly killed myself for 10 years of my life before getting help. I used drugs and alcohol instead of cutting, is all. Though I once rubbed my face raw against a carpet on a college dorm room floor because it focused my pain. I understand cutting. I understand being desperate for the emotional pain to stop.
Today, over 14 years clean & sober, I still have days where I have to fight extra hard against the voices up there in my head; voices telling me I'm not good enough, not smart enough, not...enough; voices telling me to give up, give in, lay down and stop.
This is my daughter. She is 14 and at the age where the struggle becomes harder. She is doing so very well, and I am so proud of her I could burst. She is caring for herself in ways I never did. She is brave and smart and talented and confident, and yet she struggles too.
We are not alone. You are not alone. Love yourself. Let yourself be loved. There is nothing you can't do. There is nothing stopping you but you. Stand up and stand tall. Don't give up. Don't stop fighting. Each day you stand up to those voices is a day you can help someone else do the same.
Lots of love to you. Lots of it.
