Warrior

If you're a person with mental health issues, then you know what kind of hardships you deal with everyday. You cannot predict what your mood is gonna be the next moment. You can be very excited for an upcoming event, thinking that you're gonna enjoy with your loved ones. And when the day would come, it'll turn out to be something totally different. You'd get the worst panic attacks of your life and everyone around you will think that you're making some sort of lame excuse to get out of it.

You can know someone for years and still it would make you sweat profusely, thinking of talking to them.
You would know the exact answer to your teacher's questions and still wouldn't raise the hand and answer, thinking that it would be wrong and everyone will laugh at you.

You'd feel afraid of running or dancing with your friends, because that would increase your heartbeat and you'd feel like your heart is going to explode and come out of your ribcage and you'll die.
Somedays while others are admiring the view from the top, you'd be wondering what it feels like to jump off the cliff.
You will slowly stop doing everything that you love to do and makes you feel happy, thinking that it would be the reason of your death.
 Everything will feel like it's falling apart. Everything about you will fall apart.
But one day you will learn to pick up the pieces and still make it work.

It's a daily struggle but you'll learn to live with it. You will learn that not everything is perfect and neither are you. You will learn that you don't owe anyone any explanation as to why you feel the way you feel cause that is not in your control. And if people around you don't learn to live with it and accept you the way you are, then they are not worth your time and they certainly shouldn't get to be a part of all those times that you will feel alive and happy. And you are certainly not defined by the mess that you are at times. And before the next person tells you that you are weak, make sure you know that you are a warrior who can't be defeated.
-Ananya Gupta