If you have not done so already, please read
this message from Veks.
There is a song that I think of when I know someone struggles to love themselves, when they are hurting, when they are struggling with depression, with bipolar, with anxiety, with PTSD, with many types of similar problems, or even if you are going through a tough time with someone else trying to tear down your self-worth. It is called "
You are the moon - The Hush Sound." It is not a joyous song to listen to in tone--it is a somber song, but with a message that I feel is very important.
The song's lyrics are:
Shadows all around you as you surface from the dark
Emerging from the gentle grip of night's unfolding arms
Darkness, darkness everywhere, do you feel all alone?
The subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone
You don't see what you possess, a beauty calm and clear
It floods the sky and blurs the darkness like a chandelier
All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and seas
The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe
I will bring a mirror, so silver, so exact
So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass
I will set the mirror up to face the blackened sky
You will see your beauty every moment that you rise
I want to talk to you about why you are the moon.
When one goes through heavy pain and tragedy, when one struggles with things like depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc., it is
very easy to become lost in a dark place, to lose sight of the ability to see yourself truthfully and in a positive light, to recognize your own worth. It isolates you. That is the true demon of these things, the way it convinces someone to hate themselves. You are a person, just like any other person. A person who is worthy of more than the self-hatred, worry, and fear that things like depression can inflict upon you.
You are a person who deserves to live and feel as anyone else does. You do not deserve to be alone.
I am not going to make this entirely a positive message. I often feel that people approach trying to offer comfort about this subject by glazing it with too much positivity. That is not realistic. The moon is, after all, surrounded by darkness, and it cannot help that. People have problems. Sometimes those come from inner demons, and sometimes it's real life crushing you down. Some events can be outside of your control, and that makes dealing with issues like depression or its associated relatives all the more a struggle.
But like the moon and its reflection in the water from the above song, what you see of yourself is distorted. But what
we see, what others may see about you, is that you are a light, a loveliness, a strength, that brightens the world around you. The moon cannot see its own beauty, but everyone
viewing the moon understands it for the beauty it is. The moon is not perfect, but that does not in any way make it less beautiful or worthy. It makes it
real.
A crucial step to holding up a mirror to you, the moon, is to encourage you to seek help if you haven't, if you are in a particularly dark place, especially if you have felt an urge to end your life. You do not see the light that you possess, but you have it, even if, like the moon, you are enveloped in darkness night after night. You deserve to see your own light. I know that there is a stigma about seeking help for one's mental health, and I know it is not easy.
I do not have depression myself. But I have, for other reasons, needed to attend counseling and seek out help when I found myself mired in a dark place. I know how hard it is to not only admit the need for it, but to actually
find it, especially if you are feeling the economic pain of poverty, which is something I can relate to altogether too well. There are hotlines for when you are in dire straits. There are crisis centers if you're on the brink. If you're college age, your campus may have a health center that has a mental health professional--mine did, and that particular help was free. There are sometimes resources for those are who low-income--my own sister was able to find such help. There is help. It may be hard to find, but persevere. There is hope. It may be hard to see, but it is there.
Think of how strong you truly must be, even if you might not feel that way as you read this--like the moon, you are stone and enduring. You slip, gleaming, into the view of those that care for you night by night, who admire you, and believe me:
they are there. They really do think well of you. Think of all you have conquered to be here--each day you continue on is a little victory, although I know the battle can be tiring. Perhaps your surface may be marred, but even for the scars on her surface, the moon is just as breathtaking as ever.
You are the myriad sum of human experiences, a unique combination of history and emotion and learning-- you were forged in pain and wonderment and yes, even joy. There is no other you. You are rare, precious, and worthy. No, you are not perfect, but
no one is, and no one is expected to be, and that includes you. So don't be afraid to look for help, even from a professional, when you need it.
You are the moon, and you matter. You matter more than you know.
You are the moon, and you are loved.
