you are not a burden

I'm hoping that by now, you've read this enough that you're beginning to believe what I'm telling you: you are not a burden. I'm hoping that you can recognize that you are wanted, and needed, and loved. I'm hoping that you're able to realize that your presence is like a ray of sunshine breaking through the rain clouds; that you being alive has made a major difference in someone's life.

This song isn't super related, but it's one of my favorites and you should totally listen to it because it's in here.

You might not realize it now, and you possibly never will, but you are important to someone. You are needed by someone. Someone looks up to you, uses you as an example, looks forward to talking to you, wants to hear from you. Your existence matters.

I hope that you can see past whatever pain you are feeling, through whatever circumstances that are keeping you down, and hear me when I say that you are not a burden.

Sometimes you may feel like it. Sometimes you might feel like no one cares. Sometimes you feel like you can't tell the people you care about most that you're struggling, that things are hard, that waking up and confronting a new day is painful. You don't want to worry them. You come up with a million reasons not to tell them what's going on.

Maybe your brain is telling you that you aren't good enough. Maybe you're lying to yourself, beating yourself down until you feel like you can't get up. Maybe you don't want to. Maybe you're sick and tired of getting up only to get pushed back down.

I get it. I've been there. It's a terrible place to be. But getting back up and holding on to hope is definitely better than the alternative. So do this with me.

Read these words out loud. Yell them if you need to. Scream them to the sky, whisper them into your pillow, sing them in a song. I don't care how you do it, just do it.

Repeat after me: I am not a burden. My problems and feelings are important. I matter.

Say these words as often as you need to until you start to believe them. Maybe it's once a day when you wake up or go to bed. Maybe it's every time you have an unkind thought about yourself. Maybe these words run through your head constantly so you can fight off the feelings of being burdensome or unimportant.

If you need help, reach out and get it. There's no shame in admitting that you need help, especially if it can keep you here. Too many people think that their problems aren't bad enough to get help, or that they'll be taking up resources that someone else needs, or that they're too far gone.

None of this is true.

Your problems, your feelings, your struggles, and your emotions are valid. You getting help is the first step in getting healthy and changing your story for the better. 

You are not a burden, my friend.