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How Writing Saved Me From My Rock Bottom of Depression

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A few years ago, I had hit rock bottom and didn’t know where to turn in my life. It seemed like nothing in my life was going the way I wanted it to. Being in high school and still barely passing any of my classes, losing my best friend to cancer and becoming very overwhelmed with all my thoughts of sadness and anger — it seemed like no matter what anyone tried to do to help me cope with depression, none of it was helping me. I started to lose hope and thought I’d never find a sense of happiness again. I was convinced I was going to constantly stay stuck in my own negative ways of viewing my life.

It wasn’t until a trip to Barnes & Noble where I had been drinking a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino while in the teenage fictional section where a daydream occurred — a small ray of daydream-based hope. In the daydream, I was signing books, and at that moment, I was suddenly inspired to get all of my thoughts out of my mind to finally finish my final chapters of the book I was currently writing. I immediately went home and started to write.

I felt empowered to tell my story and share my message of writing your story, despite the bad chapters in your life. I was reminded once again someone out there needs to hear your story as their own survival guide to keep going.

When I’m writing, I suddenly forget about being in a society that isn’t fully made for me and my needs and I feel like my possibilities are endless. It is as though I can overcome anything that comes my way and leave an impact on my society and connect with others like me.

Writing has given me the courage to express myself without worrying about keeping my negative emotions bottled up inside. With writing, I’m able to let go of my negative thoughts and set them free.

Author, a young Black woman sitting by the pool with her laptop open smiling

This is especially true after having a rough day where I feel like living with a condition like mine is too much for me to handle and society is just hard to deal with. I know I can always type my emotions away and remember it’s just one bad chapter, not my whole book, so I have to keep holding the pencil and writing my story to the best of my ability.

Original photos by author

Originally published: June 11, 2021
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