Brain Betrayal *Trigger Warning*

I’ve dealt with mental health issues for much of my teenage years. There have been numerous medications, a multitude of hospital stays, and countless therapy sessions. I’ve had to miss school time and time again, as well as doing normal teenager things: sports camps, orchestra events, and so much more. All because I have a brain that doesn’t want to cooperate. I mean, think about it. Your body’s main function is to, well, keep living. All your organs must work together to maintain your health. So what do you do when your brain decides to go against all that? It’s hard. It’s so incredibly hard. Suddenly, my brain 

encouraged me to rake blades across my skin until blood rolled down my leg. It allowed me to think through all the ways I could kill myself, telling my time and time again that I was burdensome and didn’t deserve to take up space on this planet. But I’m fighting those. I’ve shown so many suicidal hospital friends how loved they are, and finally, I’m learning how to turn that inward as well. We deserve to stay alive. You do, I do, we all do. We deserve to recover and live life to its fullest. I’m rooting for you and, at long last, I’m rooting for myself as well.