My mother has a saying that I think of in times of struggle. She says, “Don’t hold onto the darkness. If you hold onto it, it will slowly kill you. Let it all go.”

I lost an old friend two days ago to suicide. He couldn’t let go of the darkness and it swallowed him whole. The world can be a gross place, I know this first hand. It can dig it’s hooks into your back and pull you underwater. It feels like your kicking and screaming grabbing out to the surface of a shallow pool. Let go of the darkness. Let it all go.

When I say I know it first hand, I mean it. I’ve been there. I’ve also been there to help people. I’ve been on the other line of the worst day of your life. I’ve not only struggled with the darkness myself, but I’ve bore witness to the worst parts of mankind. It ate me alive and I had to force myself to change my situation. I’ve made all the big scary decisions before. If I can do it, you can too. I’m no one special. I’m plane Jane on paper.

Life is too short. If you’re unhappy then do something to change your situation. Do you hate your job? Quit and find one you like. Are you stressed? Meditate, color, take up yoga, talk to your doctor. There are ways to change your life despite how hard it might seem. Ask for help. I promise you that there are people who love you. There is someone who thinks the world of you. There is someone who is willing to drop everything just to listen or lend a hand. Don’t listen to the demons on your shoulder, they lie. Don’t give into the darkness.

Uproot that dark bastard, pull out every single inch he’s embedded in you. Fight back. Fight for yourself, for someone you love, fight for a future you want to have, fight because someone else couldn’t. Life will end soon enough and there will be nothing you can do about that. Don’t throw the towel in early, fight. Or talk to someone who will fight for you. You don’t have to do it alone. 1 (800) 273-8255