jews d

in
the

sponsored
by our
community
partners

In
Their
Own
Words

Essays from local teens dealing
with mental health challenges.

Teens involved in UMatter at the
Friendship Circle in West Bloomfield
periodically submit essays to the
organization’s website that deal
with their own personal struggles
with mental health. Friendship
Circle is sharing these anonymous
essays with the JN.

D

uring my sophomore year of high
school, my friend and I had a huge
falling out that left me devastated.
The whole situation made me sad, but a
type of sad I had never really felt before.
I would cry myself to sleep at night, and
during the day I would pretend like every-
thing was fine.
Using my outgo-
ing personality as
a mask to my real
feelings, I became
the life of the party, constantly trying
to make my friends laugh. When I got
home, however, I was a completely differ-
ent person. It started off as me being sad
about my friend, but then my mind started
wandering and, suddenly, I was just always
sad. Honestly, in that moment, that’s all I
really wanted to be. I began to feel com-
fortable being sad, like it was just some-
thing that was a part of my day.
As I reflect on that time, I think about

Don’t Go It Alone

what advice I would give to my past self
or anyone struggling like I did. The thing I
came up with is so basic yet so important:
Talk to someone. This is definitely easier
said than done, but bottling up your feel-
ings will not help you. I understand this is
such a difficult thing, and I get how nerve-
racking it is to choose a person to confide
in; but talking things out and seeking help
— or treatment if needed — can change
your life so much.
I know talking to someone is not going
to instantly cure your pain, but it does
open the conversation to help you feel a
little less alone in your journey. Without
the support of my friends, I cannot imag-
ine where I would be today. They listened
when I needed them to and held me up
when I was feeling down.
As you go forward, please remember
you are not alone, and there are so many
people in this world who love you and
want to help you. •

continued on page 40

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September 6 • 2018

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