It has come to my attention recently through some very extreme events that there is, at this time, a need to remind those who feel their light is burning dimmer these days that they are never alone, and even if this moment in time feels like a blizzard, it’s a temporary storm.



Without being explicit in detail (though you can find the details through my Tumblr if you look), I’ve recently had a long episode of speaking to someone in the worst possible state of depression who addressed me asking for help. After much talking and work, they have finally been admitted to the form of care they need.

And that’s the key word: need.

There’s a stigma about those who don’t experience depression or forms of mental burdens perpetuated by people who have been lucky enough to never experience it: “It’s all in your head, so you can just stop/ It’s not like a broken bone or something.”

Suicidal depression is not a case of “feeling bad”–it is a legitimate form of severe illness attacking the brain itself and endangering human life that needs hospitalization to treat. If episodes of depression and anxiety so often lead to acts of violence and death, how are we not supposed to treat this as a serious matter?

You don’t “wait it out” and just “hope it gets better.” You get the help you need or you get it for someone who’s fallen so low they can’t get it themselves. People you love, know, or look up to wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for intervention and the simple matter of speaking up, even though it was hard and scary.

Some of us understand the impact of decisions made to choose living over dying much more than others will ever realize. And some of us, because of that, know how serious it is when another person reaches rock bottom. “I want to die” said seriously by someone showing signs of depression is not an exaggeration–it’s a warning.

The holiday season is notorious for bringing sufferers of any form of depression to a much lower state. I was able to help the person recently who reached out… and tonight, I was told by a different viewer that the same weekend, two people they knew of were lost to depression.

Chris Cornell couldn’t be saved by his fame, money, or circumstances. Chester Bennington couldn’t be saved by three times what Chris Cornell had even after also witnessing the suffering Chris Cornell’s death brought on his friends, family, and fans. We lost both of these majorly talented people this year in a very short time span.



Suicidal depression does not play around. Material means and situational prosperity, even on the level of celebrities and the rich, will not have impact on a disease that refutes logic. A disease this potent must be treated for what it is: a life-threatening disease.

Be mindful of your friends, family, and co-workers–keep an eye on them. Be mindful, especially, of yourself. If you feel you are sinking down, speak to someone. And not only speak to someone, speak to yourself. Remind yourself that what you have is a condition that doesn’t have to beat you. Depression clouds logic and critical thinking, so you will not see reality as it truly is and the life you can have beyond the episode you’re experiencing. You will be told again and again by the disorder that you do not have value, or that your value, even if you’re aware of it, somehow doesn’t matter.



You matter. You are right to live and to choose life. And you will survive this. It is a temporary storm, and if you fight it, you will win… even if fighting it means asking someone else to help you beat it. Why do you think physical disease survivors call their struggles “a fight”? Because even when it looks and feels bad, you only get better when you persist.

This holiday season, give yourself and the ones you know and love the gift of hope and life. If you suspect something, ask. If someone is in danger of self-harm or a suicide attempt, find out where they are and call emergency services. And if it’s you who’s feeling this way, know that you’re not alone, and it’s time to fight for yourself, because you deserve to live and be happy. Pick up the phone, dial the appropriate number, reach out to someone you love who can help you.

Put yourself first. You deserve it. You are better than your depression and deserve to see it go away.

I and the entire Night Mind community believe in you and stand with you. And when you get the help you need and choose to live, when you choose to fight this, you make all of us, especially me, extremely proud of you.

Thank you.