You may be feeling lost right now. Or worthless. Perhaps you don’t like what you see in the mirror, or maybe there’s something you wanted to have achieved by now which you didn’t. Maybe someone close to you just said something really hurtful. Or a stranger. It could even be all of the above.

We, as people, deal with negativity in different ways – and for some of us, coping with it is harder than for others. If you have low self-esteem anyway, suffer from depression or anxiety, or are trying to deal with a stressful life situation in general, being given a cause to feel bad about yourself can sometimes be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.

Now I’m just a girl, trying to make her way through life, and I certainly have as many flaws as I do good points. But therein lies the key. I have some good points. And so do you. I don’t care who you are, what you look like, what you do for a living, what your sexual preference or whether you’re a ‘folder’ or a ‘scruncher’. Never, ever forget that you have something within you that is good.

I’ve been in situations where people have tried to kick me while I was down. Often, they succeeded. I dealt with it by drinking, cutting myself, hiding from the world, or taking the occasional overdose. None of these things helped. Sure, they may have distracted me for a few minutes or even a day or two, but those words that were said still stung. They still sting. Even years later, some of the mental abuse I’ve been subjected to still echoes in my mind and makes me doubt myself.

So why am I writing this? Because I want to put it out there on the net, in the hopes that maybe just one person who is feeling crap about themselves right now will read it. If it helps just one person, that’s enough for me. And this is what I want that person to know:

You are beautiful. You are special. You are worthwhile. You have a purpose and you deserve to be happy. It doesn’t matter what your partner says, or if your parents have other plans for you. I don’t care if the kids at school or your colleagues or even strangers on the street say otherwise. They are wrong.

A huge number of factors had to align perfectly just to create the miracle of life – of your life. The odds of your conception, birth, the way you look, act, think and feel – there is no-one else in the world like you. And though you might not realise it right this minute, you are loved. Even if you feel completely alone, someone out there loves you.

So breathe, try to relax, cry if you need to (the endorphins are great). But while you are doing that, try to focus on something positive. A compliment you received. A success you enjoyed. A happy day you had. And know that this awful feeling, too, shall pass. You are not alone.

(NB: This is just something I’ve been meaning to write for a long time. It would have helped me in the past so I hope it reaches someone for whom it’s useful.)

This was written by SapphireRains