From my time spent in treatment for my depression and anxiety, I have learned many different things:

1. It’s fine for you to be selfish sometimes.

2. They aren’t there to take the pain away, they are there to help you deal with it better and heal from it.

3. This disease comes in so many different forms in people.

4. Perspective is so important when it comes to mental health.

5. Take the damn medicine.

6. I have more anger for certain people than I thought I did.

7. Chances are that the things you do to yourself are for the same reasons that other people do them.

8. There seem to generally be two types of people with this illness: those that are extremely kind but pushovers, or those that can be distant and cold.

9. Sarcasm is not always a method of deflection, sometimes it’s just sarcasm.

10. Coloring books are highly overrated and don’t even help that much for coping.

11. Appreciate your stuffed animals because at night when you are panicking and crying they will be the only thing you can hold on too.

12. It’s okay to cry in front of these people because they know exactly what you are going through.

13. Process group (where you discuss various topics that people bring up) is ineffective and almost always leaves you feeling worse than when you first went in.

14. Process is just the feeling of empathy and sympathy in hyper mode, attacking your emotions and making you feel overwhelmed.

15. You can’t go to school for weeks so you aren’t stressed about it but missing school makes me stressed so….

16. I never realized how much I appreciated my music until I couldn’t listen to it whenever I wanted.

17. Hang out with your family, it does help.

18. Don’t be scared to tell your friends, if they are true friends then they will stick by you and love you through it all.

19. Find that one thing that makes living worth it and let that be your motivation to keep going.

20. If u have a history of substance abuse and you are female, your ability to aim and pee in a cup will progress incredibly.

21. Treatment doesn’t mean you get better right away, it means you are being directed on the right path to recovery.

22. I found that the people that I thought would be least supportive were actually the most supportive.

23. I already knew right from wrong, it was just a matter of me listening to that voice in my head.

24. It does get better.

25. I am going to be okay.

26. You can only help yourself get better if you want to get better.

27. You can’t help anyone else if they aren’t ready for it.

28. It isn’t all your fault.