Dear Roary,

Hi my name’s Jay. I’ve had severe anxiety and depression in my early 20’s. I had some very dark thoughts. It was one of the toughest points of my life. You have my support. My response will be a little direct, but it comes from the heart.

Firstly, why should you not end everything..

Because you have been given this gift called ‘life’. You exist. You can think. You can feel. This is incredible. The chances of a person coming into existence are mathematically minute and/or you been given this gift by a higher power. Dont end it. There is light there- I promise.

Now I know things feels horrible. But this is a phase. It is temporary. But you have to want to believe this and want to be ‘happy’. Your mind is the most powerful tool you have. It’s tough, I know, I’ve been there. I still go through less severe episodes, but make your mind  search for those happy moments and emotions. Engage in a task or activity and practice gratitude- be grateful purely for existing in that moment and doing. Right now I’m grateful for this computer I’m using that allows me to do so many things, including reaching out to you. I have a roof over my head and a warm bed to climb into. I will have breakfast tomorrow. I have four functioning limbs. Simple stuff.

You probably have wealth and opportunity beyond what 90% of this worlds population have. And I’m sure you have many other things. Reach out to someone- if you have friends you can speak to. If you dont, reach out to someone by saying ‘hello, how’s your day going’. Go and volunteer for those less fortunate than you. And if your job sucks, and it’s mind numbing, find something different.

It’s down to you though. You can do this. There is so much joy and worth in life. It actually took me an episode of severe depression to appreciate this.

Good luck. Positive thoughts out to you. There’s lots of things out there to help you along..

Jay x