Emerging

I’ve been in a dark place

And I never want to go there again

All the while pretending to be fine

I was dying on the inside

I should have known better than this

Weaker and weaker

Yet I had to be strong

Until I could bear it no more

I had to reach out

Find some hope,

Find some answers

Take time to replenish

My body, my soul

I feel ashamed that it took me so long

To reach out

To learn how to keep myself healthy

I was hiding

Hoping things would get better with time

But it was the opposite

Slowly but surely I was sinking

Despite my efforts to reverse things

Nothing seemed to help

I felt like giving up

Sinking back down

I was almost too weak to go on

But now I have found

Strength is found in many forms

The strength to ask for help

 To seek answers

Even when I don’t know what is wrong

The strength to realise I need to do something

The courage to do it

To be vulnerable

To keep trying, to seek and find

And what I found was surprising

Strength is found in many places

Strength for my body

Strength of mind

Comes from knowing that I’m not alone

My struggles are shared

I no longer walk alone, hidden behind fear and misconceptions

Starting to feel that peace

That I haven’t felt for so long

Starting to enjoy normal things again