Life can and will be difficult sometimes. You may feel confused and lost, disappointed with life and without any motives to keep moving forward. There may be a void that you just don’t know how to fill. But let me tell you, drugs, drinking, and suicide are NOT the answer.

I’m a 17-year-old girl from Mesa, Arizona. I was a great student, had a bright future, and always had a vibrant smile on my face. But then I lost sight of what was important. I started failing classes, closed myself off from my family, and was a bit of an ongoing wreck. One day I found myself making a big decision; I took three bottles of different prescription pills and took beyond the recommended dosage. Behind that smile, laid a girl in depression, pain, and remorse. As I took those pills, my mind was only on the drug. I was an addict. One thing I learned from pills and drugs is that they change you.

The girl who overdosed on those pills was not me anymore, it was the addiction, the urge to end all the scrambling emotions, it was everything I wasn’t. I was not in control.

I landed myself in the emergency room and a lesson well learned. All this time when I thought no one cared, I was wrong. As I cringed in chest pains and stomachaches, my mom in desperate tears rushed me to the hospital. I could sense, just being in that passenger seat, that she loved me more than I ever knew and wanted me to be ok. I hated myself after that; I thought how stupid I was to have done that.

There’s more to my story, but what really concerns me is YOU! The rest of the teens who felt just like I did, with no one to turn to, nowhere but within a bottle.

I promise you, there is hope. Life can and will get better, and so will you. If you ever find yourself in my position, or anything, where you feel like you need help, don’t hesitate to ask. Don’t let it get to the point where you’re cringing in your moms car thinking this could be the last time you’ll be with her.

Here are some tips to help you or anyone get out of a slump:
1.
Talk about it, talk to your friends, family, teachers, anyone you can reach out to, there’s always someone that cares.
2.
Exercise, by exercising your not only letting off calories but also stress, depression, and anything that’s bothering you. Just going for a jog, will have you pumped up and feeling revived.
3.
Focus on something you love, whether it’s painting, music, cooking, hiking; do what you used to do when you were happy, and it’ll bring you back to those days of joy and take you ahead.
4.
Listen to music, listen to that happy, singing along, dancing it out song, that’ll bring up your spirits.
5.
Don’t think about it, a major thing that keeps you stressed out or depressed, is the fact that you won’t let it go and you keep thinking about it. Accept that it was the past, and move on. Think positive, and don’t let life pass you by.
I hope this helped, take it from someone who has been there, life will get better!