Lauren Jarvis-Gibson

You have got to stand up for what you believe in no matter how deafening it sounds. You have got to go after what you want, and not make apologies along the way. You’ve got to shout to the rooftops that you are special, and not glance down at your hands in embarrassment. You’ve got to believe in your abilities to succeed.

You need to wait for the girl with kindness etched on every inch of her heart. With boldness and strength marked on her scars, and with confidence and self-worth written on her imperfections.

They are scared to lose control of their emotions. Love is scary for anyone, but for someone with this mental illness, it’s even more so frightening.

Know that this illness does not make them weak. Know that it doesn’t make them crazy or unstable. Please just love them for who they are, and that includes the bad parts too. Just love them as they are.

Seeing their face go from crumpled to comforted will make you see that it’s not about the struggle or the tragedy. It’s about the healing. And you were a part of that. You were a big part of that.

Being single is a time of growth and a time of change, not a time of self-pity. Being single isn’t anything to look down upon. Being single is living your life according to you and on your own terms. Being single is being able to be alone, and not feel an ounce of loneliness.

Having anxiety is an illness. Just like the flu, except cough medicine won’t cure it. It’s just like breaking bones in your body, except putting a cast on your brain won’t do anything to help it.

You never thought that you would lose yourself while loving someone else. You never thought that you’d be the one who wanted to die without this person. Who couldn’t breathe without their love. Who would rather sleep all day than to face the sun without them by your side.

It’s ok to be love being single, but to also still love love. It’s ok to want intimacy and to want someone to adore. That doesn’t mean you aren’t strong. That doesn’t mean you aren’t enough as you are. And that doesn’t mean you’re a liar for saying you love being on your own.

Wait for the person who becomes your ‘person’. Who you can trust with your whole soul. And you can deeply adore, more than you ever thought was possible. Wait for the person who becomes not only your lover, but your best friend.

You can be there through the worst of it. You can be there through the times where you think it will never end. All you have to do is be there.

Don’t be stupid. If a loved one asks for reassurance and help with a fear that they have, don’t act like their question isn’t important. Please do not undermine the level of severity that anxiety can have on people and don’t treat them like they are children.