There was a point where getting out of bed felt like a mountain I couldn’t climb. I was tired of trying to explain a pain I didn’t understand myself. I felt hollow and hopeless. I thought if I disappeared, no one would even notice. That thought nearly became a choice.

 

But before I acted on it, I forced myself to talk to someone—just once. I reached out to a coworker I barely knew, someone who always seemed kind. They sat with me. They didn’t try to fix me. They just listened. That was the day I realized how powerful one genuine human connection can be. It gave me a reason to try again tomorrow.