Mental illness, is just that, an illness. You wouldn’t expect someone with a broken leg to run at full capacity and you can’t expect someone who is mentally ill to function at full capacity either.

Having a mental illness can affect the way you think and the way you feel. It can impact your relationships with others, your ability to achieve your goals and even sometimes live your day-to-day life. Everyone is different, every illness is different, and everyone is affected differently. Not just the sufferers, but those who love them. Family, friends, lovers.

What’s important to remember is that it is an illness. Someone who is ill can get better or learn to cope so that they can successfully achieve their goals.

To those who suffer from a mental illness—you are your own unique kind of beautiful and when you think differently, it leads to you having your own irreplaceable contribution to offer the world.

Today, October 10th, is World Mental Health Day. The World Health Organization recognizes World Mental Health Day (WMHD) on this day every year as an opportunity to raise “awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health.”

The following six poems are dedicated to all those suffering due to mental illness, directly or indirectly. With love and understanding, we’ll can all get through this life together.

Dear Person Who Is Suffering,

I Can’t Reach

I can’t reach you anymore
And it’s killing me
I can’t reach you anymore
And it could be ending you
All I want is to save you
Bring you back
I’m terrified
But I can’t reach you anymore

Are you still in there?
I recognize your face
But the light in your eyes is waning
The anger in your heart spreading
The confusion in us both is growing
Find your way back darling
I miss you
Are you still in there?

Magic

There used to be a smile playing on your lips
And a twinkle in your eyes
I used to believe magic exists
When I’d catch them and see you shine

When I look at you today
And see the pain spilling out of you
Your ravaged soul replaces
The you that I once knew

I miss a world with magic
The world misses it too
Please find your way back from the darkness
You’re too magical to lose

Dear Sheldon,

Sometimes it may seem like you don’t fit in
Because you think differently
It may seem like no one understands
Even those closest to you
We may not always be on the same page
Or even reading from the same book
But I will always be your friend
Because I see your good heart

Love,
Leonard & Penny & Amy

Love from a Sufferer

Your Own Worst Enemy

What if you made a mistake
What if you looked the same
But it wasn’t you behind your face
And everyone chalked it up to malicious intent
But you were your own biggest victim

What if when you came back
You had given away your rightful place
And lost everything you ever wanted
Your life in shambles
And they said, what an utter disgrace

What if it wasn’t you who made the choices
That you are now responsible for
What if the demons took over
Destroyed your life
And left you to deal with the consequences

Anxiety

The screaming voice has quieted
The clawing feeling gone
A moment of calm washes over me
I haven’t felt peace in so long

Anxiety demands to be heard
Despair screams to be felt
My sanity hangs in the balance
Will the monster return for the kill