The Silent Killer Called Loneliness
The Daily Write
Face your fears or die trying
June 4th: What are you most afraid of, and why?When I was in high school, my dance class did an exercise.All the students sat in a big circle and small sheets of paper were passed out to each student.Our teacher instructed us to write down what we were most afraid of on a daily basis.I considered my response. I was terrified of bugs and spiders, but it didn’t impede my actions on a daily basis. I was deathly afraid of heights, but again not something I faced regularly.I folded up my response and turned it in.Our teacher shook up our slips of paper and passed them back out randomly, to be read aloud by each student.As we went around, I listened to others’ fears while waiting to hear my own.Then I heard it.Never being good enough.The words rang out through the room and everybody sat in silence.“Yeah, I can relate to that.” Another student shared. The consensus was that never being enough was a relevant and daily fear.As the years passed, I’ve continued to fear never being good enough. But there is one fear that has surpassed even that.Being alone.
I have no qualms about being alone. I’m an introvert who gladly enjoys her alone time.But when you have depression, being alone is soul-crushing. You fear that it’s your destiny to be forever alone.Depression already causes you to isolate yourself, which only makes it worse.It feels like the world has turned its back on you, leaving you to navigate the rocky cliffs of life all by yourself.Nobody is there for you and nobody understands. The darkness is all-encompassing.You’re alone.
I fear living a life of solitude, with no one to share it with. I’ve come to realize people are what make my life meaningful.Without others, you are nothing.We survive and depend upon each other to exist.I would not be the person I am today without all the experiences and people that shaped me.I am the sum of every person I’ve encountered in my life.And for as long as we exist, you’ll never really be alone. Because we’re all in this together.
Key Message: Loneliness is a dark web. Combat it by reaching out to others. We can beat it together.
