mixedmedia

When things get black, keep your head down and don't stop - you're just gonna have to trudge through it. On the other side laughter and your old self are waiting for you.

also, you will never be any good to anyone else until you are good to yourself. be selfish for the ones you love. they will love you for it. (this meaning psychologically, of course, not materially)

I had to give both of these pieces of advice to my oldest daughter recently.
She's doing better.

__________________
Most people go through life dreading they'll have a traumatic experience. Freaks were born with their trauma. They've already passed their test in life. They're aristocrats. - Diane Arbus
PESSIMISM, n. A philosophy forced upon the convictions of the observer by the disheartening prevalence of the optimist with his scarecrow hope and his unsightly smile. - Ambrose Bierce