“You’re stronger than us. Once you find your anchor never let go of it. No matter what.”

“It only took a couple of terms at the University of Sunderland before I understood that once you strip away a town’s facade, they’re all the same underneath.”

“A hypervigilance, never knowing what to expect, but knowing to expect something.”

“Too many people are fighting battles you cannot look up in history books. Don’t blame them if it made them sick at some point.”

“When I quit smoking, they told me it takes three days to be able to breathe normally again, five days until I’m no longer physically addicted, seven days until there’s no more nicotine in my blood, six months to be entirely clean and fifteen years until the chance of a sudden death due to the consequences of smoking is minimized to 50%.I wish somebody could tell me how long it would take to be over you, too.”

“Those of you dealing with depression; Just know that you don’t have to live in that shadow anymore. There is sunshine, but there will be rain. You just need to be brave enough to make light of a rainy day.”

“I took control of my life the day I decided to be the one behind the wheel, the day I stopped chasing and started leading the way.”

“Depression weighs you down like a rock in a river. You don’t stand a chance. You can fight and pray and hope you have the strength to swim, but sometimes, you have to let yourself sink. Because you’ll never know true happiness until someone or something pulls you back out of that river–and you’ll never believe it until you realize it was you, yourself who saved you.”

“Don’t feel bad about feeling bad. Don’t be frightened of feeling afraid. Don’t be angry about getting angry. There is no need to give up when we are feeling depressed. Nor should we be dismayed at the grief which often accompanies the outgrowing of anything which needs outgrowing. We can be glad that our soul is speaking to us and pushing us onwards. We frequently need to persevere with a period of inner turmoil before the dust can settle and be swept out the door.”