This is for those difficult days.

For those days when your head and your heart hurts like hell, pulsating with a fierce, fiery pain.

For those days when your heart gets scarred and threatens to burst open with raw agony.

For the days when love and friendship desert you and there seem to be no sunshine on your horizon.

This is for those difficult days when you struggle to hold back the tears.

For those days when your facial muscles strain with your attempt to show a smiley and cheery face to the world.

For the days when your soul feels heavy, and despite your best effort, your shoulders slump down tired and weary.

This is for the days when getting out of bed feels like a bad bad idea.

For those days where every choice you make seems to be a bad one and nothing seems to work.

This is for the days when you tremble with anger, and your temper is on super-short hairline-triggers.

For those days where the entire universe seems to be in conspiracy against you.

This is for the days when you feel empty, useless and invisible, like a hungry ghost.

For those days when disappointment trail you, when nothing makes sense and the mere thought of life and living hurts.

Yes.

This is for those really difficult days.

For those tough, trying, and terrifying days.

Those days when you feel ripped out wide open.

Those days when you feel used, bruised and abused.

Those days when you feel naked, tired and exhausted.

Those days when you feel left out in the cold and shivering in the dark.

Those days where you just want to give up.

Those days where you want to run far, far, away.

Those days when you just want to disappear and hide where nothing and no one can find you or hurt you.

But the truth is that on days like these, no matter how hard or badly you’ve been hit, your only choice is to dust it off and keep walking.

On days like these, you must remind yourself that you can’t. You just can not!

You can not run.

You can not hide.

You can not stop.

You can not give up.

You can whine.

You can cry.

And sob.

And scream

And wail.

And bite your nails. Or bite off the ears of the people around you.

You can bang your head on the wall.

You can even break a glass or two.

You can pamper yourself with timeout at the spa, or a big bouquet of blossoming flowers.

You can take yourself shopping and even buy yourself a pair of good shoes.

You can run yourself a frothy lavender bubble bath, and take a breath.

You  can curl yourself up into a ball and cry a thousand crystalline drops till the skies clear and your salty tear-rain has passed, draining you of all energy and taking with it one third of your pains.

You can retreat from the world, burrow under your covers, sigh, moan and just hurt.

You can ask yourself a million questions without waiting for the answers.

You can be really ballsy, wear our heart on your sleeve, crumble in front of a trusted friend and savour an extra-large serving of support.

You can read, or write, or paint.

You can dance or sing your hurt, your passionate pain, your wicked grief, and express it no-holds-barred, creating magical art from your madness.

But,whatever you do, the thing is; you must brace it out.

You must stay.

You must stand.

You must stick it out.

And love yourself and support yourself.

You must remember that nobody will support you like yourself.

And you must remember not to expect anything else from anybody, because the truth is that most of them will disappoint you and when they do, it will only add to your troubles.

When nothing seems to make sense, you must quit trying to make head or tail of it.

You must stop trying to understand it.

You must not try to analyse it.

You must not apologise. Or try to explain.

On days like these, you will need to be brave and take the bulls by the horn and dive right into the toughness of the day.

You should let yourself go and welcome with wide open arms supportive smiles if you find them, and if you’re lucky, a glass of succulent red wine.

On days like these, your only assured option is to reach down deep inside yourself, take your own hand and squeeze it hard.

Yes. Because, you might be the only person you will have.

And if you believe in God, you will need to take His hand and then rise again.

And, whatever you do, you must never ever give up on yourself.

Ever.

Because, yes, there will be days that will be incredibly difficult and tough and scary and mind-boggling.

But these days can be transformative.

They can be beautiful.

They can be filled with inspiration.

They can be chock-full of creativity.

They can be exactly what you need for the next and more beautiful stage of your life.

So, stand your ground, and never ever give up on yourself. No matter how difficult the days get.