I pick fabulous art for my journal. Here's a gift for those of you whom I've featured at one time or another in my journal featured faves:

[link]

I'm proud of my friends' artwork!

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By the way, the name 1footonthedawn is my personal philosophy for surviving depression. You can't survive years of depression. No one ever has. It cannot be done, and just thinking about trying can defeat you completely.

You can only survive one day of pain like that. You know you've survived one in the past--but for the love of God don't count them!--so you just get up and put just one foot on the floor. That's all you really have to talk yourself into doing. One foot, one day beginning, off to the bathroom and the kitchen and whatever, and already you are on top of it because you didn't stay in bed. That first foot is the hardest thing to put down, whether you're simply going to the bathroom or to take meds you don't like, or eat or avoid overeating, or clean, or fight creditors, or be hurt....there are too many things that hurt, but you don't have to face them right now. Just put the foot on the floor. If nobody recognizes how much of a struggle that is for you, well, they have no idea how amazing you are to stand against it. That much strength you have. One foot on the floor, until things get better.

Don't even think about what happens after you crawl back into bed to cry yourself to sleep, or wish you could cry.

All you have to do is meet your basic needs today.