On 七転び八起き, bottled up feelings & depression

“Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”

Why 7 though? 

Because the character for seven, “七,” has that part in the middle which crosses and represents defeat. 

First thing that I thought about this Japanese proverb was…. “Oh look! Chinese characters in a Japanese proverb! I can kind of understand!” The next thing that I thought was that it’s such a simple yet an amazing proverb cause it’s short, yet it says a lot. In just a few characters, you can already make a story out of it. E.g. John tried his best and always failed, but he never gave up and achieved his goal in the end. Or maybe, a girl named, Stacy, couldn’t cook to save her life; but one day, she made the most exquisite dish ever and everyone loved it! Something like that. Something a child would write. That’s why I said it’s a simple proverb, because a child would also be able to understand it. 

But I guess the best part of this is that you can relate yourself to it. Possibly one time or many times in your life, this happened to you; or you can use it to be a constant reminder to yourself that you shouldn’t give up! 

I know. I know. I realize that it’s not the easiest feat to do, really. After all that a person’s been through, that person would eventually want to just lay flat on a bed, cry and be miserable for the rest of his life. Seems like a much less hassle thing to do than to try, right? But then, now that I think about it, what about all those trials that you’ve been through? Isn’t it such a waste to give up now that you’ve went through all that hell? Surely, the worst must be over by now. 

But what if it’s not? But what if it is? 

Life likes to screw things up and in a lot of cases, I’ve found myself filled with cowardice. I always say/think that I should have the choice to give up, cause it’s already too much for me to handle. But then that cowardly phase of mine only lasts for a period of time, then I look to my friends for help. 

When you can’t take it anymore, what a person ALWAYS fails to see most of the time is that they’re not alone. There’s bound to be someone who will listen to you, that’s why I always find myself listening to people’s problems. I always want my friends to know that if they need someone to lean on and listen to their problems, I’m just a call away. 

If I really cared for my friends, I wouldn’t want them to do anything stupid or reckless. It might seem impossible that the most cheerful person you know wants to kill herself, but it’s really not. I’ve been there before… that state of depression. 

Depression is different from being sad. Depression renders your thoughts of other things but your problems, takes out all the other depressing memories you have that you’ve tried to forget, and fills your whole body with utter pain till the tip of your fingers. It feels like you’re possessed and you just want the pain to go away, the pain inside. Most of the time, what a person does is to hurt himself/herself physically. For me, I never really thought that one day, I would even dare try it, hurting myself; but at that point in time, you’re just really desperate to make the pain go away. Depression will envelope your senses and, as I said, possess you. That’s why learn to let it out and don’t bottle it up.

If you can’t handle something, tell it to a close friend. All these problems that come your way, you’re going to face it, it’s just your choice when.