Hey guys, so my co-worker said some pretty ignorant things about people with mental illnesses. He also mentioned that no one in his family has one and they got "lucky" (to be fair, that's pretty lucky).

What is it like to not have a mental illness? How do you feel when you wake up?

I'm genuinely curious. I just wonder what it's like to wake up and maybe be groggy, but not disappointed that you're still alive.

Or, when you go through a period of depression and then get out of it, and it just becomes a part of your past. Also, how do you feel during most of the day? Do you just get sad, angry and happy?

Every day I make a conscious effort to choose to live. Quitting is always in the back of my mind. Even when I have fun or laugh, it's still there, just hanging out in the corner. Also, I wonder how people manage to live without being self-destructive. A few of my friends are fully functional, but I still don't get it.

It's been a long time since I was happy. I wish I could feel that again.