I’ve never seen anything like this before.

An overwhelming number of us have things locked deep down inside us that are ruling us. That are causing harm to us and to others. And we are paralyzed by shame and fear and guilt. We are silenced. Muted. For fear of rejection. For fear of losing our jobs. Our families. Our lives.

If anything has been made clear to me, it’s that we are bound by the chains of fear. We are enslaved to it. We are silenced by it.

• What if I told you I battle depression.
• What if I told you that I couldn’t get myself out of this darkness.
• What if I told you I got help.
• What if I told you my body needed supplements for my brain to work like it should.
• What if I told you that I’ve been seeing a therapist for months.
• What if I told you I just started group therapy. Yeah. Like the Bob Newhart/28 Days kind of group therapy.
• What if I told you I’ve been afraid to publicly admit this because I’m having a hard time facing these facts myself.
• What if I told you I’m winning the battle, with the help of my doctor and therapist.
• But, what if I told you that I’m coming out with it right now, in the hopes that you, too, will talk to someone.

Anonymous internet confessions only go so far. They give us a tiny taste of the freedom that we can know. But, there’s a hitch: nobody knows who you are, so technically you’re still hiding, right?

There’s one thing I’ve wanted to say over and over again: Say this out loud. Confess it to a safe person. To a person who can give you, or help you find, the help you need. It doesn’t have to stay this way. It doesn’t have to end this way. Talk to someone.

James words have echoed through my mind over the past two days: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

Please get that healing we so desperately need. For the sake of your soul. And for the sake of your loved ones.