I stopped opening up to people, pretended I was fine, and set an expiration date on my life. Nothing in the past decade has helped my mental health more.

Once I stopped talking about my struggles, people stopped offering disingeneous encouragement, trivializing advice, and downplaying my emotions. Loneliness was killing me, and looking for support only hurt me more.

I eventually met someone who gave me a taste of life without loneliness, if only for a while. It saved me, and made me decide to keep going. Even if I remain lonely or unhappy for the rest of my life, that's fine. I think feeling wanted once was enough.

Every aspect of my life has improved since. I am still depressed, but my mental health is far better, and I can survive like this.