Others think that if you don’t see someone hurting, the pain is not there. How many times we are able to put a wall up and guard what we feel. Then only the closest to us notice that things are not OK. And that only—if they are willing to peel the layers off and reveal how we really feel. The story begins there. How do you open up to the world with your genuine feelings? Are you able to go out and meet with people, talk, let the emotions flow as they are?

Also, are others willing to receive you for who you are and how you’re feeling? It is one thing to be happy—let that be a genuine happiness or a facade. Then it is another to be feeling down, incomplete, unaccomplished. I think we all go through phases of ups and downs. The difference is in how much somebody wants to make out of themselves.

I’ve been on a path of depression. I lived somewhere that seemed perfectly nice, in tune with nature, but the relationships I had around me were all wrong. I didn’t fit there. And people who I lived with started telling me I was to live somewhere else.

The sad part about it, that the “people” was the partner who I had the baby with. We’ve grown apart to where we hadn’t had one thing in common. I was once a driven entrepreneur who grew into a stay-at-home-mom, did everything with and for the kid, when all of a sudden work descended from heaven, searching for me. And my world’s opened. I started going after what once were my dreams and the rest of the duties came falling down behind me. I moved. My world got more accomplished. His … shattered.

But why do we let things go so far that we only realize what we had once it’s lost? We take things for granted and rarely stop in our morning rush to appreciate we’ve just woken up into another day and a million possibilities to make it count.

One thing that got me through the hardships was writing. Well, the first thing was that I wasn’t even aware of the path I was on. I luckily have a couple of really good friends that we can keep hours of conversations alive. Talking things out helps paint a clearer picture of what’s going on in your head.

The other is, keep moving. Get your pretty little toosh outside and seize what nature has to offer. Go for a walk or a run. Even when it’s raining. Fuel your body with healthy foods and luscious nutrients. Make yourself pretty. Paint the nails. Prepare a spa date for yourself and possibly your girlfriends. Stick some red lipstick on even if you’re only running to the grocery store. Talk things out. Hearing yourself speaking about your feelings might bring an epiphany to what you’re going through and it will be easier for you to push things forward. Dress pretty. It can be a dressy dress or a pair of high heels in combination with leggings and a tunic over. However you decide to present yourself, make it comfortable and your confidence will show through.

If none of this helps, and you know you’re down with your feelings, there is no shame in seeking out professional help. They will point you in the right direction. Though I think, if you’re reading this, you have the willpower on your own to push things in the right direction and make you into a radiant individual that you are.