I recognize the fact that it’s been hard recently…I recognize the fact that it’s been slowly wearing me down…Little by little…Day by day…It has gotten harder and harder…Because it has been a gradually building burden…I didn’t realize the consequences of how hard it has become until this moment when it feels really, really hard…I give myself permission to acknowledge that I’m struggling right now…I give myself permission to recognize that I am really overwhelmed…I give myself permission to admit how run down I am at the moment…This is not a failing…This is not a judgment of how I got to this particular place…Instead, this is a simple acknowledgement of the reality I’m experiencing…Because having ups and downs is natural…At this particular moment, I happen to be at a down point…I give myself permission to acknowledge where I am as the first step of towards healing and transformation…As the first step of being able to move forward…Now that I am aware of where I am, I give myself permission to make thoughtful, deliberate choices…I don’t have to change everything all at once…I don’t have to turn it all around in an instant…But it is possible for me to make thoughtful choices that are in my best interest today…To make another choice tomorrow…And another choice the next day…In doing so I will start to turn myself around and rebuild my resilience…In doing so I will start to feel better…With each day, as I feel a little bit better, it will be easier to feel build on these small improvements…And I might backslide in the process and that’s OK too…After backsliding, I can move forward again…I can make thoughtful choices…I can make deliberate choices…The goal is to be moving up the emotional scale…Not to fix everything all at once…The first step is being honest about where I am right now…And doing that will make the next positive choice an easier choice to make…As I work my way back to health and strength.