Nikki Roumel Instagram – One of the life lessons I learned a long time ago is that you have to save yourself. So many of the people who were meant to help me, abandoned me, invalidated me or defined me by my mental health. My doctor and nurse were fighting for me in a broken system. How can I live in a world that doesn’t want me? Where it doesn’t get better? Well, I learn. I learned how wrong I was. You don’t need a PHD or a degree to pull someone out of the deep end. The tears my family shed on my behalf wasn’t because I’m a burden, but because I’m not. I’ve been getting so many messages about how being vulnerable has helped others feel safe, but I don’t think I have ever truly expressed why I am. It’s because of those messages and the people behind them who make the world a little less scary. You give me hope and help me out of the dark. Feeling is the most wonderful and terrifying experience. But I am done hiding. So yes, I’m the only one who can truly save myself, but the messages, the love, my family, my friends etc gives me a reason to stay. It’s a New Year and I am terrified to be here, but now each time I have to fight, I know it won’t be alone. Hi I’m Nikki I struggle with chronic mental illness AND I am happy to be alive ❤️