The Messages That Helped Me Keep Going (And Why I Started Sending Them to Others)

What helps you keep going when you feel like giving up?

Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of time to think about that, ever since I found myself involuntarily admitted into a psychiatric unit over 7 years ago.

I’ll be honest, it was mostly found in words, but sometimes, it was in the actions of others or the beauty of nature. I think what kept me going were messages of hope. I’d find these bits of hope on social media, in random screenshots while scrolling through my camera roll, or even in my favorite books. I’ll tell you something, though, the most powerful ones came from within me.

I didn’t know it at the time, but those messages would eventually become something much bigger than me. They would become handwritten encouragement cards shared with people walking through their own darkest moments. But before they ever reached someone else, they first had to reach me.

I’m sure a lot of people can relate to this: there were many days throughout my life that I struggled with wanting to keep going. It wasn’t as simple as, “I will or won’t keep going,” it was “I want to want to keep going.” A big part of that was my brain, and its dreadfully discouraging messages on repeat like a broken record.

That record needed to be stopped, and I was determined to find the off button. At first, I went everywhere else to find it. I begged other people to validate me, to love me, and to choose me. But, at a breaking point on my hands and knees in tears, I realized that I was never going to get what I needed out there. So, I started telling myself what I wanted to hear.

I’m a visual person, and nothing means more to me than something handmade. It just feels personal, like someone took the time to truly care for you. I started creating cards for myself filled with messages of hope as encouragement to keep going. Day after day, I’d color a picture, find a poem to transcribe, and write the message I desperately wanted to hear. 

With 100 cards in front of me, I thought about that version of me, begging to be seen, to be heard, and to be loved. I thought it would have been life-changing to receive these messages at my most vulnerable moment, the time period where the carousel of life kept turning for everyone else, while I was locked away. I sent them to a psych unit with a letter introducing myself, the encouragement card program I decided I had created, and asked if they’d like to receive more and how often. The first facility, Broward Health Behavioral Health, said 150 cards per month.

Now here we are, working with 6 facilities, having sent out over 35,000 encouragement cards. WOW! I did not create 35,000 cards. (I have made a lot, but not that many!) At least 60% come from volunteers around the world sending in cards filled with messages that give them hope.

When I hear from the psych units, the most common feedback is how much the patients appreciate receiving the cards. One facility shared that they pass them out every morning and whenever a patient needs a reminder to keep going.

When I hear from the individuals who volunteer to make cards, the most common feedback is how much writing these cards helped them. It turns out that every message they wrote was a message a piece of them needed to hear. 

On both ends, the program began changing lives. It began infusing hope in moments where staying feels impossible.

That’s what I love so much about this program and what makes me so grateful for it. When I sent that first set of cards in, I had no idea what this would blossom into over time, but wow! I cannot wait to see what many more years of this program has instore for us all.

Sometimes the words that save us aren’t the ones we receive. They’re the ones we choose to believe, and sometimes, the ones we write for someone else. 

If you’re looking for a way to support your mental well-being, open conversations within your community, service hours, and/or organizational givebacks, please consider joining Inspiring My Generation’s program. Whether you make a card and send it in or you donate to help cover supplies and shipping costs, every little bit helps. 

You never know when a few handwritten words might become the reason someone chooses to keep going. Together, we are saving lives, one message at a time.