I don’t have to tell anyone that sometimes, life just sucks. In the best of times, we are never living in a perfect world, while the opposite end of the spectrum seems to be all too prevalent. Why is that? Well, it’s for a lot of reasons. But before I get to unpacking this topic, let me just say first that I’m not having a hard time right now. Yes, my life is stressful, but it isn’t beating me down at this very moment. It’s just relevant to me currently, because I’ve seen it happening a lot lately.

From my experience, life hits hardest when its unexpected. Sometimes, horrible things happen that we can neither prepare for nor anticipate. That’s one reason often why earthquakes are referred to as the worst natural disaster: there is no definitive way to know when it will happen. All you can do is ensure you are always prepared.

So, I’m not the best at giving advice. I never know how to handle certain situations, even if I know to expect them. At best, when somebody’s going through a hard time, I can only comfort by being somebody to talk to or hold. It may sound weird being a writer and improv actor, but I never know what to say to help somebody, especially in the moment. Too often when I try I make things worse.

But if there’s one great thing about life, it’s that it never has to be endured alone. No, I’m not going to argue that fact. But regardless of the circumstances, I believe people will find that they always have someone or something to hold on to. Life can suck sometimes, but in those moments we really see what there is to hold on to.

I’ve recently been certified in QPR, which is basically Suicide Prevention. I do know the protocol for helping somebody out of a dark time, and without going through the process of sharing that knowledge with everyone, the single best piece of advice for somebody in a rough patch is that it is impossible to know whether or not things will turn up the next day. Life isn’t always bad. It may seem like its not worth it now, but tomorrow could be the day things change. Taking one’s own life is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

Another argument is “I’ve been through professional treatment before. It didn’t help.” Well, if it didn’t help before, how are you still here to tell people about it? Isn’t that very fact proof that it did?

So, I don’t know what’s going on with your life. And there are people far more qualified than me to guide you where you need. But if you’re ever having a bad day, or simply want somebody to talk to, I’m here. Depending on the means you have to contact me, it could take me a day or two to respond, but I’m still here. Don’t ever think that nobody cares about you. There are people that you will never meet that care about you more than you can imagine. All you have to do is find them.

Picture unrelated. Have some puppies and a baby.