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Ashwin Kumar Nov 2022
It is easy to talk about motivation
Nowadays almost everyone does it
In fact, being a motivational speaker
Has become a quite lucrative profession
However, actually motivating yourself
Is easier said than done
You may think I am being negative
Be my guest
I would rather be a pessimist
And thus risk being called a negative person
Than take a step
Into the pool of toxic positivity
Which is so deep
That even the Pacific Ocean
Can't hold a candle to it
Every time you raise an issue
It is brushed aside
With a mere flick of the wrist
As though it were a pesky fly
Buzzing around the dinner table
Whatever you're going through
Means nothing, absolutely nothing
To these motivation experts
Who keep gaslighting you at will
Until you forget that you even exist
These people brainwash the public
To believe that no one really has a problem
And that all problems are self-created
However, the reality is vastly different
Everyone has a problem
Or rather, a condition
Autism, ADHD, Down's Syndrome
Bipolar Disorder, OCD, PTSD
Selective Mutism, Paranoia, Depression
And I can go on and on
Of course, it varies by degree
From mild to severe
And from person to person
Nevertheless, a condition is a condition
And has to be acknowledged by everyone
Including these so-called motivation experts
Mental Health is indeed a serious issue
Especially in our country
And it is a real shame
That it has taken the suicide of a celebrity
For people to understand its significance
Of course, not everyone may suffer to that extent
So as to take such extreme steps
Instead, someone may lose his job
Another may be dumped by her boyfriend
Nevertheless, a suffering is a suffering
Even if the society doesn't consider it serious enough
As my therapist would say
When your brain chemicals function differently
As compared to those of the people around you
Motivating yourself is easier said than done
Especially in a country like India
Where the support system
For people suffering from mental health issues
Is still a work in progress
Sapien May 2016
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, not thinking anything and just staring. A few minutes later she took a deep breath and opened the drawer. Took out a box and observed it for quite long.
She took out a blood red lip colour and began to apply. While applying the lipstick she remembered how exciting was dressing up was to her when she was a child. This red colour was much brighter to her than now. These bangles were much more fascinating than what they are now. She recalled the days when she uses to stole her mother's makeup kit, She recalled how her mother used to beat up as if she had committed any sin.
Her eyes were much sparkling when she was a little kid, Now even the coal pencil cannot bring that shine again.
She stood up without any emotions, She was as blank as a white paper.
The beautiful red lehnga with golden embroidery suits her perfectly, Her long black hair and wide eyes compliment her outfit completely. Oh, how beautiful she looks but something is missing. There is no happiness on the face of the girl who always loved to look pretty. She was living the nightmare of every girl of her age. How ominous her life is she wondered, with this thought tear rolled down.
Took a deep breath and controlled her emotions. Wore her dupatta and came to a room, Decorated with roses and candles and bloom.
It was perfectly decorated like every girl fascinates. But for her, this was nothing of value here it is reflected by her face. This room was decorated for her like this every day, someone waits for her in the room every day.
Nights haunt her, the moon scares her. Men frighten her. Now she knows why her mother used to stop her whenever she said she wants to be like her, Now she knows why her mother cried whenever she hugged her.  
These bangles are fetters to her, All the colours are not so happy for her. Her innocence is lost somewhere, she doesn't even remember when she laughed last without faking.
She is like a body without the soul. She is like a night with no moon.
Campbell Jan 2016
I am surrounded.
Sometimes it is comforting,
My joys compounded
By the presence of friends
And equipment and papers.
But it can be crippling
And I am made later
As my drive to drive becomes harder to find.

The sun is beginning to set
Earlier than I'd imagined.
I glance at the bottom corner to check
But it's coming right on time.
All the things I said I would do
Remain undone. The capsules,
scrawls, clearing, animals,
How have the hours become so few.

— The End —