Lantern boy
Pick your head up
Everyone is looking
Don’t panic
Breathe
Let the cocktail of depression and anxiety take over
Soak in every moment
Go numb
Abandon your friends
Don’t answer calls or texts
Don’t leave your house
Eat minimal meals like cereal and water
If your friends ask why you haven’t answered simply tell them ‘I was busy’
They may not buy it but it’s good enough for now
They will try to tell you to eat, don’t listen, even though it pains you not to
After all this they will begin to worry, don’t let them
Tell them you are fine
It hurts you to lie to them but you have to protect yourself from them finding out

After weeks of lying you will finally break
It hurts at first but gradually it starts to feel better and you will start to think “hey breaking down doesn’t seem so bad”
Your friends won’t understand this overflow of emotions and why you kept them bottled up for so long
They ask”why you didn’t tell us sooner”
You don’t reply because you know the truth will hurt them
But hey at least you survived right?