Stop Telling People Life Will Get Better

I’ve never seen life get better. 
 
I’ve seen people experience more physical pain as they age.  

I’ve seen people desperate to leave their abusive relationships but don’t know how.  

I’ve seen people lose their spouse they spent most of their life with.  

I’ve seen elderly people sitting with no purpose and slowly fading from this world because of it.  

I’ve seen people continuously have money problems. Things keep getting more expensive, but the income rarely goes up.  

I’ve seen people begging God to tell them what their purpose is.  

I’ve seen children die and their parents struggling with life afterwards.  

I’ve seen people struggle to find any sort of beauty in themselves despite being gorgeous inside and out.  

I’ve seen people ashamed of their homes because they can’t find motivation to clean them.  

I’ve seen people desperate to find love but continuously let down.  

I’ve seen children cry because no adult wants to put effort into loving and caring for them.  

I’ve seen children use drugs because no one taught them any different.  

I’ve seen adults use drugs because they can’t cope with the trauma of their past.  

I’ve seen beautiful minds destroyed by lesser ones.  

I’ve seen people desperate to have children, but their bodies can’t support life.  

I’ve seen people who want to parent their children but don’t have the physical or mental capabilities to do so.  

I’ve seen adults still desperately wanting the love their parents aren’t capable of giving them.  

I’ve seen parents cry because their child will never speak due to a mental or physical health diagnosis.  

I’ve seen grandparents lose hope because they can’t have the relationships they would like with their grandchildren. 

I’ve seen people defeated by another car repair cost they can’t cover.  

I’ve seen parents defeated over not being able to afford to celebrate a holiday or birthday.  

I’ve seen people celebrate holidays alone because they have no family or friends around. 

I’ve seen people fighting for equitable treatment only for another racist act to hit the news the next day.  

I’ve seen people actively attack someone because their skin is not white. 

I’ve seen myself smiling in a reflection only to be thinking I wish someone could see my pain. 
 
Life doesn’t get better.  

We only learn how to cope with the pain.  

We learn how to survive in this life we didn’t ask for.  

We attempt to find purpose in a world that fights to take it from us. 
 
Stop telling people it gets better.  

That invalidates their pain.  

That invalidates their feelings that despite having what others deem would make one happy, it might not be enough. 

Life doesn’t get better. 

A better paying job doesn’t equate to better.  

Finding a partner doesn’t equate to better.  

Having children doesn’t equate to better.  

The societal “rights of passage,” “norms,” or “things one should have accomplished before they die,” do not equate to better.  

This life is hard. The hardest thing we’ll ever do as humans is live.   

Humans can do better.  

We can work to build systems that will help break negative family cycles.  

We can fund mental health support.  

We can support others through their lives regardless of if they make choices you wouldn’t.  

We can be kind.  

We can love.  

The desire to not live has spilled from so many mouths I’ve encountered in my 30 years. There is nothing wrong with the humans attached. There is something wrong with the world.  

We may not be able to stop life from trying to crush us, but we can all try to make it a little easier for ourselves and our fellow humans.  

I don’t know how to fix it, but I know that life doesn’t get better, but humans can do better. 
 
If you are struggling with living, you’re not alone. If you do not have someone in your support system to contact, please seek out counseling or call the suicide and crisis hotline at 988.