You spend a great deal of life in the sunlight. It's natural and nearly unavoidable. To counter the damaging rays that can cause skin cancer, you put on sunscreen (which is also sometimes a cause of certain cancers, funny how that works). Regardless, you tried to counter it with the tools you had available. And you still get melanoma. Could you have stopped it? Maybe, but what's the point of pondering this question when it needs to be treated and taken care of? Why ponder instead of fighting it?

Why can't people see that mental illness is the same? You can work hard every day of your life to prevent it, but sometimes it shows up anyway. It doesn't care that you tried. It doesn't care about anything. Like cancer, it is an illness. An illness that does have the possibility of ending your life. It is just as serious.

The reason I'm talking about this is to open a dialogue on this subject. I've had several people say, "Well it's not like I have cancer like you did." That's bs. It's bs because it's still serious, just as serious, and important to treat. People need to quit minimizing their problems and invalidating their struggles. Your pain and suffering is just as valid as anyone else's.

Hugs to all here.