The description of a black hole is very synonymous to going into serious depression. It starts with your world slowly beginning to get smaller. It constricts and condenses tighter and tighter until it explodes. What’s left in its place is a hole so heavy and dark that it starts pulling you in. Your thoughts and feelings get twisted, contorted, and the futility of resisting it gets stronger.

That’s when it really has a hold on you. The exhaustive panic leads you to justify the only escape plausible, and that is, suicide. Suicide, because you’re still aware that the black hole is a part of you. It’s your demon, your weakness, and that makes the situation worse.

I’ve gone into that black hole a few times, and believe me, it’s not a nice place. Even though I’ve managed to get through the other side, it still terrifies me. What if a black hole forms through which I don’t come out the other side? Permanently stuck in darkness, twisting and contorted.

It’s not always easy to see the black hole coming. The triggers are varied, different for each person and each situation. But invariably it starts with your world closing in on you. The trick, if you can call it that, is to start stretching yourself. Widen your horizons and challenge the things you fear, that you’ve put off or avoided. Doors only open if you knock.

R.C.