If you’re subscribed to my art substack you get an email from me every Monday with a doodle I’ve drawn and a few words of what I’m thinking. It’s a bit more earnest than what I write here because my (incredibly amateur) art is a tool I use to battle the harder parts of myself and the world, but every few months I like to share a letter here, just in case you need it. Today is one of those day:
Dear friend,
I recently read about this psychological study where people who were placed at the bottom of a hill perceived the hill as being higher and more difficult to overcome if they were alone. But if people were placed there with a friend they perceived the hill as being less slanted. And if they were alone but allowed to text a friend they perceived the hill as being even less difficult to climb. Supposedly it proves that social support (even virtually) can make a positive impact on our perceptions and life in ways we can’t even recognize. It can change our perceptions and our reality, making it easier for us to do the hard things.
I think about this study a lot when I draw and when I write. I spend so much time alone because my depression and anxiety are often too loud, but even when I’m sharing scary or hard things I know that I’m not really alone…that you are here….my invisible friend and pen pal. I’m so lucky to have this incredible community of people who care. I’m so glad you’re a part of it.
You are not alone, even if sometimes it feels like it.
“Sometimes I need someone to save me from myself.”
Thank you for saving me, again and again. You don’t even know your power.
Thank you for sitting here at the bottom of the hill with me. You are the best company.
Love,
me
I LOVE YOUR ART! You underestimate yourself.
🤗a virtual hug to one of my favorite humans. Same girl, sMw
Happy to be at the bottom of the hill with you.
Thank you, Jenny!! You are not alone either. Love & hugs everyday! OXO!!
My horrible meds NP is really jerking me around on anxiety meds. In the space of 3 months, she has reduced my daily dosage of [brand name] from 3 mg/day to 2 mg/day to 1 mg/day. This 1 mg/day dosage started yesterday and OMG I HATE HER. I’m sitting here feeling these waves of anxiety washing over me and I guess I’m in withdrawal. I have an appointment with her tomorrow but I don’t think I can get anymore [brand name] for 30 days. I don’t like this. Thanks for reading my rant, and yes, I’m going to find a new NP.
(The step-down is such a nightmare. Sending so much love. ~ Jenny)
Thank you for being at the bottom of the hill with us! We will rise together. You are not alone, and you are. so. loved!
Thank you for being at the bottom of the hill with me too <3
You are loved!!
Sending hugs! Love your art 🐝
You have no idea how many hills you have helped me climb. Thank you from the bottom of my heart (and hill!). I’m staring up at a pretty big one now, feeling grateful that I’m not *really* alone.
Thank YOU. Sending hugs. 🧡
<3
Hmmm… as someone we all might recognize said, “the lighthouse never knows how many people it saves.”
You don’t know how much I needed this today! I’m writing and feeling totally alone and crappy at the bottom of a Denali sized hill but now you’re here with me and it’s more like a speed bump and we will laugh and skip over the hill and go somewhere for margaritas
(I’m in. ~ Jenny)
Keep on keepin’ on! It has to get better. I don’t know anyone who has more sincere friends who care about them than you have. I could never achieve that…at my age anyway. Friends and family are the most important.
We are in this together!!❤️
Thanks for being at the bottom of the hill with me. 🥰
Thank you and all your friends here who help me face my hill together. We are not alone, and that hill is not so high because of you.
Jenny, the fact that you keep going even from the bottom of the hill. You are my fairy godmother.
Glad to be here with you at the bottom of the hill!! Thank you for sharing your unique perspective and humor with us!! You always make my day!! ❤️❤️❤️
thank you so much for this
You, dear Jenny, are so helpful to so many of us! Please know we love you, and thank you for helping us view the hill!
Oddly enough, when someone is saved it’s sometimes hard to untangle who is saving whom.
(Amen. ~ Jenny)
You’re so awesome, Jenny! I really admire you!
You are loved Jenny, profoundly. And you help the rest of us with each of your posts.
💗
I went to a funeral today. It was lovely – but reminded me, an only child, of my aloneness. Your message came at just the right time. I check in at your site, even re-reading old posts, to remember that there is humor to be found in the midst of it all. Thank you for today. You give so much – I hope you know how very much it means to all of us.
You are loved by so many, Jenny. Thank you for your beautiful words and art. 🩷
And thank you for saving me too, time and time again!
YES, always read you even if I don’t respond. Guess that doesn’t help if you don’t Know I am here but I AM!
You are grounding when you feel completely ‘out there’
You are funny when your life has gone sideways
You are incredibly honest when all you feel like doing is sitting in the closet in the dark
You are inspiring and insightful.
It is an honor to be ‘here’ if it helps you in any way, shape or form.
Keep up the good fight. We are cheering you on.
This was exactly what I needed to read after a really tough few weeks. I honestly feel like no matter how hard I try, it will never be enough and that unfortunately the bad things I’ve experienced will dictate how I feel forever. It’s nice not to be alone.
Ahhh. Made me cry. Thanks.
I love you.
Sending ALL the hugs!!
Thank you, Jenny!! You are not alone either. Love & hugs everyday! OXO!!
“Sometimes I need someone to save me from myself”
Wow, that hits really hard. I’ve been by myself for a very long time and just recently started trying to get back in the dating pool and I realize that a relationship is something I really want but not because I have to, because I want to. It’s been uncomfortable and, quite frankly, pretty scary but my therapist told me that something really special could be on the other side of that fear. So, onward I push!
Dearest Jenny,
Thanks for creating this community where we hold each other up. You are a treasure.
You are incredibly talented.
You give more than you get and more than you know. Thanks.
And thanks for saving all of us. The study you cited explains one more reason why your posts mean so much – especially now.
I know a prover who trustfully sais making a mountain out of moll hills and most of us who battle anxiety and pain feel that way so when that happens get angry and stomped that silly inconvenient moll hills with a shovel and you will feel GREAT 😃💖
💗
💕
Thank you for sharing that at the perfect time.
Your kindness authenticity and talents makes me proud to be in your hill group. If only the world had more Jenny’s, imagine the mountains we could climb together.
Love in the purest possible sense.
❤️❤️❤️
Proud to be a part of your beautiful community! <3
I recently started tangling too. I find it so cathartic! This is beautiful.