The worst thing about a locked room is not that it is locked. The worst thing is that the handle is on your side and you cannot see it.
For two years I stood at the door convinced it was bolted from the outside. Nobody was holding me. What held me was the certainty that I was being held.
The way out did not begin with a wrench at the handle. It began with one sentence I had not been able to think before: what if I am wrong.
And you?
Have you stood in front of a door that was open?
Were you held by a conviction rather than a real obstacle?
Is “what if I am wrong” the beginning of the way out?
If you are in crisis, help exists where you are — find a helpline in your country: findahelpline.com (free and confidential; most lines answer around the clock).