Little lows

A poem recently submitted to LinkedIn, Facebook and other commercial locations in support of growing Mental Health awareness.

Little lows

Do you, like me, occasionally come across the little lows,

you’re sailing on a serene ocean, fully in control,

then it hits you, a wave, a swell, with all your balance gone,

where once you held such mastery, now you don’t belong,

familiar faces around you, seem to scream the word imposter,

your genial sense of self is lost, as now you lack composure,

your smile slides off, you wear a frown, the pressure starts to show,

an urgent check with reality, you’ve hit a little low.

From time to time, though unannounced, the little lows arrive,

and when I’m in the doldrums, I can’t see how I’ll survive,

 the lifeline left by friends before seems just too hard to reach,

on good days I help others, now I can’t practice what I preach, 

the spiral that my mind descends is too hard to escape,

trapped deep within my psyche, I can’t see my own mistake,

but I have won the day before, and dealt that telling blow,

 the strength I need is deep inside, when I hit a little low.

There’s a kernel in my reason, that will drive the change I need,

a grain of sand that grows into a pearl of self-belief,

upon the far horizon, I see the sun begin to shine, 

I’ve lived this through so many times and know that I’ll be fine,

the panic starts abating, that pressing weight had passed, 

If only there was magic that would make the feeling last,

my palpitations are all soothed, my breathing started to slow,

I’m born again, I saved myself, when I hit a little low.