Dark

You are walking home in the dark. You are 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚. In the alley ahead, something catches your eye. A shadow. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|alley]]

You cautiously enter the alley. The shadow seems to have disappeared. You hear a sound coming from further inside. It sounds like a piece of machinery humming to life but it's not quite right. There's something numbing about the sound. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|conversation]]

You go home and get ready for bed. You crawl inside the warm covers and try to forget about how cold the shadow in the alley made you feel, all the way to your core. Just as your eyes are about to close, you hear a sound. A rustling of paper. You assume it's just the wind and roll over onto your side and try to drift off. You hear it again, louder this time. You sit up and look around. Your eyes settle on your desk with the lamp you could have sworn was never on before, illuminating the papers that are strewn 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮 all over. The longer you stare, the more you feel the monster calling to you. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|consume]]

As you approach the sound, it makes the hairs on your arms stand on end. The sound feels as if it is coming from every direction now. Everything feels cold and wrong. You can see a faint outline of a shadow in the distance and the humming is piercing your ears so much that you have to cover them. You have never felt more 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚. The shadow looms closer but it's still not quite clear enough to make out. You decide to speak to it: [["Please don't hurt me!"|nice]] [["Show yourself!"|angry]] [[Run away to the shop.|the monster finds you]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/675ed0d022972abfb7d5d0f480eabd88/tumblr_pr3cigkTNa1y9di8ro1_1280.jpg" width="500" height="500"> The shadow sinks down, closer, gathering like smoke at your feet. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|stuck]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/9149d1b05bbcab212942e94febe4dbf7/tumblr_pr3a4vxlRl1y9di8ro1_1280.jpg" width="500" height="500"> The monster reveals itself as a tall, faceless figure. It grows taller and larger until it is towering over you like a building. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|choice]]

You run into the shop, slamming the door behind you. The shop is busy for a night like this, but the shop owner is nowhere to be seen. The space is crowded and you have to push your way through to find a place of clarity, to stop and think. You find a small, empty spot by the counter and take a 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝. Merged with the sound of your heavy breathing is a strange, static drone like that of a radio stuck between stations. It grows louder and you turn to the source of the sound. You see something behind the counter that you can't quite make out but you can feel it calling to you. You turn around to see if anyone else can hear it too but no one is looking in your direction, yet strangely you feel like their eyes are still on you. [[Run out the shop?|Unfamiliar 2]] [[Follow the sound?|anxiety attack]]

You slowly edge your way behind the counter, stopping periodically to check if anyone is watching you. They don't appear to be, no matter how much it feels like they are. You stumble in the dark into another room. The air is hot on your skin and you feel your face begin to sweat. It's in this moment of panic that the source of the sound reveals itself from beneath the shadows and it looks almost impossible that it even exists... [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|anxiety monster]]

You have to squeeze past people to get out. Their eyes still feel like they are on you but no one is looking in your direction. You just about reach the door before someone stands in front of you. Then someone stands behind you. This keeps happening until you can't move and you can barely breathe. You try to yell at them to move but no sound comes out. You feel your breath start to rush in and out of your lungs like they are trying to inflate so you can float away. Your chest is on fire and dozens of eyes on you, judging you, is the last thing you see before you black out. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|static]]

You stumble out of the alley and bump into someone. You turn to see the streets filled with people like the day has started, but the street lamps are still and the sky is empty and pitch black. Some people are wearing sunglasses and others are shielding their eyes from light that you can't see. Your movements are sluggish and slow and getting home takes a long time. When you return, the lights won't turn on. Your phone won't let you call anyone or text your friends to let them know you got home safe. Your bed becomes your home forever. You spend your days in total darkness, unable to escape. [[>|help]]

The rock pierces the monster like a stone splashing into a river. It looms closer and you scramble to your feet and run out of the alley. [[Call for help.|believe]] [[Fight it alone.|fight alone]]

If you are struggling with depression, there are (link:"𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤")[(gotoURL:"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/dealing-with-depression/")] you can do to help yourself. I know it feels impossible, but don't let the monster consume you. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨. [[<|thanks]]

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡. 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐋𝐔𝐄. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙣𝙩. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞. [[𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘|Unfamiliar]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/db738c49a985e2c724d03e480c95fc59/tumblr_pqbicwDVMV1y9di8ro1_1280.jpg" width="500" height="500"> What exists in your chest is somehow appearing in front of you as a being. Your chest tightens. Your feet feel stuck to the ground. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|talk]]

You study it as it floats statically in front of you. It's close but it feels unreachable. You extend your arm and attempt to touch it but the moment your finger makes the tiniest bit of contact, your chest feels like it is being crushed under an intense weight. You yell out in agony and drop to your knees. "̵̢̩̙͓̠̹̱͉̰̓̍͛́̏̌̓͌̕͠ͅ ̸̨̧̮̥̙̗̳̬̈́̔̅̍̿Ę̴͍̦̻̜͎̀̇͐̈́̇̎͆͊V̷̗͍͓͇̘̣̍͜͜E̸͓̻͇̮̍̋̄̊̊̚͝ͅR̶͉̟̭̎Y̷̛̜̞̞̘̆̇̃͐̀̌̆͛O̴͇͚̩̝͍̦̯̥̹̤͂͋͒͛̈́̄̊̍̇͝N̸̨̧̮͎̣̦̦̥͉̪͗̑̚̕Ę̸̡̪͍̝̯̼͎́̾̇͐͑́̈́̚͘͝ ̸͎̈̍̓I̸̘̓͐S̴̫̰̤̙̥̖͖̼̣̃ ̵̨̝̥̲̠͍̖̗͙͗͂͋̅͘̕W̴̱̰̖͒͋̅̇̔A̶̧̖̹̩̦̘̭̿̇̎̍̄̅̇͠T̸̩̖͓̥̹̒͌̾̏͌C̸̯̀H̵̡̡̬̖̞͍̖̾͝Í̵̼̖͈N̷̖͚̓̆̎̂͂͒̓̔͐͝G̶̨̧̘͖̩͎̬̰̲̃̃͂̌ͅ ̶̢̝̯̆̏"̸̝̯̯̳͚̪̎̓̎̀ͅ it utters in an almost incomprehensible voice. "No they're not!" you argue, still holding your chest but standing taller. The monster's jagged edges glitch and flicker like your objection has irritated it. "̶̜̺̳̀ ̴̥̮̮̝͈̤̫͚̟̍͑̑͂̈̊̏̀T̸͇̦̪͍͇̪̖̖͖̉͐͂͒̋͜͝Ḧ̸̡̡̫̳̜̙̬́͘E̶͚̹̠̜̯̬̤̮̅́̔Ý̴̮̻̖̳̠̗̻͋̃̓̈̾͊̓́̒͜ͅ ̵̧͎̼̝̩̅͜A̶̞͐̒̓̋̚R̴͚̱̙͒̑̑̌Ĕ̵͈̋̈́̕ ̶̢̛̘͂̂͑̈́͗̈́̌̔͋J̸̟͚̫̯̹̖̲̲̓̈́̀Ụ̶̧͍̜̮̌̈́͆D̴͙̰͓̲͔̜͗̎̀̈́G̵̼͕̤̰̞̮̙̪͚͊̐̚͜͝I̴̤̺̅̊͜N̷̢̥̪͒̀͘G̷̛̬̠̱͔̀͝ ̷̢̗̗̫̫͆̐̿̓͌͒͜"̷͚̖̼͊̎̂̋͋͜ "Stop! It's not true! You're a liar." The monster shrinks away but its grip on your chest is tighter. [[Breathe?|win]] [[Run?|bed]]

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞... [[𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍|INFO 1]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/3597ca86a80653cc7c57aa6aba20e3f7/tumblr_pr7mxvEJFT1y9di8ro1_640.gif" width="600" height="400"> [[Follow it? |meet the monster]] [[Go home? |the monster follows]] [[Run into a nearby shop? |the monster finds you]]

You startle awake and you're in bed. You don't remember how you got there. You look around the room like it can't be real. Everything looks the same. Maybe it was just a bad dream? There's a knock on the door and you stare at it like it might answer itself. You cautiously make your way over and try the handle but it doesn't budge. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|PANIC]] [[𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄|breathe]]

If you are struggling with anxiety, there are (link:"𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤")[(gotoURL:"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/understanding-panic/")] you can do to help yourself. I know it feels impossible, but don't let the monster consume you. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨. [[<|thanks]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/b9ad4539304dc9fe279afbddebd4a110/tumblr_pqkeej2Ixh1y9di8ro1_1280.jpg" width="500" height="500"> The paper morphs into a monstrous shape. Not just any old paper, but bills and to-do 𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 and documents that make you sweat just looking at them. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|insane]]

It does nothing but stare at you with the dark voids in its form that can only be eyes. You can't help but read the many papers that make up this creature. The more you read, the more you can't look away. The words repeat in your head like a siren. All the things you need to do. All your worries. You finally break the trance it put you in and shut your eyes tight so all that you feel is quiet darkness. You stumble back to your bed and try to sleep it off like a bad dream but the words whisper in the back of your head, getting louder and louder. [[Write.|write]] [[Sleep.|whisper]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/db738c49a985e2c724d03e480c95fc59/tumblr_pqbicwDVMV1y9di8ro1_1280.jpg" width="500" height="500"> Ţ̵͓̥̃̽̈Ḩ̷̨̛͔̠̝͓̘̰̐́̊̋͐͜͠͝É̸̻̋̽̃͐̚̚ͅY̴̨̲̟̫̣̬̦͍͓̽́'̶̧̮̼͔͍̞̭̩͒̑̍Ṛ̸̢̧̬͍̜̏̀͑̚Ě̴̢̺̍ͅ ̷̥͔̠̫̫̜̃͋̿̓̿͂̇͌̑͝A̶͍̖̺̱̯̥͊̈́̉L̷̺̞̦̽̀L̸̻͕͔̤̔̓̄́̈͘ ̵̧̣̮̠̞̟̍͋͊͒͑͒̿Ĺ̶̗̯̱́̿̀̄͆̆̄͘O̵̻͈̰̱̰̙̺̤͆̾͛O̸̡͓̯͙̞͉͓̙͌̀̅̔͆͛̿̑͜͝Ķ̶̥͔̙͍̳̉̍̈́̎̏͋̕ͅI̵͇̝͕̙͖̖̅͑̇̂̄Ň̸̳̭̻͕͙̩̹G̷̝͕͔͈͙̯͚̩̱̀̐̍̿ͅ [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|bed]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/b46fe5b9234b8b233aefd41a68159460/tumblr_pr7m18f2oh1y9di8ro1_640.gif" width="500" height="500"> [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|LIFE]]

It reaches out a hand and the fingers morph into claws. It lashes out at you, causing you to fall to the ground. [[Run?|DARK]] [[Grab the rock nearby and throw it?|be active]]

You try to back out of its presence but your feet are stuck to the ground by an invisible force. You feel a cold shiver take hold of your entire body. "𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙥!", you call out desperately, cowering as the shadow looms over your head. S̶͔̭̏̉̋͌̀́̈́͘͘͝Ṱ̵͍͖̼͉͙̈̑͊̽̕U̷̘̦̳̙̻͕͆̈̈́̋́͜C̸̩͑̇͝K̵̼͓͉͉͒̿̈́̈́̉̈́͋͜ ̷̦͑͒͒̃́̎̈́́̾̿ ̵̜̞̫͚͙̘̤̹̱̄ͅF̸̨̱̹̤͎͖͉̠̱͊̾̎͘͝Ö̷̠̪̠̖̟̱̼̯́Ṙ̷̗̜̍̄̕E̸̛̤͆̃͝V̷̢̰̬̮͍̱͗̎̆͋̀̋͂͐͛̏͜E̷̡̛̝̠̝͖͑̃̈̃͂̔̒̆R̸̨̢͙͓̳̬̲͚̔̔̃̊̅̊͆̏͠ N̵̢̹̖̭͔̞̱͗͗͂̿̽̋̈́͐̑̏E̴̛̮̗̱͈͔̫̿̏̎̔̈́̃̚V̷̢̛̗̟͌̍͐͜È̷̛͔̍͋̈́́̇͠R̷̞͚͚̹̬͚̺͙̽͛̾̕ ̶͖̺̺̬̘͂̆Ȩ̸̢̦̙͍̳̼̩̝͙̈Ŝ̷̜̱͙̗͇̰̳̓́̓̃̀̑̕͝͝ͅC̸̤͎͎̯̘͓̲̬̀̃̑ͅA̵̗̭̋̑͗̏͌͒P̴̨̙̻͚̳̎̈̐͛̾̕͝ͅͅĘ̵̧̘̩̻̣̗͙̇́̾͂͑̈́̉̕͜ͅ [[Don't listen to it|choice]] [[Try to figure out what it is saying|sink]]

"S̶͉̞̥̪͝Ļ̵̻͉̖̗́̋̑̅̋̃͘E̵̱͈͍̍̌̑̔̋̀̈̚E̷̜͉̰͒̋̈͆͒͌́́͛P̵̘̲͍̋̓I̴̡̢̗͓͒̅̿͜N̴̟̬̂́̄̆̔́͌̀G̶͔̝͎̲͛̋ ̵̨̨͎̆̈́͊̄̉̉͆̕I̵̢̛̓̂̄́͆S̷͉͓̝̝̟͖͚̱̈́̏̿ ̸̰͇͌F̴̨͔̀̓͒̎͊͌͑̕͝͝Ã̶̖̙̥̋̆͆̔̾̄͘͝͝I̴̛̞̞̱̟̞̜̔͑̌̇̈̽̐́L̴̡̳̖̦̦̼͂̕͜I̸̘̘̯̦̻̒̇̇͌͆̓N̸̢̛̖̠̦̻̤̖̅́̓̈́͑̌ͅĠ̶̺̳͌́͂̋͌̅͘̕!̸̡̛̪͓̱̝͖̦̦̘̆̓́́̑͂̅̚͜" The voices are screaming now. Sleep feels like an inconvenience. Like it is the one thing you shouldn't be doing. You are drawn back to the desk like you have no control over your body. The monster grows larger and larger until it fills the room and it consumes your mind. There is no escape. [[>|help4]]

<img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/b46fe5b9234b8b233aefd41a68159460/tumblr_pr7m18f2oh1y9di8ro1_640.gif" width="500" height="500"> [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|LIFE]]

The knocking gets more aggressive and you back away. You try to call out but just like in the shop, your voice is empty. You go back to your bedroom and crawl inside, crying silently. In the corner of the room, the monster sits in its static way, bigger than before. S̴̛̫̱͇̞̟̏́̊͒̂̃̂͊̇ͅT̵̞̺̖̒̊̈́͊̈́̍̈́Û̴̮̜̯̝̗͈̇̃̈͌̉͌̚͝C̵̢̘͇̰͉̝̯̀͆͂͗̉̑́Ǩ̸̡͖͓͉̱̼͑ ̶͈̙̜̖̪͐̈́̃͆̎̃͘͝F̸̲̓̏͒͊́̃̚͝͝͠O̴̟͇̥͕̘̞̻͇͖̊̑̾́̆͘͠Ṙ̷͉͙̦̝̝̭̞̲̞͂͆͋̐͒̕̕͝͝ͅÈ̷̻͚̰̓͌͌͝V̸̢̛̻̘̓́̅̓E̵͔̥̰̩͇̩̭͒̄́̍Ȑ̵̡̛̟̩̪̠͊̈̈́́̇͠͠ [[>|help 2]]

"No one is judging me." The monster begins to fade. "No one is watching me." You can think clearly now. That feeling in your chest loosens and you look around. People are minding their own business. You can still feel the presence of the monster but it feels faded and manageable. <img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/fa892b6d87482a4c9c4ca79f1750a62a/tumblr_pr8qj4GSO71y9di8ro1_640.gif" width="500" height="500"> [[>|help5]]

"HELP! THERE'S A MONSTER! HELP ME!" A few people look at you like you have lost your mind but some people look above you at the monster that is slowly catching up. One of the believers throws a rock themselves and the same thing happens. Someone else joins them and does the same, until you and about five other people are throwing things at this blob of darkness and yelling things as loud as they can. "You won't win!" "You won't beat us!" "We're stronger than you!" The monster begins to shrink and fade. It sinks to the ground and looks pitifully sorry for itself. [[𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐔𝐄|gone]]

You throw another rock but the monster is too strong to face 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚... [[>|people help]]

If you are struggling with feeling alone because of your mental health, there are (link:"𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤")[(gotoURL:"https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/tips-for-everyday-living/loneliness/#.XNRKMth7nIU")] you can do to help yourself. I know it feels impossible, but don't let the monster consume you. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨. [[<|thanks]]

U̶̼͎̖͚̝̓̒̉̽Ś̴̜̲̱̜̈́̓̍̚͜Ę̶̛͉̮̭͚̌͗͒̈́͂̔̔̏L̵̢͙͖͓͍̮̹̾̂̓͘͘̚͜E̴͉͉̱͉̾S̶̫̗̱̻̞̏̆̀̉̄̀S̶̢̪̝̳̠̻̱̐̓͜!̸̛̹͈̑ ̶̩̎̄̏̎̉̑͘͝͝Ǹ̷̫̣͎̞͠Ơ̷̧̧̖̜͉͆͗̓̆͋̾͆͜T̷̪͈͇̥̖̺͕̄̋̊Ḥ̶̛̬͋͐̈͒͌̉̂I̸̖̳͇̱̯̦̖͈̾́̈͂̒̔̈͜N̶͇̘̘̫͇̹͖͇̋̈́̇̍G̶̭̰͖̮̃̓̊͛̾͑̌͝!̵̧͚̞̗̹͗͒̓͆̒̓̕͝͝ ̶̦̳̥͙̬̰̣̳̰̱̂̓̿̎Ŷ̴͍͕̫̖͓͚͈͖̲̏́̑͐͆̓̕͘Ờ̵̧̱͖̼͉̣͉̾̒͐̔Ų̷͉͕̞̮͈͗ ̷̦̣̩͔̖̬͔͚̑͘͜D̶̯͓̠͈̈́E̵̖̗͎̮̬̼̫̹̹̭̔̇̊̾͒͌̒͘S̴̙̭̩̱̜̟̆̉͊̍͐̑̏̄̾͘ͅE̵̢̤̻̫̖̲͋̍̕͝R̷̮̺̺͇͑̂͝V̷̛͍̣̤̥͙̾̅͜E̶̳͝ ̷̧̢̡̤̰̙̹͈̥̻̈́͒̃͠T̵̗͇̝̹̃̉͊͆͋̂̊͆̚͜O̶̼̱͍̯̕ ̷̨̡̲̪̯̩̫̬̃̔̂͂̀̔͂̀D̴̜̲͕͓̱̜̠̎̂͗̂͂͑͒̈́͝͝Ȉ̷̧̹̦͍̲͕̗̒̌͊E̵̢̤̪̻͙͇̖̥͂͆́̆̓̄̚͘ͅ!̶͕͚̑̃͛̽͝ Its words are distorted and hard to make out but you don't get much time to decipher it. The shadow takes a hold of you and feels as if it is sinking into every pore in your body Then it's gone. [[D̶̥̝̬̫̱̼̭͇͑̇̒͛͑̅͜Ą̶̛̩̺̺͇̱͕́R̵̙͍̰̬̘͚̻͆͗͛͜Ḱ̴̝̳̹͑͑͛|DARK]]

You grab the notebook next to your bed and start writing. Organising. Planning. Making lists. The more organised you feel, the more the monster shrinks and fades. <img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/2fd93a34e5c9d8c7a62e783c97bb62b1/tumblr_pr8ox9itxC1y9di8ro1_640.gif" width="500" height="500"> [[>|help3]]

If you are struggling with stress, there are (link:"𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤")[(gotoURL:"https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/understanding-stress/")] you can do to help yourself. I know it feels impossible, but don't let the monster consume you. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨. [[<|thanks]]

If you are struggling with anxiety, there are (link:"𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤")[(gotoURL:"https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/preventing-falls/fear-and-anxiety-about-falling/relaxation-techniques")] you can do to help yourself. I know it feels impossible, but don't let the monster consume you. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨. [[<|thanks]]

The monster fades away and the ringing, numbing sound in your ears start to fade with the monster. Your supporters surround you and celebrate. They hug you tightly and the warmth eventually cancels out the cold that the monster brought with it. <img src="https://66.media.tumblr.com/0f029f1930f5ee6f63445587dc1b3082/tumblr_pr8v1lQOXs1y9di8ro1_640.gif" width="500" height="500"> [[>|help]]