Chicken Soup

When I was in seventh and sixth grade (one of the less fun times in my life) I was OBSESSED with the Chicken Soup for the Soul series-especially the ones for teenagers. In my horrible and constant mood these books made me feel like there was someone out there who was like me. Other people felt the same way.
If you haven't ever read one of these then here is the main idea: a collaboration of true stories based on people's darkest life events and how they got out of them. The versions for adults are great and inspiring, but the ones I read were the ones for teens, and we all know there is nothing sadder on this planet than a teenager.
these books were toxic to me, I realized. The drove me deeper into my thoughts and exposed me to all sorts of bad ideas. I stopped reading them as soon as I figured this out and for a good reason.
What's the point of these books? Here are some really depressing stories who need serious help for you to read. When it comes to people with depression one of the last things needed is looking inside more. Depression is looking in at yourself all the time and seeing nothing but that bad stuff.
 Chicken Soup for the Soul (at least the teen version) focuses on the bad things. Very little of the stories in them are the resolution. Majority of it is the bad stuff instead of how their lives changed. They are focusing on the sad part instead of how much better things are now.
Maybe you're in a rough spot right now. Maybe you're heading right into one. Maybe, like me, you've finally come out of it alive. I'm not going to say everything is going to be okay (it will be!) because everyone says that. This is my bit on it: Keep yourself close, but not that close. Be aware of who you are and where you are but don't constantly be thinking about yourself. Lose yourself in others and those bad influences will lose power over you. Until you emerge from the experience, scarred and surprised, keep yourself close, but not that close.