Such an inspirational young lady.
Orphaned 14-year old Kira Dart from Canberra in Australia is a very special teenager. After losing her mum Bianca to suicide in March, and her dad Andrew as a result of murder in 2002, she’s now channelling her grief into helping others.
The strong teen has used her experiences to speak in seminars all over the country on issues in mental health, and has even set up her own Facebook support group called Beyond the dark.
Kira, who now lives will her aunt, hopes that by reaching out to people about her experiences of living with someone with depression, it will spread awareness on the illness.
“My mother suffered a long hard battle of depression,” she wrote in a heartbreaking post shared on the page, showing an insight and understanding far beyond her years. “Some say it's like a cancer but to me it's a demon that takes over there [sic] mind. The battle is long and vicious that eats away at your happiness and sometimes the battle is lost, like what happened to my mother
“To loose [sic] someone to depression is hard. To know and to not know what they went through. No one will ever know how bad my mother actually was but we know she was lost, lost to far in that demons world. She put a brave face on for everyone. Especially me.
“She was bed ridden for four months and all I ever wanted to do was to make her smile but I couldn't. As time grew on her depression grew stronger and stronger and that is when she began to self-harm. It's was hard to see her suffering in pain every day. To have a fake smile, a fake laugh and fake I'm alright was really heart breaking to me. She put a really good facade on.”
Bianca wrote a devastating note for her daughter apologising for letting her down as a mum, and this spurred Kira on to help others.
“When I read that, I knew I had to do something. Mums death couldn’t be for nothing... that's why I’m sharing my story,” she told Mail Online. “I wish I could go back and tell Mum it’s okay, but I can’t. However I can help someone else.”
Now Kira has a plea for other people suffering from depression: don’t leave your children behind; suicide is not the answer.
“If you are a mother or a father going threw [sic] depression do not leave your children behind. I do not want anyone to go through what I am going through. It is a horrible thing. Once you are gone you are gone for ever. Never coming back. Suicide is not the answer to relieve your pain. It's not the only way out.
“If you are suffering from depression do not hide. Do not get lost. No one deserves to choose to take their own life. A mother’s love is different from love and to leave her children behind. How? It will never be known but all I ask is if you suffer depression please get help. Talk about it.”
Such powerful, devastating words. We can’t imagine what this young girl is going through, but to see her channel her pain in this way to help others is so incredibly inspiring.
