The world is an amazing and unique place with such diversity in people. No two individuals are exactly alike, which keeps the surroundings unique and the encounters with others unexpected. With all these differences, there is always a sense of right and wrong, good versus evil, and superiority versus inferiority. It is an unfortunate fact in life, and even a characteristic of nature. Charles Darwin once wrote of natural selection, which, according to National Geographic, is “the process through which populations of living organisms adapt and change.” Organisms of all varieties, from the smallest bacterium to the largest mammals, all struggle every day to survive. Certain species need a constant food supply, while others struggle to find a place to regulate their body temperature.

Regardless of individual obstacles, one truth remains: the strongest will survive and adapt, while the weakest will perish. Therefore, this does not mean that every weak living organism will cease to exist, whether immediately or over time. There can always be individual strengths even in weakness. The question comes down to whether the strength to survive will overcome the organism’s weakness. The said question requires asking, because strengths and weaknesses come in variations, just as every species, and even individual organisms within a species, possess different traits that aid in the instinct to survive. Bearing all of this in mind, today it is not about overall natural selection, but about a particular one that occurs within our very species: humans.

Just like with any species or individual organisms within a species, humans have traits that can be desirable or detestable. These traits can range from possessing opposable thumbs to a tendency to pollute their surroundings. Moreover, each human has a different trait from another. One person may like hamburgers, while another may be talented at drawing. One thing remains consistent in humans: their instinct to survive.

These instincts can take on mannerisms, such as “fight or flight,” adaptive methods of preparing food to sustain the body, or even “evil” or “cruel” methods, such as lying, trickery, and bullying. These instinct traits are incredibly positive, while others are significantly more negative. It is these negative traits that are today’s focus, in particular, judgment.

Judgment has myriad roles and disguises. What is judgmental to one person may not seem so to another. Not all judgment is negative. A contest requires judgment to declare a winner. Therefore, this is an example of a positive trait. Yes, there can be negative impacts on the losers, just as there is a positive outcome for the winner. A negative example of judgment is quite common in human instincts, and a multitude of people have experienced it at some point: superiority.

However, this does not mean every human feels superior to everyone else. However, there comes a point at which everyone has a sense of superiority, even if only for a fleeting moment. For many, it is as simple as excelling at a particular skill and feeling superior to one’s peers. It can also go the other direction and rear its ugly head in instances such as feeling superior to someone with a disability. Disabilities have elusive shapes and forms. The inferred disability from this point on will be regarding mental and emotional health.

There are those reading this who may stop and think, “Well, I am perfectly fine and healthy, thank you very much,” and wish to move on. Others will perk up, wondering if this will pertain to them. Still others will scoff at the idea of mental and emotional disabilities and write it off as a joke. Regardless of where you are in this reading, this gears toward everyone.

My goal from this point on is to raise awareness of a wide range of topics related to mental and emotional health and disabilities. Everything described is as I, or someone willing to discuss their thoughts and feelings with me, have portrayed and lived it. I know not everyone will complete this until the end. I know not everyone will find the topic interesting.

From someone who lives each day battling depression and anxiety, who constantly feels as if all eyes are watching and judging, the daily struggle to overcome a hidden monster that many do not understand or, in some cases, even care to try to understand, is a very real and very taxing ordeal, which can have catastrophic consequences.

For those who have stayed with me to this point and plan to continue, I thank you sincerely on behalf of myself and a plethora of others who live through pain and anguish that few could ever even begin to comprehend. Therefore, our journey into the depths of the Monster behind the struggle begins.