Nobody talks about depression, and rarely anyone talks about being sad.
Its taboo; its stigmatized, and it makes you look weak.
And this is so backwards.
After that though, I progressively felt like I was starting to feel better.
I felt like it was a scene straight out of a Lifetime movie.
Girl is bullied by a group of mean teenagers.
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Girl doesnt know what to do or where to go, so girl hides in a bathroom stall crying.
But in this case the group of teenagers were my feelings and the girl was me.
I felt ashamed, and I felt alone.
The shame came from the fact that I have a great life.
And the loneliness came from the fact that I was scared.
I was scared to tell someone how I was feeling and what had happened.
What makes someone innately feel this way?
Being sad is a natural emotion, so how can anyone feel ashamed because of it?
And more importantly, how can someone feel scared to tell a loved one how theyre feeling?
When I was little, I distinctly remember being told to talk about my feelings.
The phrase Use your words, was something my parents would say to me and my siblings regularly.
And it makes sense!
How is anybody supposed to know how were feeling if we dont speak up?
But over time that notion has changed.
This is something that needs to change though.
Dealing with these bouts of sadness and anxiety and depression alone did me no good.
Nobody talks about depression, and rarely anyone talks about being sad.
Its taboo; its stigmatized, and it makes you look weak.
And this is so backwards.
We need to normalize these feelings and initiate the door for these kinds of discussions.
I felt alone and ashamed about a feeling that is completely common and completely normal.
We cant keep letting this happen.
It wasnt until I talked to my family about how I was feeling that I started to feel better.
And I no longer feel ashamed.
Its okay to not be okay.
