I don’t know what normal feels like anymore.
Lately, it seems like everyone is competing over who’s coping best or who’s struggling most. Either you’re thriving or you’re barely making it through. It feels like there is no longer a normal middle ground.
Being surrounded by this constant struggle between success and failure can be emotionally taxing.
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed I feel guilty for not only talking about my own feelings but having them, too. If I’m having a bad day or struggling with something, I start to think about how much worse other people have it and how I should just be grateful for what I do have. I start to suppress my own feelings and believe I’m not worthy of having them.
This pattern of invalidating my own feelings is unfair to myself, and I know that. We shouldn’t feel guilty for having emotions, and we shouldn’t compare our experiences with others.
We are all on our own journeys, and we all deserve to feel our feelings.
Stay safe, stay healthy.
Xo,
Kayla W