When faking a positive attitude is not okay.
Having a positive attitude is great,
but stop pretending it’s okay if things are NOT okay.
Last month, the world lost another shining light to suicide. You would never have known it Whenever you would see Stephen Boss, A.K.A. “Twitch” on the Ellen show, or dancing with his wife and kids on their Instagram account, with his lighthearted smile and kind demeanor that he was suffering hurting deep down. But for many of us living with depression and anxiety, just like those who struggle with epilepsy every day, we find it so hard to speak up.
Hearing about his death from suicide on Tuesday goes to show that many of us smile because we are hiding something that sometimes is hard for us to explain to others, so we don’t. We hurt, but we hurt silently because we are afraid of what others might think. We fake a positive attitude and smile, not letting others in because we don’t want to be a burden to someone else. The harsh reality is that by not speaking up and pretending everything is okay, we are placing more responsibility on ourselves.
I want to say that if you’re hurting and if you’re afraid to speak up, please don’t! I once was afraid too, but I realized it is much better to talk about what hurts, even if the other person might not want to hear it.
My heart goes out to his family and his loved ones.
Once again, if you are struggling, please call the suicide prevention hotline at 988 or reach out to me. I’ll listen.
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