Whybe a Mother - Are you okay?

It’s okay not to be okay.

As mental health has entered the forefront of conversations in present day, I’ve heard this phrase frequently.

It’s okay not to be okay.

Because the truth is, all of us are going through some kinda shit at any given point in time. Let’s normalize NOT being okay.

But the truth is also that we want people SO badly to be okay, right? We ourselves want to so badly be okay too, right?

Because people who are “not okay” are not the easiest to be around, so it’s just easier if we’re okay. A text or call not responded to is written off as that they don’t care or you’re not important enough to keep a relationship with. A sad or down in the dumps friend is a bummer to have at a party. A friend who is always happy and smiling is a fun person to be around.

So yes, while it’s okay not to be okay, we live in an environment where it’s really hard to voice that we’re not okay. We’re all suffering on our own, and our words and smiling faces don’t always match what we feel on the inside.

As someone who 1. has suffered various mental health conditions over my lifetime and 2. doesn’t say most things I think out loud, I have contemplated how to put these experiences into words.

I don’t have the answers now, and I don’t know if I’ll ever because we’re all different from each other and we’re all different every day. I don’t know how to make this environment better. I don’t know how to not be okay. I don’t know how to be okay.

I just know that

It’s okay not to be okay.

It’s okay to want to be okay.

It’s okay to be okay.

We’re all doing the best we can.