I am tired of being treated poorly.
I like to think I am a nice person. I try to be kind to everyone and I am interested in others and their well-being over my own.
I know the lives of my regular customers at work because of how often they come in and how much I talk to them.
I ask them about their families, their jobs, their lives.
But then nobody returns the favor by asking me how I am. Nobody asks me how my life is going, if I am OK, if I am dealing with my senior year well.
I work 30 or more hours a week, dealing with people that don’t know how to pump gas.
Then I sit in class for 15 hours a week, having professors tell me to do three assignments by the end of the week [for each class].
No matter who you are, you are expected to handle multiple things and be OK. You are supposed to be able to do that.
Well, sometimes you just can’t.
And that’s OK.
It is OK to feel stressed. It is OK to not get stuff done on time [on occasion]. It is OK to break down and cry because you just don’t know what to do anymore. It is OK to admit that you need to talk to someone or that you need medicine.
What kills me though is when I am obviously stressed, and I vocalize that I am stressed, and nobody responds. It bothers me that people brush it off and say stuff like, “you can handle it” or “you have managed things fine before so you can do it now.”
If you are anxious, a little thing like losing something you need can make you feel like it is the end of the world.
It kills me that there are so many people who fail to realize that mental health issues are a serious thing in today’s society; a lot of people will brush it off and say that you are “overreacting” and that “you will get through it.”
If someone tells you they are stressed, don’t say, “so am I.”
Listen to them. Offer support for them.
It takes a lot for someone to admit that they are not OK if they have anxiety or depression.
Don’t brush it off.
Be the caring person they are looking for and offer support and love.
Don’t treat people poorly because of their situation.
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