bad days

People never talk about the bad days, the times you feel lost, easily breakable, the weeks you just want to spend wrapped in blankets, away from the world.

I'm not talking about the once-in-a-blue-mood day where you are angry or snappy. I'm talking about those weeks where you feel as if you have no purpose, where all your strength is constantly drained and every effort seems worthless. It's those weeks that feel like they never end. You go to bed hoping that in the morning you'll wake up in a better mood, but as soon as your eyes open to the rising sun, you already feel the darkness capsulate you.

Emotions aren't something we should ignore or disregard. Our mind and body are acting that way for a certain reason, whether it's a reaction to stress, unease or anxiety, or a sign of something deeper. So why don't we talk about this? Why do we act as if bad days are something that people should not be experiencing?

Perhaps this is caused by our incessant expectations that people must be happy. We expect to see a smile, a laugh, or an exclamation of joy plastered on the faces of those around us, and if not we assume that something is wrong, that tragedy has struck or terrible news has befallen the face which holds no happiness.

But why? Why is it not acceptable for people to just feel not okay, to have bad days?

The thing is, it is okay. We act as if having a bad day is unusual where as in reality, we all experience low points, low points of our day, our week, our life. It's completely normal to feel not happy all the time. Emotions make us who we are, so why do we view bad days as something that only struggling people experience. Whilst the perfect faces of your role models may never falter a smile, or you don't see your friends shed a single tear, I can guarantee you that everyone has been through the ups and downs, experienced all the motions. It's a part of living in this world.

And I think that's another thing to consider in all of this. Someone, somewhere is always going through something. Whilst you may be at your up, someone else is most likely at their down, experiencing one of those gut-renching bad days, or weeks, or times. Although it's important to always prioritise yourself, never forget to check up and think about the people around you, because they might just need it.

Bad days are something that occur, and we can't keep ignoring them, or writing them off as this awful thing. Whilst I wish that life was always perfect, and everyone always was happy, it's not the reality. And the thing is you shouldn't beat yourself up for going through them, for not being happy or not feeling okay. Sometimes I think it's good for people to take time out, to experience unhappiness and to wallow in sadness every now and then. It's healthy for people to stay in touch with their emotions, and to allow themselves to feel, instead of bottling it up and putting up a facade.

Just like everything else, there is purpose behind the bad days, for if every day was perfect, we would loose the understanding or concept or what perfection or happiness really is. The bad days teach us more about ourselves, what we want to change and push us to take action, to fix or alter what is making us feel bad. We shouldn't feel ashamed to not feel okay, and we shouldn't push others to hide that they are. We should be open, able to have discussions about the bad days, able to talk to one another about the raw, real and darker side of life, the times where things aren't okay.

- O