Tired of Pretending: The Burden of Hiding Your Emotions

I used to have this problem all the time but I started doing 2 things that helped change this for me. 1. I quit trying to fit in. The day I decided to dress how I wanted, act how I wanted, watch what I wanted and just be myself was probably the day that changed the course of my whole life for the better. 2. I started answering honestly when ppl asked how I was/am. I mean not full on life story, but I’ll say “I’m not that great” or “ I’m in a lot of pain today” you’ll find that people often take things at face value and don’t think to dig deeper if they hear it’s all fine and good. There are cases where ppl still don’t seem to care and in those situations, it’s usually because they are the type that don’t care about anyone but themselves. It’s okay to not be okay all the time.