You know you are ‘’not okay’’ when the weight of your current situation begins to interfere with basic functioning (Photo: iStock)
It is only polite to greet and check up on people you come across and this practice, learned, polite "How are you?" likewise receives the standard, automatic reply of "I’m fine".
Minutes later, that same person sits, struggling to suppress a wave of exhaustion brought on by the combined pressures of a stagnant economy, a recent health diagnosis and the persistent, quiet grief of personal loss.
This dissonance, the battle between the performative "I am fine" and the true, internal reality of human struggle, is honestly the defining feature of our collective mental state today.
We live in a world where financial volatility, job insecurity and chronic illness are common. Yet, we operate under a social mandate that discourages admitting when these forces have become overwhelming. Add to that social media pressure where you dare not show up unwell, broke or sad because everyone is "winning" and so are you.
