Masks

I feel like everyone puts on a mask at some point in their lives. In the past few weeks, I've been wearing one and it has taken a massive toll on me. I've been acting like I'm fine, I've been smiling, I've been cracking jokes, but it's all been a big façade. The most dangerous aspect of my depression is that I'm very good at hiding it. Up until the critical point of my depression, nobody suspected a thing, it looked like it was just business as usual while there was an immense turmoil bubbling just below the surface. Wearing that mask dealt an enormous emotional tole on me. It drained me. It took so much effort to keep up the farce that I was alright that I was left a very much empty person. Don't worry, I'm working out the issues and I've taken off the mask. It truly is a huge burden taken off my back. It really makes me think about all the people in my life who could be and probably are wearing a mask to hide a similar anguish. That's the most dangerous thing about mental illness; for the most part, it doesn't have physical symptoms. I know I need to work on the issues I'm currently facing, but this new perspective I've gotten has really made me want to help others unload the burdens that they might not be letting on that they're bearing. We wear masks because we think that we are supposed to behave a certain way, to look a certain way, to fit in with societal expectations. The big problem with that is that many masks bring with them an unimaginable weight to those that wear them. I'm fighting my own fight, but if you're reading this and know that you're wearing a mask, just know that the relief of taking it off is absolutely incredible.