Rookie » Upasna Asks: Is It Bad to Pretend That I'm OK?

This is an archive. This site is no longer being updated.

Upasna Asks: Is It Bad to Pretend That I’m OK?

Last week was rough, you guys.

Upasna Barath 02/02/2016

Rookie is no longer publishing new content, but we hope you'll continue to enjoy the archives, or books, and the community you've helped to create. Thank you for seven very special years! ✴

Rookie is an online magazine and book series for teenagers. Each month, a different editorial theme drives the writing, photography, and artwork that we publish. Learn more about us here, and find out how to submit your work here!

Not a fan of last week.

Hey, guys! I just had the crappiest week ever (like, in my entire life), and I’m so not used to feeling down in the dumps! I’ve been having some trouble dealing with how I feel and trying to figure out if I even want to deal with it. So today I will be asking (and maybe answering?) the following questions:

Is it bad to pretend that I’m OK?
Is it healthy to let the world know how I feel?
When should I put on a brave face and when should I just accept my emotions?
Why do I even think I need to put on a façade?

2 Comments

Jaime February 4th, 2016 11:48 AM
Upasna everything should be okay because your eyebrows look amazing don’t sweat it
notnobody February 4th, 2016 3:19 PM
I’m not very good at managing stress. I think that I’m fine until the moment I collapse and start getting bad headaches and panic attacks.

And I used to continue putting on the facade even through the headaches and no sleep. Last year I would hang out with people in the dorm and take 5-minute breaks to lie down in a dark room to manage the pain. That definitely wasn’t healthy.

Now I can talk about it. When I get to a bad place, I’ll tell my close friends not to expect much of me for the day because I had a panic attack and only got 2 hours of sleep. I can joke about how messed up I am that I accidentally left my supervisor a voicemail with 10 seconds of “um” because I couldn’t think fast enough to get words out, or that I legitimately couldn’t count to 4 (I skipped the number 3 and got to 5).

And what I’m doing now works. It helps to have people supporting me. My normal persona is cheerful and friendly, and while I can pull it off even in a bad time, it’s nice to not feel the pressure to be happy.

Upasna Asks: Is It Bad to Pretend That I’m OK?

About Rookie

More from Everything else

More to See

Next Article