Everyone is Fighting a Battle You Know Nothing About

I wish life were easy…but it's not. Every day, we all fight a battle we can never see. We can hope that others will not trigger us, but they do. We all carry some emotional pain, and depending on the day and events, it affects us. We can wear a "happy face," but it can be a constant battlefield inside our minds. 

When we wake up in the morning, we make a choice. We decide what emotions we will wear before we put on our clothes. We choose who knows how we are genuinely feeling that day. Yet the sad reality is that most of us keep our negative feelings to ourselves, and no one knows how we feel inside. 

Walking around with our daily hurt can influence how our lives will go. For example, if I fought with my partner and did not resolve the issue, my interactions with others are going to be influenced by that argument. My mind is already in a place where it is ready to argue, so whether someone cuts me off in traffic or gets my order wrong at a restaurant, my mind is prepared to fight. In return, others might say, "what's wrong with that person?". We lash out because we can't tell the server that our partner is leaving us.

Why do we keep everything so bottled up? Is it that we don't want to burden others with our problems? Were we taught to keep our emotions to ourselves? So many of us hide our feelings and wear a "happy face" mask for many reasons, but is that good for us?

Even if we were openly communicating and had negative emotions that day, we might say, "I'm having a day." Yet, we rarely get to the root problem and continue to push through our daily tasks. It’s possible to carry past trauma, issues with our family, our hang-ups, insecurities, and other stuff into our day. Mostly, we are good at hiding those feelings from everyone we meet. However, it doesn't mean we don't feel them.

Just because we are going through a tough time doesn't give us the right to act out- we can make better choices to deal with our negative emotions. We can get outside help via therapy. We can find an outlet like exercising or journaling. We can give back to our community and try to kill those negative emotions with kindness. Yet, some of us eat or drink our feelings, letting anger get a hold of us and stoke the fires inside. Doing those things can create new problems that only add to what we were feeling in the first place. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. 

As a society, the key is understanding. Suppose we pause and consider others’ realities when we see people sad, depressed, angry, etc. We should understand that we, too, go through those same emotions. Remembering to be more understanding and compassionate is key to being a more evolved and empathetic human. 

Let's strive to be more compassionate and understanding toward each other's struggles. Understanding and compassion can help us to connect better, reduce our own negative emotions, and create a more supportive community.