How To Know If A Friend Is Hurting Inside | The Odyssey Online
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Mental Health

Just Because Your Friend Is Smiling Doesn't Mean They Aren't Hurting Inside

They may not show signs, but don't be afraid to talk.

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Just Because Your Friend Is Smiling Doesn't Mean They Aren't Hurting Inside

Emotions are a complex conundrum that no one has figured out yet. One minute you can be happy as I can be and the next you are mad at everything that walks. The weather may affect how you feel for the day or that message you got in the morning could ruin it. Emotions are hard to suppress and to express. There are many times that we pent up our emotions, so we don't seem emotional or unstable to others. No one wants to see someone struggling with emotional instability. It's time that we step up and talk to our friends about what's going on.

Life doesn't get harder as you get older. It becomes draining. The misconception of growing up is that you don't know anything and you are thrown into a world to figure out what you need to do. With this unknown amount of information, Millennials don't know how to properly deal with their emotional shortcomings. Instead, these emotions are transferred into memes and long mysterious Twitter threads. It is vital that you know how your friends are feeling and to check on them to let them know that someone is around for them to talk to.

Make sure you are talking to them not only on a surface level but at a deeper level. This is a sign of a true friend and not just an acquaintance. Everyone is going through something but in their own individual way. The weight of their problem on their shoulders may not seem as significant but to them, it's just as heavy as the weight of the problems on your shoulders. Be sensitive to them when they talk to you and conscious of the specific words that they say. There may be a message in what they say and visual cues of their of body language. Don't let them down and always be there for them.

Cause you never know...

When they will be gone.

No better words to summarize this article then the words of the early taken Robin Williams:

"I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it's like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anybody else to feel like that."

Your happiest friends maybe your saddest friends. You never know.

So make sure that you speak up and speak out.

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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