“How are you?”

We are asked that question daily asked and more than likely the response is “good”, even if that's not how we're really feeling.

Everybody has those days where they are out of it or where it seems like everything is going wrong. There are also those times where the world seems upside down for days, weeks, even months; but still even during those hard days you say “good.”

Letting people in and opening up to say how we really feel can be scary. We all want people to think that we have these perfect lives when in reality nobody lives a “perfect” life.

Everyone faces troubles in life and everyone goes through things that they never would imagine would happen to them.

One of the hardest things in life in life is to trust someone. You never know if they will keep your secret.

Also, everyone is so afraid of not fitting in and of being judged. That is why everyone is afraid of admitting they are not OK.

If we say that we are not OK then we don’t live the ideal life that everyone wants.

Society makes us feel like we need to be happy all of the time and that sadness is a sign of weakness.

You can’t feel like you are on top of the world every single day and that can be a hard thing to accept. Of course, I would love to feel overjoyed every day, but who wouldn’t?

When we are feeling down we tend to put a mask on to hide the darkness we are feeling and we cover it up with a smile and when someone might say “are you OK?” we tend to respond with “Yes.”

But here’s the thing, it is OK to not be OK.

It is OK to have those hard times. It is OK to be scared to open up to someone. It is OK if you are afraid of what is going to happen.

But what is not OK is to try to cover up your real feelings. If we keep all of our sadness in, we will end up going crazy one day.

It can be hard to be vulnerable and admit that we are struggling.

Sometimes it takes someone else to notice that we are not OK and approach us before we can admit it to ourselves.

Having emotions and being upset does not make a person weak, it just makes them human.

It seems like there are times where there isn’t going to be an end to the pain but those are the times where you just have to push through it and realize that you are not OK and that you might need help.

Some of us would rather be approached instead of approaching someone, I am one of those people. I love when people come to me and want to talk but I always feel bad going to others with feelings or advice, which is silly.

I wish people would just know I am not OK without me having to admit it.

We all have those times where we need to turn to someone whether we want to or not.

It is nothing to be ashamed or scared of, it is just part of life. We all have those people that we know will always be there for us but it still scares us to ask if we can talk to them.

Talking to someone is just the first step of getting rid of the pain.

Everyone struggles and everyone goes through hardships in life, but the first step to getting through the pain is to admit that you are not OK.

I have gone through many difficult times in life and didn’t think I would make it through. I felt scared and weak, which is how everyone feels when something goes wrong.

It is OK to be sad and it is OK to go through difficult times in life because that makes us and shapes us into who we are.