The Happiness Myth

My son left on Monday for his first day at his actual school (Covid!)...I was sad. The old me subconsciously wanted to just go and stay busy so that I didn't think about him and miss him...and the me that knows MUCH better from my past experiences kept telling myself to let it out! Just cry if you miss him...no one will care, and then you'll feel better and be able to get things done.  Why do we do this?? Even after learning how important it is to "let it out"..."cry it out"...or whatever you want to call it...why do we allow ourselves to do this? Suppress...ignore...smile...move on...without ACTUALLY moving on? It still blows my mind that after my breakdown years ago because of this EXACT thing, I still fight with my old self.  Letting those feelings out is the most important thing we can do for our mental health and even our physical health! For myself, I've found I sleep better, have happier relationships, and my joints even ache less when I am allowi...

So, I have been thinking about the past, and my experiences and what has been one of the biggest helps in my life up to this point...and it is....learning how to express emotions! Let me tell you...cause I'm going to anyway...haha...that I heard SO much growing up things like "boys don't cry", "just get over it" and "you'll be fine" and "you're ok". You know...those things we all hear in life that make us push down and hide those unwanted emotions! I found over time that being the spunky, funny, optimistic girl was really not all it was cracked up to be. Yes of course, I enjoyed the popularity that came with it, but rarely was I allowed to be sad...or angry...or really anything else but happy! I got so tired of people asking me what was wrong when I wasn't smiling that I just smiled so no one would bother me. I played the role...I played a part. Don't we all do this?! Does this hit home for any of you? My awakening w...