“I’m good.” We like to regurgitate this phrase when asked about ourselves. “How are you?” “I’m good.” It’s easy, it’s quick, and it lets us avoid getting into anything that may not be good. Especially if we’re just making small talk, I’m not going to dump my whole life story onto you, when I can just say “I’m good.”
Sometimes things are good. For me, the start of this semester has been good- like, really good. Maybe I’m crazy, but I was excited to be back at school, I was excited for my classes, and I was even excited to get back to working out at the Kaplan Center (and I’m not a particularly athletic person). I was just ready to be doing stuff again; my break had gotten excruciatingly boring. Still, a week into classes and I was hit hard by a wave of sadness. It was almost like a switch inside had turned from happy to sad. I couldn’t explain what had happened (nothing bad had happened). All I knew was that even though everything was good, I didn’t feel good.
What was wrong with me?
Absolutely nothing. We all know that feelings and emotions are fickle things (especially around a certain time of the month). And despite our best efforts to feel only the positive emotions and ignore the negative ones, sadness can still find a way to creep in. Don’t fight it! There should be no shame in whatever feeling is present. Acknowledge your feelings, then work to get to a place you want to be. And the best way to get out of a sadness funk is self-care. Some things you can do for self-care are; meditate, and sift through your thoughts, take time to feel the emotions you might have been ignoring or pushing, or cry. You should spend some time with friends who will listen or watch kitten and puppy videos if that’s what makes you happy. Listen to your favorite songs, or do something for another person. Treat yo’ self! But always consider your emotional and mental needs and meet those needs. A healthy, fulfilled you can conquer the world.