In our regular spot on the site where we chat about mental health, a few words on just having a bit of an okay stretch.
Hello again, friends. How are you, this week?
An awkward question, sometimes. ‘How are you?’
The most common answer seems to be that we’re doing ‘fine’ or ‘okay’. Something that indicates we’re not exactly cartwheeling with excitement, but also not drowning in misery.
Feeling so-so. Not good, not bad.
Just muddling through. Plodding along.
Surviving.
The answers can seem bland or disingenuous sometimes because we’re always expecting or hoping for something more definitive, or even interesting. Yet we need to recognise that the idea of just getting through life is still important and relevant.
Many people struggle with life daily, and there is a multitude of reasons that range from health concerns to financial stability, disability to geography, and many more.
Responsibilities at home, with family, at work, or even ensuring bills are paid are never ending. Caring for yourself in any capacity is something you can’t escape.
Weather can impact people’s mood and health, and I shall resist the urge to complain about the fact it is currently 13°C at 6am and my health and medication are making it hard to cope without the aid of a fan, a cold drink, and an ice-lolly for breakfast. Yep – I will keep that to myself as I research how to do a rain dance. Other people love the heat and sun, but feel their lives negatively affected by rain or storms.
Perhaps the monotony of life is what can wear a person down; the eat, work, sleep, repeat cycle. Boring.
For some people, survival isn’t about their quality of life, but the sheer amount they must fit in. A hectic social life can be draining, on top of regular day-to-day routines – the never-ending expectations of being somewhere and seeing people and interacting, while mentally running through the checklist for the kids social activities at the weekend… when all you want to do is fall into bed for a good 72 hour nap.
It reminds me how some people believe that all celebrities or people of a higher social class are immune from the trivial issues of life because they have money, fame, and power. But love or hate the rich and privileged, they are still humans that must live a daily life in a body prone to occasional fails and mishaps. Their brains are not automatically programmed to enjoy every moment they are alive. They still must face the same pitfalls that we do, and that can be working nonstop to maintain their lifestyle, or even struggling to accept their success and celebrity, albeit from a more comfortable position that many of us can only dream of. Gerard Butler still has to attend appointments.
The point is: life is long, and hard, and stressful, and has a bag of mean tricks so deep that Mary Poppins would be jealous.
We can’t – and shouldn’t – be expected to be happy and upbeat all the time. It is an unrealistic expectation. When life involves political unrest, a faltering economy, seeking to afford the necessities, maintaining our health and wellbeing, meeting our responsibilities head on, and knowing that we need to do these things day-in and day-out, then we just do the best we can.
“How are you?”
“I am okay. I am fine. I am getting on with it. I am existing. I am still going. I am muddling through. I am coping. I am surviving.”
And, you know what?
That is enough.
Keep doing what you’re doing and hang in there. It’s not all doom and gloom, and it’s not all sunshine and flowers.
Sometimes it just is, and that is just fine.
