Sometimes I just put up a front...

[Fierlin1182]

... Because if I didn't, I swear I'd go insane.

Most of the time it works, I once heard of a wise bit of advice that says "Fake it till you make it". When I'm feeling like crap, I'll put on a smile and away I go, and that usually has me feeling better.

Sometimes it doesn't work though, and trying to be cheerful irks me even more.
I don't let on, because who likes to look at a face like sour lemons, right?

And then when I'm on my own I'll usually start to go slightly mad. Takes a while or something nice to make me come around.

Walking past Flight Centre and grumbling "It's all your fault!" helps sometimes; if only life were that simple!

I am my own worst enemy sometimes.

Oh, and where are my manners!
Merry Christmas eve everybody. Enjoy the public holiday.

It's working today, by the way. I was in a crap mood from work (don't tell me you don't get that sometimes!) and now I am feeling refreshed and ready to handle whatever the universe decides to lob at my forehead next.

...Now that I've said that, I'm probably going to miss the train. Life works like that.

 

[gryeyes]

Been there. Beat myself up for it, too.

Here's another truth to remember: This, too, shall pass.

And it will, good or bad.

 

[jtbrown]

Sometimes, a front is not so bad. Of course, living with a front up 100% of the time is bad. A friend of mine described those days, by saying, "you ever feel so grumpy that you can't stand yourself?". It was her way of warning us that today is not feeling so smooth, but it was rare for her! Yes, I've been there.

So, I agree, fake it til you make it. My mom's similar advice is, when you feel the worst take time to make yourself look the best, and soon you will feel better. Vent to those close to you, but I find in general easier to push away the bad stuff -- eventually it does make the turn into better, mood anyway. Doesn't really change anything but outlook.

Merry Christmas to you, and nope, I'm not happy all the time, but try as much as possible, otherwise, well, it can really suck. Hope you got the train!

 

[sourland]

This, too, shall pass, and you are up to the task. Ray, when the crap is too deep and the blues start encroaching, I retreat to Nature - this is my rejuvenating place. Find yours.

 

[Mahonri]

When folks ask me how I'm doing, I usually smile and say, "Unbelieveable!"... And it doesn't really matter if you feel like garbage or if you are on cloud nine, it can be right either way.

 

[Fierlin1182]

Thank you all for your encouraging words!
I did catch the train, and things started to look up as soon as I got home.

I have plans to see a good friend of mine in the new year for a movie and an arvo in with junk food... this is good, I am pretty much a social reject so hanging out with pals is rather significant for me.

Merry Christmas everyone.

 

[Fierlin1182]

The wall thing is happening again today.
It's pretty plain obvious that I'm having no luck striking up talk today for some reason, so I'm not going to compound that by adding a gloomy face to the mix.

 

[Mattemma]

Fronts are necessary at times. You do need that down time though where you can relax and take off the mask,lol. Hope you have a nice time out and happy holidays!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Having social anxiety, and having many loved ones with clinical depression, I know all about fronts. XD Thing is, allowing myself to open up more and not keeping everything to myself has only helped me improve my overall life experience. This includes no longer trying to completely hide when I am sick/unhappy/and the hardest one for me...angry. I can't tell you how often as a kid I would hide everything from concussions to a collapsed lung (okay, that one ended up not being so easy to hide) from others. The last thing you want to do with social anxiety is draw attention to yourself in any way, and you certainly don't want to upset someone else by in any way showing them that they made you less than magnificently happy. Couple that with a culture that says you should always be happy and chipper, and you have one ready to wear mask. X) I think that mask is even more present on those I know with depression. Sometimes it is a good thing to put the mask down. Step away from the mask!

 

[Fierlin1182]

Punk, we sound quite alike!

Except I wouldn't hide a physical injury, I'd get much too worried about it, lol.
I've always been hard to extract things from, my mother tells me all the time how much I'm like dad.

Always taking the roundabout way of trying to say something.