Something has been bugging me lately about the way we’re choosing to deal with people within our circles whenever they start complaining about the current situation. Those who might be mentally struggling more than they can ever really show or tell.

It’s about how we keep trying to stuff their faces with all the positive sides that we think they should just swallow in and learn to be grateful forinstead.

See, it’s very important to remember how privileged most of us are. In terms of being able to maintain a source of income that’s relatively still not affected by what’s going on. And in terms of having the safety of our homes to hide behind. But this still doesn’t invalidate our personal struggles that exist despite all the above.

And it’s never a competition on who has it worse. No one has the right to think that a stay-at-home mom with one kid should stop complaining because ‘at least’ she’s not like that other working mom who has three kids. No one can really tell whether extroverts struggle more than introverts on this. No one should be condemning a bride-to-be’s grief over her cancelled wedding, because ‘at least’ she has the money to travel the world later instead. No. Just no. Please stop.

It might very much seem from the outside that a student distressing over the uncertainty of their exams, for instance, sounds a lot easier to bare than a father who’s worried about how he’ll support his family after losing his job. But who are we to even judge? What do we really know about people to decide any of this for them?

I’m totally in for remembering to count our blessings and for slowly understanding that there’s so much out there to be grateful for. But I’m totally and utterly against anyone who shames others about their distress.

What if some people generally like to victimize themselves? What if they love to complain about every little thing in their lives? What if people are not being rational about this? It’s okay. Let them be. Work on yourself instead. On your heart, and on your own mindset. And let them be. Please don’t shame them into what you believe is right. Let them be. They’ll be fine.

March 27, 2020