Nobody understands me

When life is too much, you may feel like you don’t want to go on.  When you’re constantly thinking “nobody understands me”, it can feel pretty lonely.  I’ve been there.  I’ve been through rejection, hurt, and abandonment.  It doesn’t feel good.  But you can get through it, because I did.  It’s Suicide Prevention week so I urge you to keep going.

Nobody understands me

Life is hard and sometimes we are going through something that you think no one could possibly understand.  And, when this happens, we feel a lot of loneliness inside.  When I was hurting, it was really hard for me to talk to people because I felt like I was being judged.  It’s true that this happens sometimes.  People ostracized me for making decisions that I felt were in my best interest.  It’s sad for me to say, but I wasn’t supported and this is why I felt like nobody understood me.

My anxiety has been through the roof

Depression and anxiety usually go hand in hand.  When I was depressed because of the abandonment that I felt, it turned to anxiety.  I felt very alone and when I tried to reach out to people, it almost made it worse – at least in my case.  There were people in my life that didn’t agree with my decisions.  I was very confused because I thought I had a support system.

Deep down, though, I knew what was best for me and even if the decisions I made weren’t the right ones, I knew I was moving in the right direction.  For that, I will always be grateful that I stood my ground.  I knew that even if I didn’t make the right decision at the time, I knew which way I was going and I could always course correct.  I heard a saying one time that went something like this:  “Sometimes we make the right decision and sometimes we have to make the decision right”.

In any case, when I stood my ground and moved forward with my decision, I found that there were people who were supportive of me – I just didn’t see them at first.

What I learned about myself

Because of the abandonment I felt, I was really depressed, anxious and confused.  I wondered if I was making the right decision.  What I learned is that sometimes people have their own insecurities that they project onto you.  I knew which direction I needed to go in and although I may not have known exactly which road to choose (to get away from the bad situation), I knew I had to do something.  Sure, I wish I had the initial support but life is life.  It was then that I realized that I was a strong person and I could do anything.

Anxiety continues to be a problem

I tell you this story because I know how it feels to be anxious.  In today’s uncertain times, we see more and more examples.  People are coming out talking about the anxiety they are experiencing.  Mental health is an issue for this country but it’s so “hush, hush”.  Why?  We need to change that.  Jeff Steen shares some insight about anxiety in his article:  Anxiety is making work impossible.  Why is no one talking about it?

It’s really a good read, so I hope that you read it and start talking about it.  So, this will be Day 8’s Confidence Challenge.  Talk about it!  You may feel fear that no one will understand and that’s a valid fear.  Obviously – it happened to me.  But, when you are feeling depressed, anxious, lonely or any number of things (see Signs of Depression post that may help), and you know you need to make a change, you should feel supported.  We shouldn’t be made to feel like no one will understand.  Could the issue be that too many people think that having these feelings mean something is wrong with you?  Is it because we don’t talk about it enough?

So, let’s start talking about it!  Even if you’re not depressed, strike up a conversation with someone about the topic.  Let’s get it out there!  Turn “Nobody understands me” to “I am strong and there is nothing wrong with me”.