Yesterday, social media was a true Armageddon. Some were frustrated. Others panicked. Others explained to the first and second groups how to panic properly and how to frustrate properly. And it’s this last category that irritates me the most.
Maybe an old PTSD sufferer, for whom this disaster started not in 2022, but way back in 2014, can share a thought?
Leave each other alone. Releasing negative emotions is not a weakness. It’s one way to prevent wrecking your nervous system. Honestly, you can’t even imagine what chronic stress can do to the body. Later, people spend years visiting cancer centers, cardiologists, neurologists, and other doctors, wondering: “Where did all this come from?”
If you want to panic — panic. If you want to frustrate — frustrate. If you want to cry — cry. If you want to sob — sob. If you want to scream — scream. If you want to stay silent — stay silent. If you want to write that you’re scared — write it. If you want to write that you’re holding on and in control — write that too.
Do whatever helps you survive this stress without falling apart. But stop delving into others’ minds and telling people how they “should” experience the war. There’s no single correct reaction to constant danger. And even more so, there’s no one who has the right to determine who should be afraid, who should cry, and who should be silent.
Today, someone else’s mental state is not your responsibility. But your own is. So my only simple advice is: release negative emotions safely, without judging others’ reactions, and stop teaching everyone how to handle stress properly.
The motto for today is very simple: mind your own mental state and take care of it. Hugs to everyone. Or not. Whatever you feel like today.
