As human beings, we are not always okay.

We are not consistently positive, every single moment of every day. We are not always right. We are not always kind. We have moments where we feel broken and discouraged and hopeless and cruel.

And I’m going to tell you a secret: you don’t always have to be okay.

This should not be a secret. I think we have all generally accepted this idea that people are not perfect. We say, “To err is human,” and we expect that everyone will, at some point in their lives, make a mistake, or get hurt, or be down, and depressed, and lost. And yet, despite all this, we still make an attempt to hide it. We still think that we will be judged for being flawed, or that we’re already judged for being flawed.

It has been a long time since I tried to hide the fact that I wasn’t okay.

I’ve worn my status of “not okay” quite proudly for a while now—speaking up about my experience with depression and anxiety, my struggle with toxic people in my life, as well as the simple daily struggles that I think all of us go through.

My experience is not a particularly unique one. I think that many of us deal with these issues, if not all of us, at one point or another.

And yet, despite this, I have been described by people—both personally and online—as “really messed up,” or “seriously ill,” not because of the things that I have gone through, but because I chose to speak up about them. I never tried to hide the fact that I wasn’t okay at certain times in my life, and for some people, this was unacceptable. This was a sign of weakness.

What these people didn’t see was just how therapeutic this was for me. Speaking up allowed me the chance to see that I wasn’t alone, and that other people experienced the same thoughts, and feelings, and issues that I was experiencing. Some of these people went public, like I did—expressing these issues loud and proud for all to see, while others simply whispered it to me behind closed doors. And either way, I am grateful for them—because they helped me. They relieved my guilt, my fear, and my need to repress. They freed me. All of a sudden, I wasn’t only speaking for me—I was speaking for us.

And, on the other hand, I have known many people who tried to fit into a certain image of flawless. I think many of us know these people as well—the hyper-yogis and gurus who never have a negative thing to say. Their social media platforms are full of inspiration, and positive thinking, and little more. And while inspiration is great—even necessary—there is such a thing as going too far in this direction.

Because when these flawless people do, inevitably, show a flaw, they cannot accept this. They cannot hear it. They must blame everyone else for their flaw, or deny that it is a flaw, or push it deep down never to see the light of day, never to be worked on, and fixed, and improved upon.

And oftentimes, these flawless people are so insecure, so afraid, so depressed, and never allowed to acknowledge the source of this, because they do not allow themselves to talk about it. They are too afraid that they will be judged, or looked down upon. They are so frequently told that they will not be strong, or admirable, or acceptable if they are suffering. And we are all suffering, at one time or another.

Ultimately, you do more harm to yourself and to those around you when you do not allow yourself to discuss the fact that you might not always be okay.

At the end of the day, life is not about being perfect. Life is about growth. And you achieve this growth by confronting your pain, rather than pushing it down and ignoring it. Now, the way that you confront this pain can take many forms—whether you speak out about it openly, or with a trusted friend, or a therapist, or your personal diary, whatever the case may be. But regardless of the way that you choose to speak, there is nothing wrong with it. There should be no shame in the methods that you choose to better yourself, and there should be no cause for judgment either.

So if anyone makes you feel “lesser than” because you choose to speak out about your problems, please keep in mind that this reveals more about them than it does about you. You are not “messed up” or wrong—you are dealing with the problems that many of us deal with, and you are dealing with it them in the way that works for you. Meanwhile, they will not allow themselves the same luxury. They are still caught up in this myth of perfection, or flawlessness, that none of us are truly capable of.

And if you are someone who will not allow yourself to speak out, then allow me to say this: I understand that it can be frightening. It might seem weird, and you might think that you will be judged—and maybe you will. But more than that, you will be received with love. You will find kindred spirits more personal to you than they would be because they understand what you have been through. They understand the workings of your mind.

And you can start slow if you want to. Start by simply saying it to yourself. You can move on to speaking out when you feel more comfortable. But you need to speak out. You need to do it for yourself, and for the kindred spirits who feel silenced, alone, and frightened.

Bonus: 5 Mindful Things to Do Each Morning.

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Author: Ciara Hall
Image: Larm Rmah/Unsplash
Editor: Angel Lebailly
Copy & Social Editor: Nicole Cameron