It's Okay

A Love Letter to the Anxious Extrovert

Hey! This letter is for you, the outgoing friend. You’re always joking around and trying to make the most out of life. Sometimes this may seem like this is your role, or your job to be light and fun. You may not always want to open up about anything that may be troubling or causing stress in your life. For some reason, you feel like this is a burden to your group of friends.

I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. I know this from my own experience. I’m guilty of being a person who doesn’t like to tell my loved ones when I’m feeling down. Vulnerability has never been my strong suit. I believed that sharing my feelings somehow placed my problems on someone else’s shoulders. People already have their own set of issues and I didn’t want to add to anyone's stress.

For the past two years, I have been anxious about pretty much everything. Everything ranging from my future, my weight, my career, and my passions. While all of this was happening, I didn’t tell my family or friends about what I was going through.

I’m the type of person that would rather laugh than cry. I choose to push my issues to the side and force myself to be happy. This turns into the consistent bottling of emotions with no resolve, eventually leading to a breakdown when I’m on my own.

I was ashamed to tell anyone that I was extremely stressed. I thought that avoiding any negative feelings would eventually make them go away. Until now.

I have an amazing set of friends who want to know what’s going on in my life, both good and bad. For the past few months, I have been working on changing my view of vulnerability. It takes great strength to be vulnerable and open with loved ones.

If my story relates to you in any way, then I want to tell you that it’s okay. It’s okay to be open and honest with the people that you trust. It’s okay to cry when you feel like crying. It’s okay to not be okay. It’s important to acknowledge every emotion that you feel.

This process isn’t easy, so take it day by day. I am still figuring it out as I go. This letter was not written to push or pressure you into anything. Your stressors are yours and yours only. I want you to know that you’re not alone even when you feel the most isolated. Better days are coming. I promise.

Signed,

Your fellow anxious extrovert