To whoever needs to hear this - and I do think there are a lot of people who need to hear this:There is a strong tendency in many people to internalize problems. When faced with a new crisis, we tend to go:"Why did this happen to ME!"with the implication of:"Oh <Supreme Being>, I screwed up again!"The rush of initial panic often makes us believe that we are the only ones to face a particular problem (or at least among a small minority of people), and that we need to fix this all on our own, preferably without any outside help, so that we can wallow in our shame in private.But when we actually talk to other people about our problems, we might find out that we are not alone in this after all! We can share our burdens, and learn from others!A recent example: I discovered paper silverfish in my apartment, a pest species of silverfish that eats paper. And my first reaction was indeed: "How did I screw this up?" But then I dared to talk to co-workers about this at the lunch table, and one of them said: "Yeah, we have those in our house too!" and told me how they are dealing with this. And yesterday I learned from a friend that she also had those in her apartment.So yeah, this is _not_ an isolated problem that I have to face on my own - others are dealing with the same thing, and suddenly my crisis isn't this dramatic anymore. It still requires action, of course - but not panic and self-loathing.In summary, try to find people to whom you can talk about your problems without judgment. And conversely, if other people tell you _their_ problems, then listen to them without judging _them_. The world would be a better place if we did that instead of internalizing our problems and trying to present ourselves as "perfect" in public.#MentalHealth
