Please just say it. Say you’re not okay.

My German friend once told what she finds the most weird about Americans is how we ask “how’s it going” and we almost all of us respond with “good, how are you?” And they say good.

I have stopped with that shit. We need to get real and drop the pleasantries. Yes it might feel weird at first. Most things do when you’re doing it right. “How am I doing?”

“Not good. Shit’s fucked up.”

You don’t need to get into specifics or trauma dump. Letting a stranger know you are not okay in the context of passing greeting, if done right in an honest and not too overbearing manner has brought me closer to humanity and believing we can get through this together.

It’s okay to say you’re not okay.