When we have lived in a society for so long that admires people for pushing through, and being stoic and keeping their worries to themselves, it is hard to all of a sudden say out loud, “I’m not doing very OK at all”.
That is why this beautiful story segment from A.A. Milne is such a perfect reminder that it is OK to not be OK, and when this is the case, to reach out to someone you can trust and let them know.
I’d love you to have a read of this short story segment and remind yourself that is is perfectly OK to not be OK.
Piglet?’ said Pooh.
‘Yes Pooh?’ said Piglet.
‘Do you ever have days when everything feels…‘Not Very Okay At All’? And sometimes you don’t even know why you feel ‘Not Very Okay At All’, you just know that you do’.
Piglet nodded his head sadly. ‘Oh yes’, said Piglet. ‘I definitely have those days’.
‘Really?’ said Pooh in surprise. ‘I would never have thought that. You always seem so happy, like you’ve got everything in life all sorted out’.
‘Ah’, said Piglet. ‘Well here’s the thing; here are two things that you need to know.
The first is that even those pigs, and bears, and people, who seem to have got everything in life all sorted out, they probably haven’t. Actually, everyone has days when they feel ‘Not Very Okay At All’. Some people are just better at hiding it than others.
And the second thing you need to know is that it’s okay to feel ‘Not Very Okay At All’. It can be quite normal in fact and all you need to do, on those days when you feel ‘Not Very Okay At All’, is come and find me, and tell me’.
‘Don’t ever feel like you have to hide the fact you’re feeling ‘Not Very Okay At All’.
‘Always come and tell me. Because I will always be there’.
― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
If you are not feeling OK, please reach out to someone you trust. A friend, a family member, a GP, psychologist, or psychiatrist. Or maybe even me. I am here if you need me.
