When we all need a Hug

There are days when you don't feel like doing anything, or perhaps the world just seems so cold and fast paced - unaware of the struggles we wrap beneath our smile.

Most of us would have gone through such days. How we managed to get through it would have been entirely up to the individual’s preference. The clingy ones spend the bulk of time bitching to their bffs. The ones who yearn for attention plaster it all over their social platforms. Others hide everything inside and shun away from any contact. There are people that prefer to talk about it and there are some that just want you to be there for them and not ask any questions. There are some that just want a shoulder to cry on, or just a hug from a close pal.

It boils down to love languages and more specifically the ones we would like to receive. You've probably read many things about love languages so I'm not going to bore you with that. Neither am I going to talk about how we can be there to support your friends or loved ones - learning how to show love & care will differ from case to case.

I'm sitting here with my caramel latte and reflecting on a year that has flown by. 2017 has had many memorable highlights and experiences, though it hasn't been the easiest of times. The little pieces of happiness when strung together with those difficult days are what makes life - life. Fighting through all those hard days require courage, but not only a spirit worthy of novels and fairy tales, for someone struggling perhaps one of the greatest weapons is acknowledgement. Knowing that it is what it is, and learning how to say "OK, so what!", to realize that there's nothing to cry over and life just goes on.

Figuring out how to get out of your struggle takes time, if you're constantly bogged down by emotions and unwilling to acknowledge that you're struggling, it's gonna put you in an emotional vortex. The more logical and less emotional a person is - the easier to arrive at this state of acknowledgement. "That's unfair! I'm the more emotional type of person," you might be thinking. Don't worry I'm with you on that. For most of my life, I've been too emotionally attached and invested. Situations which might have turned out better with less emotions were often botched thanks to my personality.

Its the challenge of controlling your emotions that we all struggle with. Even the more logical ones among us have days when they lose control. Once you get past it though, things slow down to a manageable pace. Even when everything fails around you, or when nothing you do seems to be correct, or when the whole world seems to be against you. Knowing that those days are just part and parcel of life, and being able to compartmentalize your emotions will serve you well.

The last couple of months have changed all my expectations of success and happiness, allowing emotions to run freely drained me of any energy I had, and it was really demoralizing. I had to learn how to compartmentalize and to put my emotions in the closet. For now, I'm alright.

For those who are still struggling, hang in there is probably only part of the correct advice, take time to acknowledge the crappy situation is fine and then based on how you'd usually handle down days go do something you need to. Go for a run, call up a friend, hit the malls and grab an ice-cream cone, do blast the music in the room or watch your favorite drama. There's no right or wrong to how you handle it, but there's one thing that might probably be true for everyone - we could all do with a hug.

#dontgiveup #endofyear