Vulnerability

I have heard from quite a few people how they are inspired by my posts on social media. One thing in particular has stood out, they say they admire my vulnerability. This seemed so nice to read but after I contemplated the word for a bit I was a little upset. The reason being because all I am doing is being open about my feelings. I know this can be looked down upon for many reasons like it’s not manly, it’s TMI, it’s a sign of weakness and so on. I feel sorry that we’re all striving to be so perfect in everybody else’s eyes that when we’re honest about feeling depressed, sad, grief stricken, mourning or just down people see this as being vulnerable. I know what this word means but I actually took the time to look it up in the dictionary. “capable or susceptible to being wounded or hurt, open to moral attack, criticism or temptation.” I sure as hell don’t feel any of those things, and I don’t care what people think about me if I do share my feelings through difficult times. We are all so hard on each other…as a society…that’s why it’s so difficult to come forth and share with people when you are depressed, sad or even worse you are thinking about more serious actions such as suicide. We need to be more acceptable and more open to the fact that we are not perfect. It’s okay not to be perfect, it’s okay to share that with each other and most importantly it’s okay to ask for help. This will make it so much easier for the people who are having a difficult time to be open about it, to heal, to grow and get past it.