Kathie Costos
June 13, 2023
"It's OK to not be OK" is the line from Stranger Things that got to me. What isn't Ok is when you are afraid to talk about it. Sure, it may make sense since a lot of people don't understand what you're going through and say a lot of stupid stuff topped off with judging you. It happens no matter what the circumstances are. You do have to be selective about whom you decide to open up to. A close friend, a professional, or people in your family, usually can be trusted. Above listening to you, they can offer you support, and a lot of the time, they will seek ways to help you find a way out of the darkness you're in.
Strangers and people you aren't really close to, tend to not listen very well and offer very little help for you. Trying to open up to them, will tend to leave you shutting down with the ones in your life that have your back.
Max in Stranger Things and most of the main characters were trying to get through their lives with #PTSD. The outsiders didn't understand what dealing with the monster Vecna did to them until they had to deal with him as well.
That is the best lesson of all. No one will understand what you're going through unless you tell them and no one will understand it as much as those that went through it, or something like it too.
Now a confession: I'm going through something right now health-wise with my husband and have been trapped at home most of the time. I ran out of things to watch. I read something about Stranger Things and decided to try it. I binge-watched the series twice and got so hooked I may watch it again. It may be a trigger for you because of all the violence, but if you have someone in your life needing to understand that surviving often leaves scars, it may help them. Also good to notice who is surrounding those suffering and needing someone to listen to them, needed someone too.
