Dear Facebook friend,
How are you?
It’s true that we don't know each other so well. One of us must have added the other thanks to Facebook suggestions or because of mutual friends.
We must also have ‘Liked’ or ‘Shared’ each other’s posts and wished each other on birthdays.
However, I am certain that none of us was aware when the other suffered quietly. None of us knew when the other was really lonely and in need of human companionship.
I had no idea when you badly needed to share a problem. You had no clue when I needed a friend.
Of course both of us must have people in our lives who we can talk to. There are family members and friends who are closer to us than our Facebook friends.
We also know Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook to help people connect with their friends and family who lived away from them. But the reality is today even people who share living spaces are not that connected.
People are busy running their races, shopping online, editing pictures trying to look better than they actually are, watching pornography, doing drugs, smoking or playing video games.
Depression, anxiety and loneliness have become common. We are leading shallow lives that shine on the outside.
As per WHO, depression will be the second leading cause of death by 2020.
Not just working professional but even school going kids experience depression. Everyone has a different reason but depression and mental issues are a reality.
There is lack of real emotional intimacy.
In times like these, having real and meaningful connections is the need of the hour.
We need to realize and accept that we are natural beings who need love and intimacy to grow.
Let’s not create an artificial world where people are without feelings. Let’s accept that we do feel pain and shed tears.
Let’s accept that we are not always smiling or pouting and posing for the camera.
Once in a while, why can't we, besides pictures, share the stories of how we struggled with difficult emotions or circumstances and emerged victorious?
From time to time, why can’t we share if something really moved us and helped us be a better person?
I'm sure that will inspire someone else to do the same.
I’m not writing this as a mental health professional. I’m just a fellow mortal with my own set of struggles.