“Go crazy, then come back” Letting Go of the Stigma of Being Emotional or Losing Your Way

I created today’s video to point out how normal it is for people to get emotional, lose their bearings, or lose their way in life.

I share about a teen who found out someone close to her had been lying to her, was extremely upset about it, then felt ashamed for being upset. She’d always prided herself on being easygoing, never creating conflict or drama, and generally handled life’s ups and downs constructively and efficiently.

She was more frustrated with herself for having such a big reaction to being lied to than the lying itself.

If you’re one of those people that isn’t easily thrown by life, you might find that you’re

really bad at it when it happens. You have no practice.

Nobody’s immune from being pushed out of their comfort zone. Everyone loses their way at some point.

And when that happens, the insecurity and pain can be disorienting.

But it doesn’t mean anything is wrong with you. On the contrary, upset is a normal part of the human experience.

Feeling let down by someone, or by life, is just what happens when our ideas and expectations about life don’t match up with how things unfold.

Those feelings are the growing pains that evolve us and recalibrate our understanding of life.

We might not like those feelings, but they’re normal and natural and are not a sign of weakness.

In fact, every time we lose our way, we find it again. Every time.

So not only aren’t we broken, but we’re operating exactly the way we’re meant to.

As I describe in the video, the doctor I mentioned put it perfectly: “It’s ok! Go crazy, then come back.” That’s what today’s video is about.