That group hangout where I faked my way through 2 hours

Went to a friend's birthday dinner on Saturday and laughed at every joke while my head was screaming about my mom's health stuff. Has anyone else just nodded along for hours and then felt weirdly empty the whole drive home?

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the_anthony24d ago

Used to think faking a smile through a hard time was just what you did. Like, you push through, you don't dump your baggage on everyone at a birthday party, that's the rule. But then I did the exact same thing last month at a game night, laughed at every card joke, and the second I got in my car I just sat there for like ten minutes feeling like a ghost. That empty feeling is way worse than just telling one person later, hey, I'm struggling, even if it's just a text. Now I try to give myself permission to step outside for a few minutes or just say I'm not feeling great, because that fake energy costs more than the awkwardness of being honest.