Hello there. I hope that wherever you’re reading this, whenever you’re reading this, that you’re having a nice day. And if you’re not, I’m sorry to hear that – but I hope that your day gets better. And if it doesn’t? Well, I hope tomorrow is better.

It’s a simple message, but it’s one I feel compelled to share today. It’s a thought I have on my mind quite a bit these days, and it’s one I don’t think I do a good enough job of sharing. But sometimes, every so often, on some rare occasions, we have bad days. And the way we deal with these bad days (and of course I’m generalizing, and putting all of humanity into one big category, but please stay with me) is not always healthy. And that can be hard. I want to find a better way.

But I’m not here to admonish myself or anyone reading this, I promise you. I’m only here today to say one thing: you’re going to be okay. It’s okay if you’re having a bad day. It’s okay if you’re struggling. It’s okay if you are going through a difficult time. I’m not saying these things to put any pressure on you, or to make you think you need to feel better right now. Think of it more as a gentle reminder, a message being dimly projected onto the clouds of your sad day. It’s going to be okay.

When will it be okay? Unfortunately, I don’t know. It could be a long time. We all have different things going on in our lives, and at times, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. When I first started experiencing depression, I asked this question often: when will it be okay? I asked that question to myself for years. Even when things did get better – even when I got better – I continued asking myself that question. Slowly, over time, I asked it less. And I consider that a victory.

But back to this bad day that you might be having. There are a million and one reasons we might not be feeling great, and they are as different as humans are from each other. But one thing that we all have in common is that ignoring a bad day will do nothing to prevent us from having another one (and don’t worry, I found some science behind this). My point? While there might be many reasons for our troubles, what we all have in common is that for each and every one of us, they do in fact exist. And we do have to deal with them.

So back to you, the reader. I don’t know when you’ll read this post, or where life has found you when you do. Maybe it’s a beautiful day, maybe it’s a cloudy one. Maybe you just had a crying spell, or maybe you haven’t been able to drag yourself off the couch. But I want you to hear this, and I want you to internalize it as much as you can: it’s going to be okay. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, maybe not for a long time. But it will be.

And maybe you’re having a wonderful day – that makes me happy even thinking about it. Sorry if this post has been a downer; that’s not my intention. But if you are in fact having a nice day, and my post doesn’t quite resonate with you in this moment, I’d kindly ask you to share it with someone who might need to hear it (you’d know better than I). I’m not writing this to share toxic positivity, or to be glass half full, or to tell you something I think you or someone else wants to hear. I am only sharing a reminder that I wish I would’ve heard more when I was younger, and something I try to tell myself as often as I can. It’s something I forget on those hard days, those times when I can’t think another thought because I’m just too tired. But it’s going to be okay. Maybe that isn’t the most important message in the world, but I believe it’s one worth sharing. And I hope you do, too.

And just for fun, here’s something you might like – you might already know this song, but it’s one that picks me up time and again, and is very special to me. Have a day, however it is: