Written by Nandini Sethi
I get out of work early,
And for the first time instead of annoyed glances and hushed whispers,
I received empathetic looks and words of encouragement,
Because I told them the reason why:
I had a therapy session to attend.
I was surprised and pleasantly amused by the concern I got,
People I never spoke to, coming to me and telling me how proud they are,
How brave I am,
And that one-day things will definitely get better.
I agreed with them,
But still felt a little embarrassed at the barrage of sympathy and love,
Feeling undeserving of all this attention.
While I was impressed with how far we have come in terms of accepting mental health,
People making a big noise about me,
Praising me,
Showering me with well wishes,
I didn’t know how to break it to them that my situation was a bit different.
I was glad to know they believed in therapy,
But it was too late for me to now tell them that I had meant going to the mall for the end of the season sale.
I was just talking about retail therapy.
