Today, Aarna shared a page from her diary with TeenBook, a moment of honesty about pretending to be okay online, and how one unexpected article changed that.Sometimes, hearing someone else speak their truth gives us the courage to face our own.

Dear diary, 

So, I was doom-scrolling on Pinterest again today, looking for some anxiety memes (because, same) when I stumbled across this article. It was an influencer I’d seen before, and the title mentioned her anxiety and compulsive skin picking. That’s not something you usually see influencers talk about, so out of curiosity I clicked on it. 

The article was the complete opposite of what I expected. I’d seen Alyssa on my feed before. She always looked so put together. The type of girl you scroll past and instantly start comparing yourself to. But in this piece, she opened up about her struggles with anxiety and something called dermatillomania, which is a condition where you compulsively pick at your skin when you’re anxious or stressed. 

I don’t have dermatillomania, but the part where she talked about acting okay online really hit home. She said we’ve reached a point where validation on social media sometimes feels more important than our own mental or physical health. That felt so real. I’ve done that so many times. Honestly, I think we all have. There have been moments when I’ve felt drained or anxious or just off, but I still posted a story or replied to messages like everything was completely fine. Sometimes it feels easier to pretend than to explain what’s actually going on. 

She said something about how social media makes you feel like you need to be polished and perfect all the time, even when you’re falling apart inside. It felt like she said out loud what a lot of us think but don’t admit. The fact that someone with such a big following could be that open about something so personal made me feel like maybe it’s okay for me to be honest too. 

What I appreciated most was that she didn’t try to act like she had all the answers. She talked about going to therapy, about how confusing it was to even figure out what she was feeling, and how she’s still working on it. That made it feel way more genuine. Healing isn’t a one-time thing. It’s messy, confusing, and ongoing. And she didn’t pretend otherwise. 

Reading her piece in Teen Vogue made me stop and think about all the times I’ve acted like everything was fine just so no one would think I was too emotional or too much. Especially online, there’s this pressure to be chill, funny, and totally unbothered even when you’re clearly not. 

But this article reminded me that it’s okay to not be okay. It made me feel seen. And I think we all need that reminder sometimes.

Would you like to share your feelings with TeenBook? Send us your thoughts in the comments box! Remember, not to put any personal information in the comment box.