The Things We Don’t Say Out Loud

 

So let’s be honest with ourselves for just a moment- I mean really honest. The kind of honest that makes your chest tighten a little, because it hits close to home.

There are things in our lives we may never talk about. Things we’ve experienced, things we’ve seen or heard, things we’ve lost, or even things we’ve found, that no one will ever hear about from us. These are the things we don’t say out loud.

Sometimes it’s a feeling we can’t name. Sometimes it’s shame, or joy, or anger, or confusion. Sometimes it’s the quiet truth we can’t bring ourselves to admit:

“You hurt me.”

“I’m lonely.”

“I’m embarrassed.”

“Something bad happened to me, and I don’t know how to handle it.”

Even when we dance around those feelings, sometimes we can’t bring ourselves to say them out loud. We all have them. We hold onto them tightly,  in our hearts, our souls, our minds, and even our bodies.

Maybe it’s self-protection. Maybe it’s survival. Admitting the darker parts of being human feels risky… what would people say? My family? My friends? My coworkers?

But here’s the thing: we’re in the middle of a reckoning. We’re more connected online than ever before, yet lonelier than we’ve ever been. We’re suffering in silences, carrying the weight of everything we don’t say out loud.

At some point, we have to speak. We have to express ourselves to a therapist, a friend, a journal, or even just ourselves. Because keeping those things buried can do incredible damage, to your spirit, your health, your ability to see and be seen.

Speaking the truth, even quietly, is how we begin to process, to grieve, to accept, and to move forward.

I want us to be the kind of people who don’t just survive the things we never said out loud, but who thrive beyond them.

Not silent anymore.

Love, Hallie 💕

“There are things I only admit in the quiet — the thoughts I’d never post or say out loud. But those are usually the ones that connect us the most.