I’m Not Depressed. I Just Don’t Want to Smile. When the world expects cheerfulness, but your soul just needs silence. Some Days Feel… Heavy Some mornings, I wake up and everything feels off. Not tragic. Not unbearable. Just… heavy. Like the air has thickened. Like the light has dimmed just slightly. And the usual mask — the polite smile, the small talk, the “I’m good” — suddenly feels impossible to wear. No, I’m not depressed. I haven’t shut down. I’m still functioning. Still present. Still answering emails and texts. But I don’t want to smile today. Not out of bitterness — but out of honesty. Not Every Sadness Has a Name The world tends to measure pain by how visible it is. Tears, breakdowns, dramatic moments. But some sadness doesn’t scream. It simmers quietly under the surface — making joy harder to access, turning everyday interactions into quiet hurdles, and making the act of smiling feel like work. “Smile, It’ll Be Fine!” — It’s Not That Simple People mean well when they say,...