“Things have not been great, and I’m not really coping.”
Even within the busy hustle of the Moscone West, where #DF23 attendees were collecting their badges, she was able to open up about how much she was struggling.
It was the first time we met in real life, having got to know each other during covid where it was so easy to make friends around the globe with the explosion of zoom and virtual meet-ups.
We hugged and I asked “Hey, how are you doing?”
“I’m ok.”
I don’t know about you, but I usually try to find out what’s under the “OK”.
“I mean, how are you really?” I probed gently.
That was when she poured out all the things that had been going on the last few months, and how she dreaded this week at #Dreamforce because she would have to plaster a smile and do the happy happy networky thing and be around people and pretend that everything’s hunky dory and amazing.
When it really wasn’t. 😢
She’s had to do this for awihle, this pretending and acting thing.
But now, she’s going to have to amp it up for the magnificent show that is Dreamforce.
No one is sad here!
Everyone’s happy and very excited to meet people and have fun learning about cool tech, and go to parties and attend the Dreamfest that is featuring Foo Fighters this year!
She had been struggling for quite sometime, still grieving over the lost of someone close earlier this year, and trying to care for her ailing and aging parents.
“Sometimes I wish I didn’t wake up in the morning.”
It was then that the conversation became starker, darker, and more real.
This is what we do at #Samaritans.
We are at the end of the phoneline to support people who are going through difficult emotional times, and who may be contemplating ending their lives.
We can take ‘the call’ anywhere, even in public.
Even at Moscone West, amongst the hustle and bustle of DF attendees getting their badges and planning their agendas.
Pause.
Look around.
Don’t be too busy to notice when someone’s struggling.
If you feel like you don’t want to wake up tomorrow morning, reach out for help.
Call 988 if you’re in USA.
If you’re in the UK, you can call Samaritans freephone on 116 123.
You don’t have to do this alone. 🌹