Nobody is perfect and it’s ok not to feel ok sometimes. You can’t go through life expecting everyday to be happy, because life gets us all down and the life we portray online is almost completely different to reality, but why is it we lie? Is it because we’re scared of telling the truth, or simply because we want to live up to everyone’s expectations? It’s sad really.

There’s always a certain pressure to be perfect, in the online world or in the real world, it’s a perception to think we’re all perfect, when in fact we’re not and it portrays a very fake life.

The illusion of the perfect life could come from perhaps someone you look up to. I, myself look up to a lot of people and see their lifes posted on Instagram and YouTube, and you look at it and would love to do what they do with their lifes. But has it ever crossed your mind that they most likely always post the good things? I know sometimes you can get emotional videos, but who’s to say that it’s not staged and the subject changed to suit the video, the illusion of having it comes simply from what people put online most of the time.

Idolising certain people, gives us the strategy of putting these people in our minds and giving them the perfect lives, when in reality they’re probably struggling like we all are.

Nowadays, people are adamant to show off their lives on social media so the whole world will see their ‘perfect’ life.

I’m sure sometimes you see pictures online, that state ‘Reality vs Instagram’. Which shows images of say people slouching when taking pictures of their stomachs, pulling funny faces, with no makeup or serious bed hair, yes that’s reality. But then when you compare it to what ‘Instagram’ wants to see, it’s pulling your trousers up to hide your hips, sticking your bum out and posing in angles that do not look comfortable, lots of make up and looking totally different. There’s no reason why we should be afraid to post what we actually look like on social media or what we’re doing in our lives but for some it’s feeling pressured to look good and portray the perfect life.

It’s safe to say that Instagram can have one of the biggest impacts on mental health. Which is understandable when you’re scrolling through constantly seeing skinny girls in their bikinis, exploring the world. But Instagram is not always REAL this is what people forget.

Instagram is the worst social media network for mental health and well being. According to a recent survey of almost 1,500 teens and young adults.

You’ll see post about peoples Christmas and the fact it was incredible, or the fact they went on holiday and had the best time, surrounded by pictures. But when in reality it could be they had a rubbish Christmas, but just because everyone is posting good things about theirs they feel the need to as well.

It’s very similar to why film directors only use the good scenes and scrap the others, just imagine it as in your watching the film and it has every single part in it, no matter how long it is, it wouldn’t be very satisfying to watch and it would not get any attention, which is exactly like social media. People would rather post what gets the most attention.

It’s sad to think that a lot of the time we have to capture the moments of a life, to post on social media. When we should be focusing on whats in front of us. Going away, going for food, doing something different we always have to post it. To get our emphasis across of the ‘perfect’ life that we live.

But the sad truth is, if you posted the bad things in your life, how many ‘Facebook friends’ would actually stick around before they get fed up? Yeah, probably not that many. Unfortunately the online world, doesn’t want to see status’ every 5 minutes talking about the bad things in someone’s life.

People in general, would rather post the positive aspects of their lives more than the negatives, which is understandable.

This illusion of having the ‘perfect’ life, is one that can really get to others. It’s like having someone constantly tell you everyday what amazing things they’ve done in their life, good for them. But we can’t always have the life we want, we have to be happy with what we have and if its not this ‘perfect’ life facade, than that’s ok, because most of the time the people they say they have it don’t, remember that.

It’s ok not to be ok

Sometimes it may feel like you always have to be ok. But you can’t go through everyday feeling happy all the time. It affects the way we feel mentally, in a negative way. For those who struggle with mental health or grief, dealing with certain amounts of pressure can heighten how they feel negatively. The thought of always feeling like they have to be happy, is challenging.

It’s safe to say that a we put on a mask to hide how we truly feel and show the world the ‘happier’ side of ourselves. Getting out of bed can be a challenge in itself, and the affects of suffering with depression are tough. So for some to think that you just have to be ‘happier’ can be impossible.

So having to pretend your happy and have this ‘perfect’ life, whilst others are doing what you want to or are happier, is a serious struggle. But you have to remember that you will get there, just because you don’t feel like smiling right now, doesn’t mean you have to give up. The expectations of living this life we see online, isn’t reality, it’s something that is made for the attention of views, because in some cases, when you take that mask off, there is someone that is struggling a lot underneath, so don’t believe everything you see online.

Don’t feel like you’ve failed yourself, because your life isn’t ‘perfect’ just appreciate what you can do and live in the moment, don’t strive to be someone your not.

Everyone in life has problems. So if you truly are suffering and need to talk to someone do, don’t hide who you are or how your feeling away. You’re not a burden, if you share your feelings you’ll feel like a weight has been lifted and it will leave you feeling relieved.

The journey of life, will have many ups and downs, which shape us into who we are today, it’s not going to be perfect, but it’s going to be what you make it. So ignore the posts you see online and just do you and live your life without worrying whether it’s ‘perfect’ or not.

Remember nobody is perfect and neither are our lives and its ok not to be ok.

Call Samaritans, on 116 123 or email them on jo@samaritans.org.

https://www.counsellorwhocares.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/BeckyCares/

Student Journalist