What is a telltale sign that you are going through a tough time?
Prompt snagged from: TCMC 
For me, it’s not always obvious—not even to myself. It creeps in quietly, like a slow fade, until one day I realize I’ve withdrawn from the world without meaning to.
There are times when I isolate. As an introvert, this comes easy to me. I lose the desire to go out, to be around people, even those I love. Conversations feel exhausting, and the thought of socializing becomes something I push further and further away. Instead, I retreat into my own world—burying myself in books, replaying moments in my head like a film on loop, dissecting things I should have long let go of. Music becomes my refuge, though I have a tendency of choosing the kind (emo) that only deepens whatever I’m feeling. Maybe I’ll sing loudly and off-key with tears streaming down my face or perhaps I’ll rot in bed for the day, which for the record would not be abnormal for me.
Sometimes, I’ll write—pouring my thoughts into a private blog post, knowing full well I’ll never share them. There’s something about putting pain into words that makes it more real, yet at the same time, more manageable. Other times, I throw myself into work, filling every waking moment with tasks and responsibilities so I don’t have the space to think, to feel.
But maybe people won’t be be able to notice since I’ve learned to compartmentalize so well that I can still smile, still function, still do what’s expected of me, all while something inside me feels like it’s spiraling into the abyss.
Maybe that’s the paradox of struggling—sometimes, the ones who seem the most put together are the ones who are quietly falling apart.
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