you gaze around bewildered
because they cannot comprehend 
just do not understand,
this person or those people 
whose opinions you value 
or this society even

but there are just some things
that cannot be grasped
before walking through
that searing, white-hot flame

of thinking you were ‘fine’ one day
but waking with a ton of bricks 
pressing down upon your chest
the next 

you say, why do people not realise
that this astounding, complex organ
this vast, little understood universe 
of neurotransmitters, neurons and cells

controlling every action, every cognition
each and every sense or emotion 
can be injured too?

you say, if only there were a cast
upon your leg
or something they could
clearly see

then you might be allowed 
without question, without suspicion
without judgement 
without well-intentioned 
but unhelpful suggestions,
all the time you need 
to heal

--things i hear regularly in my practice from those with 
burnout/anxiety/depression. this is what they want people
to know but often can’t communicate. 

heather pound 2024

Photo by Katherine Hanlon on Unsplash