The Truth Your Heart Knows (But You Keep Ignoring)

We live in a world that practically hands out gold stars for holding it all together. Smile through the heartbreak. Work through the anxiety. Show up polished even when your soul is shaking. But here’s the truth no one wants to admit: pretending you're fine is costing you far more than you realize.

Studies show people who chronically suppress their emotions have a 30% higher chance of early death. Even more alarming, emotional suppression is linked to a 70% increase in cancer risk. And mentally? The cost is brutal, double the likelihood of depression and anxiety, and an inner world that feels like it’s slowly collapsing.

And yet, we keep doing it. Because looking strong feels safer than being seen. Because we don’t want to disappoint anyone. Because we think falling apart means we’ve failed. But that mask you’re wearing is suffocating you—and your body knows it before you do.

I know this not as a coach, but as a woman who lived it.

During my divorce, I wore a mask so convincing even I believed it sometimes. I’d show up to work acting like everything was fine, cracking jokes, performing, smiling on cue. But the moment I walked through my front door, I would collapse, crying until my eyes burned, wondering if I was actually losing my mind. There was a level of isolation that felt like drowning in plain sight. Everyone thought my ex, who cheated, was “the reasonable one.” I was painted as the crazy one. And I kept pretending I was okay because it was safer than being honest.

I didn’t sleep. I barely ate. My anger lived under my skin. And the more I hid it, the more my body began to break. My sciatica flared to the point where I could barely walk. My muscles locked so tightly it felt like I was turning to stone. And no doctor could tell me why.

But I knew why.

When you fake being strong long enough, your body eventually screams the truth you won’t say.

Years later, I learned that my “strength” wasn’t actually strength—it was fear. Fear of being judged. Fear of being misunderstood. Fear of being abandoned. Fear of falling apart and not being able to get back up. And beneath it all… a fear that if people saw the real me, they’d walk away.

What I didn’t realize at the time was this:

Every time you say “I’m fine” when you’re not… you push connection, healing, support, and love farther out of reach.

Pretending becomes a wall. A prison. A slow spiritual suffocation.

And yet, the moment you begin to tell the truth—even quietly, even shakily—the healing begins. Not because it fixes everything overnight, but because authenticity reconnects you with yourself. And without that, nothing in your life works. Not your health. Not your relationships. Not your purpose. Not your joy.

Your body will always try to get your attention.
Through tension. Through illness. Through shutdown.
It doesn’t do this to punish you—but to wake you up.

To remind you that you’re human.
That you’re worthy of support.
That you don’t have to carry everything alone.

If you feel yourself holding your breath, tightening your shoulders, or forcing yourself to act fine… pause. Ask yourself:

“What would happen if I stopped pretending? What would happen if I let someone see me?”

That tiny crack in the mask is where the light gets in.

If you’re ready to gently reconnect with yourself—without ripping your life apart to do it—start with the Light Activation Guide. It’s a simple invitation to breathe again. To meet yourself honestly. To take the first step back home to you.

You don’t have to be the rock of Gibraltar. You don’t have to be invincible. You just have to be real. And that is more than enough.