Sometimes you can think of your mental and emotional health as a bag. You carry it with you wherever you go, and it has different things in it depending on where you’ve been, where you’re at, and where you’re going. Sometimes the bag is light and easy. Sometimes the bag is heavy and you need some help carrying it. It’s okay for your bag to be heavy. It’s okay for someone else’s bag to be heavy.
Sometimes you can’t help someone with their bag because yours is already too much. That isn’t your fault, you just need time to unpack and put down what doesn’t need to be in there, and then you can be available to help. You wouldn’t want to break your metaphorical back, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to help anyone for a while, maybe not even yourself.
Sometimes someone else’s bag is too heavy for them to help you at the moment. That isn’t your fault either. They need some time to unpack and put down before they’re available just like you would. They need to spare their metaphorical backs, too.
It isn’t wrong to put your bag down and rearrange its contents before you help someone else. It isn’t wrong for someone else to put their bag down and rearrange its contents before they help you.
Related:
A Bit on Burdens and Struggles
It’s Okay To Be Sad
Mind Metaphors
Abstract Physics