FeintI’m heartbroken, I say. You scoff, “Heartbroken? Big deal. Do you know how many people in the world are heartbroken right now? Besides, there are far more important things going on in society than your little breakup.”I tell you my heartbreak isn’t just a breakup—it’s layered, tangled up with where I am, who I am, the class I occupy. It’s not as simple as you make it sound.“Layers, huh?” you challenge. “Tell me about these layers. I bet they’re not as complicated as, say, the EU’s economic mess right now.”“I’m alone,” I say. “Working and living abroad. It sounds glamorous, but it’s exhausting.”“Working and living in your home country is exhausting too!” you shoot back.“I know that,” I reply. “But I’m lonely.”You raise an eyebrow. “What, you think people working in their home countries aren’t lonely? And don’t forget, there are tons of unemployed people out there right now.”“I’m queer,” I say quietly. “The kind who only loves women.”You pause, then shrug. “That’s hardly news. Plenty of people have non-normative orientations, and some weren’t even born cisgender. The social pressures they face are probably way heavier than yours.”“I have generalized anxiety disorder,” I add.You don’t miss a beat. “I know someone with major depressive disorder.”I can feel your impatience. “You’re just venting, aren’t you?” you say. “How can you call this a ‘layered’ heartbreak? How can you say it’s more serious than all the chaos in society right now?”I take a breath. “Because on top of all that—being abroad, being queer, living with anxiety—I’m a person existing in this world, in this society, and now I’m heartbroken too. These things don’t just sit side by side; they pile up, they compound. It’s like how your therapist would never tell you your stress comes from just one thing.”
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