Question

I’m a teenager in the 2020s
with too many tabs open
on my laptop,
on my phone,
in my head.

The world fits in my pocket,
buzzing, glowing,
but my chest feels
smaller than ever.

Depression is the dim screen
after the battery dies,
the “are you still watching?”
when I’ve been sitting in the dark
for hours,
half-awake, half-asleep,
not really sure which.

It’s the way my bed
keeps winning the argument
every morning,
pulling me back
with heavy blankets
and heavier thoughts.

Anxiety is every notification
I haven’t opened yet,
every three dots typing
that suddenly disappear.
It’s the knot in my stomach
when my phone lights up
with a message
that might be good news,
might be bad news,
might be nothing at all
but my brain prepares
for disaster anyway.

PTSD hides in the “memories”
apps send me without asking.
A random photo,
an old song in a playlist,
a hallway that smells
like somewhere I swore
I’d never go back to
and suddenly I’m there again,
heart racing,
hands shaking,
the past loading
like a video on repeat.

Trust issues are the unread messages
I leave sitting for days,
the “seen” I don’t reply to,
the jokes I make
when I’m actually scared.
I scroll through people’s stories
and wonder how much is real,
how much is a filter,
how much is a mask
they forgot to take off.

I tell myself I don’t care,
but I still screenshot things
just to reread them later,
just to prove to myself
they really said
they cared.

Overthinking is my late-night browser history:
searching for
“what if they’re mad at me,”
“how to stop worrying about everything,”
“why can’t I just be normal.”
The ceiling becomes a screen
for all the worst-case scenarios,
projected in high definition
at 3:00 a.m.,
when the whole house is quiet
except for my thoughts
refreshing and refreshing
and refreshing.

They say I’m lucky
I have more information
than any generation before me.
But knowing everything
doesn’t help
when I don’t know
how to feel okay.

Some days I’m a frozen video call,
voice lagging,
picture stuck,
smiling in the same place
while everything else moves on.
Other days I’m airplane mode,
cut off on purpose,
hoping no one notices
I’ve disappeared for a while.

Still, in between the glitches,
small pixels of hope appear:
a friend who texts first
just to check in,
a teacher who says
“you look tired, are you okay?”,
a song that feels like it understands
when nobody else does.

Tiny moments buffer
slowly,
but they’re there
proof that I’m not just
a username,
a profile picture,
or a status

Answer 1

This one is called "Tabs Opened", it reflexes on how i look at my mental health issues, while also adding in the 2020's technology and social media platforms to make it a little less boring.

Any feedback and/or opinions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Answer 2

Nice name I love this it's amazinggggggg keep going!!

Answer 3

welcome have a nice day

Answer 4

I forgot have a good night lol

Answer 5

GIRLLL TELL ME R U STALKING MEE??? how r u describing meeeee in thiss poemm 😭😭😭😭 I love this poem and the way u express how u feel in a very few words and thats a rlly good talent

Answer 6

lmaoo that's crazyyyy