When you are strong, don't expect to be pitied

Sometimes it seems to me that "being strong" is a diagnosis.
You cope with night shifts, with other people's screams and pain, with anxiety inside and in the eyes of patients. You know how to pull yourself together, drink coffee on the go and squeeze out the last of your energy so as not to let anyone down.
And then you come home - and... silence. No "how are you?", no "hold on", not even a banal "I'm here".

Everyone thinks that you can handle it. Always.
Because you are a doctor. Because you are "that strong one".
But even the most resilient have weaknesses. We just can't always allow ourselves to show them.