Recovery

Always Give The Help You Can

"She's talkative, there's no way she's actually socially anxious."

"Complaining with so much good in their lives is thankless."

"No way, not thin enough for an eating disorder."

"It can't be that bad, and we all know it."

"Their dad seems nice, there's no way he's abusive."

"I talked to her boyfriend, he doesn't seem like the kind to hit."

"They're way too happy to be depressed."

"He's a boy, they don't really feel sadness."

Here's the thing, my love, my light. There are libraries in every person that you will never read. Even if someone seems like they're not really hurting, some people are better actors than others and due to the way we were raised or the way our home life hits us in the face sometimes, we are so good at masking pain that most people think our smiles are synonymous with being fine and please don't be the voice that tells us we're faking it, because we know we don't deserve saving. That's why when we admit we're dying it's always a punchline, always a joke, always "Haha I'd go to your party but I plan on spending my night crying alone." Even if there are those who would take advantage of your kindness, you cannot know how much of someone they are hiding - even if someone you know has really honestly "faked it" for attention, most of us are just trying to fit in and you can't tell for shit that we're crumbling.

This ruins us because we hear you say "she's cutting for attention" and we pull our sleeves a little lower down and smile and nod about it and I would much rather learn that I do not have to worry about someone after being supportive than to write someone off and later discover that I was the person to teach them that they had no real reason to come forwards. I would rather be helpful and have someone else be the worse person than to wake up and wonder what I could have done to help them.