Imagine you slipped on the ice and landed on the pavement really hard. Nothing's visibly broken and you're not bleeding so you go to work/school like usual. On the outside you look fine, maybe your posture is different because it hurts to walk but nobody really notices or cares. Your leg hurts like hell but going home early would make you look like a wimp who can't take a little pain, and it'd take more effort than it's worth to make up any work you missed. So you suffer through the day, trying to do what needs to be done while ignoring the pain. As long as you're focused on something else it doesn't hurt so bad, but when you have a free moment to think it resurfaces in the back of your mind and you can feel it a bit more.
Fast forward a few days, it's hurting worse and worse. You finally go to the doctor, they tell you that you've broken a bone and angrily ask why you didn't come in sooner. You tell them you didn't think it was that bad, they scoff at you for not taking better care of yourself. They put a cast on it and give you some painkillers, then send you on your way with a pair of crutches. You go back to the usual routine, albeit a bit more slowly as the crutches make it harder to maneuver. The painkillers always make you too tired to focus so you try not to take them too often, which leaves you in pain most of the time. You know why your leg hurts, and you know the only thing that'll help is time. But that doesn't make it magically stop hurting.
All of a sudden people actually notice you're in pain, and they either tease you or give you advice you don't want.
"Have you tried putting essential oils on it, it worked for my mom's friend's grandma's mailman's cousin-in-law!"
"ICE to see you, buddy!"
"Aw that's nothing, one time I stubbed my toe really hard and I felt fine after a little while!"
"You wouldn't have slipped on that ice if you ate healthier and exercised regularly!"
The more people talk to you, the more isolated you feel. They don't know what you're going through AT ALL- how could they, you're the one with the broken leg. You can't keep pace with your friends anymore so they start to leave you out of activities. You start to distance yourself from everyone because you're tired of the broken leg being the only thing anyone talks to you about anymore, and you're tired of being thought of as a burden. But there's still things that need to get done, so you keep limping around with your crutches trying to do your job/schoolwork as if nothing's wrong.
Eventually your leg heals and everything goes back to normal, with the exception that people will still ask how your leg's doing even though you're fine.
...Until you slam your hand in a car door a few months later and it repeats.
---------
Now imagine that it's not your leg that's broken, but your emotions. No one can see it except for subtle clues that maybe even you don't know you're giving off. It gets worse and worse until you see a doctor and they diagnose you with Depression. The antidepressants make you tired and numb, but it's better than feeling that constant sadness. People try to give you advice on how to "fix" it because they don't know what else to say, but only time can help- time you can't spend waiting around for things to happen. Things need to get done, so you're trying to keep up with everyone as if nothing's wrong.
You know why everything hurts, but that doesn't make it stop hurting.
Fast forward a few days, it's hurting worse and worse. You finally go to the doctor, they tell you that you've broken a bone and angrily ask why you didn't come in sooner. You tell them you didn't think it was that bad, they scoff at you for not taking better care of yourself. They put a cast on it and give you some painkillers, then send you on your way with a pair of crutches. You go back to the usual routine, albeit a bit more slowly as the crutches make it harder to maneuver. The painkillers always make you too tired to focus so you try not to take them too often, which leaves you in pain most of the time. You know why your leg hurts, and you know the only thing that'll help is time. But that doesn't make it magically stop hurting.
All of a sudden people actually notice you're in pain, and they either tease you or give you advice you don't want.
"Have you tried putting essential oils on it, it worked for my mom's friend's grandma's mailman's cousin-in-law!"
"ICE to see you, buddy!"
"Aw that's nothing, one time I stubbed my toe really hard and I felt fine after a little while!"
"You wouldn't have slipped on that ice if you ate healthier and exercised regularly!"
The more people talk to you, the more isolated you feel. They don't know what you're going through AT ALL- how could they, you're the one with the broken leg. You can't keep pace with your friends anymore so they start to leave you out of activities. You start to distance yourself from everyone because you're tired of the broken leg being the only thing anyone talks to you about anymore, and you're tired of being thought of as a burden. But there's still things that need to get done, so you keep limping around with your crutches trying to do your job/schoolwork as if nothing's wrong.
Eventually your leg heals and everything goes back to normal, with the exception that people will still ask how your leg's doing even though you're fine.
...Until you slam your hand in a car door a few months later and it repeats.
---------
Now imagine that it's not your leg that's broken, but your emotions. No one can see it except for subtle clues that maybe even you don't know you're giving off. It gets worse and worse until you see a doctor and they diagnose you with Depression. The antidepressants make you tired and numb, but it's better than feeling that constant sadness. People try to give you advice on how to "fix" it because they don't know what else to say, but only time can help- time you can't spend waiting around for things to happen. Things need to get done, so you're trying to keep up with everyone as if nothing's wrong.
You know why everything hurts, but that doesn't make it stop hurting.
