It would be so easy, wouldn’t it? Pull the trigger. Press harder with the knife. Jump off the roof. Or even less overt methods - swerve the car, take a breath underwater, or take those pills with the bottle of alcohol. He wasn’t trying to die/she just went too far/what an unfortunate accident.
Yes. Suicide. And nope. No trigger warning here. Because what I’m saying I want you to hear.
Skin and bones. It’s a phrase often heard, rarely seen, and terrifying to behold. It, unfortunately, is the reality for many people - not just teenage girls. In fact, a rising number of males are anorexic as well (perhaps you wouldn’t think it, but as much as women are influenced by the media, the new trend for skinny, bony men has influenced them too). And it’s more than not eating; it’s an illness.
“Mental health” isn’t a term most people like to throw around. “Mental illness” is even worse, but at least we can all agree healthy mental health is something for which we should strive, right, guys? Easier said than done, unfortunately.
“Oh, she can’t get away with wearing that.” “Put some clothes on.” “Maybe if you kept your legs closed…” Let’s be honest: as women, we hear (and say) these things all the time. If a woman dresses more provocatively than you’d prefer, out come the claws. If an ex’s new girlfriend is more attractive than you want her to be, name-calling’s okay. If she’s getting some and you aren’t, she’s suddenly a whore.
Bulimia. The word is disgusting. The practice is disgusting. Just the word brings up the image of a First World Problem teenage girl, looking at a model in a magazine, frowning, and sticking her fingers down her throat. She coughs, wipes her fingers off, flushes the toilet, and fixes her hair. Boom. The face of bulimia.
Nope.
Depression’s hard to explain to someone who’s never felt it. Just snap out of it. Get out of bed. If you took better care of yourself, you’d feel fine. It’s not a big deal. Everyone’s sad, but they deal with it. Your life is great; why are you doing this?
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