Poignant Tattoo Shows The Struggle Of Battling Depression
The powerful photo is helping to raise awareness of depression. [Photo: Facebook/Bekah Miles]
A clever tattoo with a powerful message has gone viral for all the right reasons.
Bekah Miles shared the photo of her tattoo, inked on her left leg, on social media and has received a brilliant reaction – simultaneously raising awareness of depression.
From the front, the tattoo reads “I’m fine” but from her point of view it says “Save me”.
Bekah, 21, explained the meaning behind the tattoo on her Facebook page, revealing in an emotional open letter that she hopes it will help make people more aware of those struggling with depression.
The 21-year-old chose to ‘come out’ as being diagnosed with depression on the social media platform, revealing that she’s finally “ready to have a conversation about [her] mental illness.”
“Last year, I was diagnosed with depression. And in all honesty, I believe it was a problem for quite a while before that, but I think it just got worse to the point of hardly functioning,” Bekah wrote.
“So today, I got this tattoo. I feel that my leg was the best place for the meaning behind it. When everyone else sees it, they see “I’m fine”, but from my viewpoint, it reads “save me”. To me, it means that others see this person that seems okay, but, in reality, is not okay at all. It reminds me that people who may appear happy, may be at battle with themselves.”
Bekah hopes that the tattoo will help start many conversations about depression. [Photo: Facebook/Bekah Miles]
Bekah explained that this is “one of the most difficult things to open up about”.
“Mental illness is serious, but so shamed in our society. We care so much for our physical health, but hardly a thing about our mental state. And that is seriously messed up. Mental illness is not a choice and will likely hit everyone at some point in their life. If it’s such a huge issue, why aren’t we having this conversation about it?
“That’s why I got this tattoo; they are great conversation starters. This forces me to talk about my own struggle, and why the awareness of it is important. You’d be surprised by how many people YOU know that struggle with depression, anxiety, or other mental illness. I may only be one person, but one can save another…and that’s all I could really ask for.
“Maybe this is part of why I am so interested in psychology. I want to help people who feel the way I have—and still do—because it’s hell. And I don’t wish that upon anyone.”
The photo of the tattoo is clearly making an impact, as it’s already been shared over 200,000 times.
“This forces me to talk about my own struggle, and why the awareness of it is important,” Bekah wrote “Please keep sharing and spreading the awareness. This is the only way to get some real change in the stigma.”
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