Mental health. The problem is that if you haven’t experienced it yourself, you can never really understand. You can be there for someone who’s suffering, but never say I understand or try to put yourself in their place, because you can’t.

Anything you can imagine, isn’t what it is. Only give advice if asked, but always caveat it with the fact that you haven’t experienced it yourself but will do whatever you can to help.

Mental health is an incredibly lonely place to be and the hardest dark hole to try to climb out of. Every time you think it’s gone it’s still lurking in the wings and will jump on your back when you least expect it.

Mental health needs space, it needs patience, and most of all it needs recognition, as most people mask it well and will deny it when asked. They’re dying inside and no one can see it. Don’t push, bully or lecture them, be soft on your approach, ask if you can help with anything you can see they’re avoiding. But most of all, be kind.