We Need You

Those of us with a mental illness and/or an addiction tend to expect people to read our minds and act accordingly. Then when they don’t act according to our expectations, we get resentful or angry.

We also tend to believe that other people intuitively know what we are feeling. Before I got on the path to Recovery, I would be angry with people for months. Only later to discover they never realized they had harmed me. Or that I had perceived that they had harmed me.

And that “magical thinking” (and self-centered thinking) works the opposite way too. When I get into my Bipolar or addict thinking, I start “reading minds,” and generally conclude that everyone within a 5 mile radius is thinking
negative, critical thoughts about me.

To Erez’s point, our expectation that other people can read our thoughts or perceive our emotions becomes not only immiserating, but potentially lethal-when we get into a place of deep, deep depression and suicidal ideations.

But as Erez wrote, #itsokaytonotbeokay. And it’s okay to admit it. There is no shame in telling others we are suffering and need help. Whether it be physical, mental, or emotional.

Suffering is the universal human experience on this planet. No one leaves Earth without experiencing it.