This post has been needed to repeat so here it goes:

🖤 HARD TRUTHS 💜

Reflections on 2024 as I stepped into 2025

As someone who has battled depression—and is still navigating it—I know how different it can look from the outside. When someone reaches out for help during a vulnerable moment, it’s because they trust the people around them. That trust should be treated with honor, not used as an opportunity to take advantage of someone who is struggling.

🕳️ What am I talking about?

I’m speaking from personal experience. Around this time in 2024, I fell into a very deep depression. By the end of January, I was in such a dark place that I couldn’t see a way forward. The stress I was under came from every direction, piling up with no relief and nowhere to turn.

It wasn’t the first time I’d been in that place, but it was one of the hardest. When things finally began to shift, I knew I needed help. I reached out to people I trusted—people I believed had good hearts. They helped me through a moment when I desperately needed support, and I began taking steps to heal.

But because of past toxic situations, rumors and gossip started spreading. And some of the very people who once helped me began using that vulnerable chapter of my life as leverage—twisting the story, spreading negativity, and trying to tear me down despite knowing the mental health challenges I was facing.

Why I’m sharing this

I’m sharing this because even after fighting my way through depression, rebuilding myself, and setting boundaries, some of these so‑called “good people” still hold that vulnerable time over me without any regard for the harm it can cause.

I often wonder how many others have gone through something similar. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that speaking up—being open, being vulnerable—is the only way to bring awareness to something so sensitive. So here I am, stepping into the light. If others want to use my story maliciously, I’ll use it to help someone else feel less alone.

A message for those who mock someone’s pain

If you’re reading this and your reaction is to dismiss, belittle, or find humor in someone’s struggle, then it’s time to take a hard look inward. Life has a way of humbling us, and one day you may need compassion too. I hope you never encounter people who treat you the way you treat others.

Because this is a real thing: