WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MENTAL ILLNESS IS TREATED LIKE A CHOICE?

You Can’t Put a Cast on Depression

There’s no X-ray for anxiety.

No blood test that confirms PTSD.

No visible proof of how exhausted or overwhelmed you feel inside.

And because people can’t see your pain—they often don’t believe it’s real.

That’s the heartbreak of living with mental illness. It’s not just the condition itself—it’s the isolation that comes from being dismissed, doubted, judged or misunderstood.

When You Look “Fine,” People Assume You Are

You can Show up. Smile. Work. Raise a family. Hold it all together on the outside—while slowly breaking inside.

But because there’s no physical evidence, people say things like:

• “You were fine yesterday.”

• “You’re just sensitive.”

• “You need to snap out of it.”

• “Think positive.”

  
  

You wouldn’t say “snap out of it” to someone with a fractured spine.So why do we treat emotional and mental pain like it’s imaginary?

What Hurts the Most? When It’s Your Own Family or Friends

The world is already hard enough when you’re mentally unwell. But when the people who are supposed to love you unconditionally minimise your pain? That’s soul-crushing.

Maybe you’ve heard:

• “Don’t bring that up again.”

• “You always make everything about you.”

• “You just want attention.”

• “We don’t want to hear about it.”

• "Aren't you over that yet?"

  
  

Sometimes it’s not even words—it’s silence. Avoidance. Changing the subject or even losing relationships.

Being unseen by strangers is one thing. Being unseen by your own family or friends? That kind of wound runs deep.

The Unspoken Hierarchy of Illness

We live in a society where some illnesses are treated as “worthy” of care… and others are brushed aside.

If your suffering comes with scans or scars, it’s acceptable.If your suffering is emotional, invisible, or complicated—it’s often questioned.

This is the kind of hierarchy that keeps people suffering in silence.

Mental Illness Doesn’t Make You Less Deserving

Let’s be clear:

✅ Having a mental illness does not make you weak.

✅ Asking for help does not make you dramatic.

✅ Needing space to heal does not mean you’re failing.

✅ Being invalidated by family does not mean you are the problem.

Whether it’s depression, anxiety, trauma, CPTSD, burnout, or anything else—you are still worthy of love, compassion, and peace.

Even if you’ve never been shown that before.

Let’s Show Up Better

It’s time to do better. For ourselves. For each other.

Let’s:

• Stop calling emotional pain “attention-seeking.”

• Normalise therapy, rest, and recovery without guilt.

• Believe people when they say, “I’m not okay.”

• Be the support system we all wish we had growing up.

• 
  

Because no one should have to earn compassion.

If This Is You Right Now…

If you're carrying something heavy that no one else seems to see—If you're tired of explaining your pain to people who don’t listen—If you're healing from being ignored, dismissed, or judged—

Please hear this:

You are not too much.You are not a burden.You are not invisible.

You are enough—exactly as you are.

💡 Need a Safe Space to Heal?

Please book a free support chat at mandycollins.com.au and find your way back to peace.You don’t have to keep pretending you’re okay.

Mandy