This girl got an amazing tattoo to start a conversation about her mental health
Millions of people all over the world suffer from a mental illness. In fact, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five adults in the U.S. — 43.7 million — experiences mental illness. Yet, despite its prevalence, so many people with mental illness feel unable to open up about the pain they are experiencing every single day. They say they’re fine, when in reality, they are anything but — and sadly, that’s something to which many of us with anxiety, depression, or another mental illness can relate. And that’s exactly why 20-year-old Bekah Miles decided to get the most beautiful tattoo that is filled with so, so much meaning.
Early last week, Bekah posted a picture of her ink on Facebook. The tattoo, on her lower left thigh, reads in beautiful-yet-haunting script, “I’m fine.” Or at least, that’s what it looks like when you look at it head on. But looking down, from Becca’s perspective, it reads, “Save me.” The picture wasn’t only to show her friends her new addition. It was to express a secret that Bekah had been keeping: that she has depression.
“Today, I am coming out with something that only few of you know,” Bekah wrote. “I am ready to have a conversation about my mental illness.”
Bekah has had depression for a long time, but she was only diagnosed last year, when she was hardly able to function. “So today, I got this tattoo,” Bekah continued. “. . . 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, [sic] may be at battle with themselves.”
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