A calculator screen displaying invalid entry. A remote signaling low battery. A phone declaring a lost connection. A television indicating no input. A video game overheating and powering off. A computer notifying of a virus detection. A vehicle unable to start. A radio unable to detect a signal. A camera revealing no available memory space. A screen of any device displaying any type of error.
All of these objects are expressing that attention is required in order to fully function. They are telling you, the owners, that they need assistance in the most effective way of being noticed. Is there a stigma attached to electronic devices malfunctioning? If the problem is ignored does it go away? When you attend to and fix the error of an electronic are you addressing the device’s wants or, its necessary requirements needed to work correctly?
Why are the pleas around us coming from humanity any different? Why is it considered wrong to ask for attention when you need it in order to keep pushing forward? When did the desire to be noticed by someone, anyone, become something that’s considered selfish? When you feel so desolate and lonely to the point of literally feeling invisible, why isn’t it acceptable to tell the world that you are not okay? How can people say they entirely care about another person when they ignore the sad, broken, and difficult parts of said person’s feelings? Why can’t people comfortably express that they are struggling and NEED help to keep being able to function? What makes it wrong to ask for attention when you just need to know that you fucking exist and matter to anyone in the world?
The majority of people just roll their eyes after reading someone’s posts concerning mental illness and keep going on with their day unaffected. When lonely thoughts, suicidal tendencies, self-harm urges, addiction relapses, eating disorder struggles, depressive episodes, and every single other sort of mental illness, are posted online or written in a message or text, they are constantly brushed off as if it’s nothing and the person is just wanting attention.
They do not want attention. They need it. They need to have a reason to get out of bed and live another day. They need to know they are cared about and make a difference in this world. They need to know they’re not alone. They need to be shown a different side of life that doesn’t consist of failure and disappointment. They need someone to talk to who will be the first person to ever actually listen to the words they are saying. They need support and encouragement. They need a true friend. They need to know they are something when everybody is telling them they’re nothing. They need to feel alive again. They need to be told the words that need to be heard.
They don’t want to be popular. They don’t want the world to know their name. They aren’t trying to increase their friend count. They aren’t asking to be worshipped.
They are not hoping that everyone will see their post. They are hoping that someone will. They are hoping that someone will help restore them and help them learn how to function again.
They are not hoping that everyone will see their post. They are hoping that someone will. They are hoping that someone will help restore them and help them learn how to function again.
They aren’t asking for attention; they are asking for help. But most importantly, they are asking for love. They are hurting and broken inside and they are asking for someone to love them and help hold them together when they can’t do it themselves.
Some things just can’t be fixed without help. And sometimes we don’t know if help is needed until it displays the need for attention.
