Last week sometime the post below went viral for all the right reasons. Following years of an endless struggle with depression, Bekah got a tattoo. The tattoo says two different things, ‘save me’ and ‘I’m fine’ depending which way you read it. Below is an excerpt from her moving post on Facebook about her experience.

After reading the post I hope you welcome it with open minds and hearts considering that there is still a stigma attached to mental health issues.

(Dear mom and dad please don’t kill me over this permanent choice. I want you to hear me out.)
Today, I am coming out with something that only few of you know. I am ready to have a conversation about my mental illness.
Last year, I was diagnosed with depression. And in all honesty, I believe it was a problem for quite a while before that, but I think it just got worse to the point of hardly functioning.

So today, I got this tattoo. I feel that my leg was the best place for the meaning behind it. 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, may be at battle with themselves. To me, depression is the days that I feel sad for no reason. This is one of the most difficult things to open up about because it’s extremely hard for me to feel vulnerable…but this needs to be talked about. Mental illness is serious, but so shamed in our society. We care so much for our physical health, but hardly a thing about our mental state.

And that is seriously messed up. Mental illness is not a choice and will likely hit everyone at some point in their life. If it’s such a huge issue, why aren’t we having this conversation about it? That’s why I got this tattoo; they are great conversation starters. This forces me to talk about my own struggle, and why the awareness of it is important.

You’d be surprised by how many people YOU know that struggle with depression, anxiety, or other mental illness. I may only be one person, but one can save another…and that’s all I could really ask for. Maybe this is part of why I am so interested in psychology.

I want to help people who feel the way I have—and still do—because it’s hell. And I don’t wish that upon anyone. Also, THANK YOU to the ones who have helped me in this battle. I would not be where I am without you.