This Photo Shows How Filters Hide Anxiety
Because symptoms of anxiety only sometimes show their horns, it can be easy to hide the fact that you're stressed AF. And while that can be a godsend during a meeting with your boss or a nerve-racking first date, you don't have to suffer in silence when your mental health is on the fringe.
It's why Ella Endi, a 27-year-old who's long struggled with anxiety and depression, recently posted a before-and-after photo to Instagram to shed light on the mental health issues that can plague people who appear perfectly fine online:
In the photo on the right, Ella had recently lost it after a particularly grueling Monday. "I didn’t get much sleep the night before, and that led to me having a rough day mentally," she wrote in her caption. "Every minor inconvenience stuck to me like glue, and by nighttime it all felt so heavy that I couldn’t help but cry."
After a conversation with her best friend, she felt so much better - but that didn't fix her mascara situation: Her tears had caused the makeup to pool around her eyes. When she noticed her raccoon eyes about two hours later, she snapped a selfie to send to the friend who'd helped lift her mood. The girls ended up sending silly shots back and forth until Ella glammed it up using a filter. "My eyes, skin, and smile are all GLOWING. I look like I’m doing well there, but I absolutely wasn’t," she wrote in her caption.
Ella's side-by-sides prove that filters can drastically change a person's narrative - it's no wonder you tend to see people's happiest sides online. Still, no one says you have to hide your pain from the world.
A better bet, Ella says, is to hit up a family member, friend, or mental health pro for support: "Asking for help doesn't mean you're weak," she wrote. "It means you're brave AF!"
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