Mental Health Month
(I've had, and continue to have, my own battles since childhood).
All are from 2019.
Previous entries in this Series on Mental Health
Thank you to M. Tau for permission to use these specific visuals in this series.
See her profile at DeviantArt
I'm Sorry, Not Sorry
??
I’m sorry to hear
about that
She posted about
her sick aunt
Dying really
She hinted at that
aspect
But wasn’t it
already obvious?
‘I’m sorry to hear
about that’
They said
Sad face emoji
She stared at her
phone
And it’s comments
And felt suddenly and
overwhelmingly, empty.
He texted his ex
Again
In a variation of
detail
About his
physiological problems
Brought about by
real life obstacles
Or were they just
the catalyst
For the exaggerated
stress
He was enduring?
He knew
As did she
That it was long
standing issues
That had brought
him to this juncture
Almost to his
knees
And that’s what he
didn’t want
To be ground to a
halt
Nervous breakdown
Or whatever the
modern term was.
‘I’m sorry to hear
about that’
She wrote
He went on some
more
But quickly
understood the futility
His pleas and requests
Fell on not deaf
ears
As she had heard
him just fine.
He was on his own
And had no idea
How to make any of
it better
He’d never felt
more alone in his life.
Sorry
Not Sorry
‘R U Ok’
No, I’m not
But what will you
do about it?
What will anyone do?
‘You need to get
some help
Have you seen a
doctor?’
It’s the first
port of call
Doctors come long
before
Confession to a
friend
Pills come long
before
Public admittance
Battles are fought
Long before
fragments of defeat
Are admitted.
‘I’m sorry about
that’
Makes them feel better
Do they really
care?
What can they do
anyway?
Sometimes, plenty
Simple practical
steps
Take part of the
life load off
Offer to pick up a
chore
Insist on a
personal visit
Something
If only a small
amount
Rather than
buzzwords
Spewed out like an
auto-correct response.
‘I’m sorry to hear
about that
Now, where was I?’
© ajl 2019
This poem and 9 others are now available in a pdf for download, called All Empires Crumble.All are from 2019.
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| exsomnis by m_tau |
Previous entries in this Series on Mental Health
Thank you to M. Tau for permission to use these specific visuals in this series.
See her profile at DeviantArt
My Books
Very much what social media is about, sorry, then move onto the next thing. I think this is probably translating to our offline lives. Sorry, but do we really care? A few months ago a facebook acquaintance was posting a lot of things about how bad his life was, marriage breakup, death of a pet, couldn't get work in a field he was expert in. In response I clicked on the sad emoji, and probably made a comment along the lines of hope things get better. I hoped his close offline friends would offer him support. I remember he said he rang Life Line and was told to think happy thoughts, or something that really sucked along those lines. A few days later he killed himself. I really was shocked and wondered what I could have done. Could I have done anything? He lived in WA so I couldn't visit, I just assumed there were people closer to him in location and friendship that could have helped. But it didn't happen. I have another Facebook friend who often posts about how life sucks for them, I know her better and often post what I hope is encouraging and empathetic thoughts, but I worry about her now.
ReplyDeleteHello Graham and thank you for commenting and I'm very sorry but I seem to have missed this comment of yours which is very upsetting to hear of. I'm sorry to hear that. Sounds like things were pretty bad for him. It is hard to know what to say but if Lifeline can't point people in the right direction then that's a worry. Yes it's hard to know what goes through people's minds but if they are genuinely upset then hopefully we can all try a little harder to offer support. Still hindsight is a wonderful thing.
DeleteThank you for sharing your story.
He had a lot of facebook friends, even though he was very forthright in his opinions, many of those facebook friends seemed very surprised when he killed himself. A committed Catholic too, so I wonder if he was asking for and/or getting any help from his church.
ReplyDelete