I was scrolling TikTok the other day, as I do way too often, and I came across a post of a girl who was sharing pictures and videos of herself. Maybe you saw the trend going around where someone would use the audio saying, “I know a snack you should try” and the visual aspect is pictures of themself. Well, this girl did just that. She was a plus size girl, who was confident enough to post something like that so I decided to scroll down to the comments and see what people were saying, and also comment myself to hype her up and make her feel good. I was absolutely appalled at what I saw in the comment section. Her comments were riddled with people saying “looks like the snack had too many calories,” “it’s not too late to delete this,” “yeah no. I’m all full,” and just a bunch of nasty and hurtful comments about her body and her size.
I’m sure that every single person reading this right now has come across an instance similar to this one. Maybe it didn’t really affect you, or maybe it did. The reason I bring it up is because not a single person who commented on that video something hurtful knew who that girl was. They don’t know her life. They don’t know her struggles. They don’t know her mental state. They don’t know anything about her health. They don’t know what she is going through. They don’t know the silent battles she’s facing and yet they went out of their way to take the time to type something hurtful towards her. Now, I am not saying that I know how this girl felt about the comments she was getting, but I know how I felt. I was extremely upset and disappointed. In fact, I was furious. It absolutely enrages me to see other people taking time out of their day to comment negative things tearing another person down. What gives you the right to do something like that? Worst case scenario, what if she was dealing with mental health issues and was suicidal and couldn’t take those comments? This is extreme, I realize that, but for some people, that’s their reality.
I use this story as an example to say this: You have no idea the silent battles someone could be facing. Every person struggles and even the closest people to you, who may seem perfectly okay on the outside, may be dealing with some of their hardest battles on the inside. We all have our silent battles. You may be thinking to yourself that your best friends tell you everything, or no way my significant other doesn’t tell me when they are struggling, or no way my sibling doesn’t come to me, but I am here to tell you that they probably are struggling. That’s not to say they are facing an extreme issue that they can’t come to you about. What I am saying is we don’t know the silent battles someone could be facing in their lives.
Personally, I have struggled with opening up to people and expressing my emotions my entire life. I am definitely a closed off person because of events that have taken place in my life, so when I finally do tell someone about what I have been through or the way I feel it can be really scary. I also don’t tell people everything. I choose what I am comfortable talking about, and what I may not be comfortable talking about I don’t share. There are so many instances or examples of battles I have faced that not a single person in my life knows about. The same may be true for you, or the people closest to you. I’m sure we all have had something happen in our lives that we struggled with, but chose not to share with anyone. What I am really trying to say is we should be aware of it.
Maybe you are the person who has commented something hurtful towards someone. Maybe you called your sibling a name and they ended up going to their room crying because that one comment was a tipping point for them. Maybe you saying to your mom that you don’t want to hangout with her made her feel alone and isolated. Honestly, I am making up these situations but I am trying to illustrate that we don’t know how our actions may set things in motion. We don’t know the battles the people around us may be facing, and how our actions could impact them. Same goes for people you don’t even know. Imagine someone in the spotlight, or a celebrity, and all the negativity and hate they get every single day. You may be the person that’s thinking, “they chose to be in the public eye,” which may be true. But did they sign up for all the hate, or having every action scrutinized? No. Unless you know a public figure or celebrity personally, you have no idea what they are going through behind the scenes. We all know the saying that money and fame don’t buy happiness, and I think that saying goes hand-in-hand with my point. We have no idea what they are going through but we instinctively judge them and formulate opinions. But if we don’t know the silent battles of every person closest to us, what makes you think you know the struggles a celebrity goes through?
As someone who has faced countless silent battles myself, I know exactly what it’s like. It could be something small, or it could be something major that you are just not ready to let anyone know. But, because I am so familiar with the feeling myself, I do my absolute best to spread positivity and be there for people in any way I can. The smallest actions can make a world of difference for someone. I urge anyone who has read this to think about ways that you could spread positivity and show that you are there for the people closest to you. Maybe you will see a social media post or TikTok and you will comment something to hype them up. Maybe you will text in your family group chat “I love you guys”. Maybe you will let your friends know that you’re there for them no matter what. Even the people closest to you may need that reminder. Tell the people you love that you love them. Let them know that you are there for them and are supporting them no matter what they may be going through. Cause at the end of the day, you don’t know the silent battles they may be facing.