And as someone who struggled with depression, I also wanted to offer the counterpoint that when you are experiencing a depressive episode, you aren’t necessarily going to be receptive to people coming around your bedside and giving flowers and support. It’s a mental state that rejects happiness or even comfort, so while I get the idea behind the comic, it’s over-simplified and not really prescribing anything. We don’t treat physical and mental illness the same, nor should we.

We should understand that they’re both equally real conditions that people suffer from, and need help in treating, but we need to stop giving this ammunition to unwell brains that their depression is part of a narrative where people aren’t going to help you or support you.

People broadly are bad at supporting and helping with mental OR physical conditions, as you outlined. Every time I’ve ever been ill, physical or mental, I’ve had to spend all my time reassuring others and taking care of the emotional states of those worried. This is how it usually goes, when we get sick or injured, we are not going to get helped by others, and managing the way others feel on top of being unwell is just part of the course, we don’t get a relief or break. We won’t get satisfaction no matter what happens, we have to just hunker down and get through it without expectation in others.