Public PSA

Don't invalidate me. Don't invalidate us. 
We are not you, you are not us.
I am not you, you are not me.

When I tell you I am depressed, do not say you "get depressed sometimes too."
When I tell you I have OCD, don't say "I understand I like to keep my things organized"
When I tell you I have ADHD, don't say, "I think i may have that too"
When I tell you I am having anxiety, don't say, "everybody gets nervous sometimes."

Until you have struggled with intrusive thoughts, crippling panic attacks, psychological tests, and overwhelming sadness, you do not "feel me". If you are not me, you do not "feel me".

When you say something like this to someone who is desperately trying to open up to you, it does not comfort them. It does not make them feel like you support them.
You are trivializing this person's individual struggle, you are invalidating this person's feelings.
You can't say, "I'm super OCD too". You are not.
This is not me saying you are not allowed to empathize, but there is a line between being depressed and feeling depressed.
When I tell you about my struggle with my medications, do not tell me about your own life.
You need to find a place in your mind to just LISTEN. Just let them vent and let yourself feel those words really and truly.
You have no idea how important it is to validate someone's struggles. To let them know that they are struggling, and that this is a real fight.
My fight with depression, self-harming, anxiety, OCD, ADHD, and panic attacks is not something I am making up. I wish i was.
These are things that are a part of me, and are like extra limbs on my body.

When someone is telling you they are going through a personal struggle, do NOT make it about yourself.
Make sure people know you are THERE for them, and not just there to talk about yourself.
I have my struggle, and you have your struggle. Neither one is more important, but during certain times learn to realize that trying to put your struggle over someone else's does not make them feel better.

Just some public PSA I wanted to make for National Kindness Week/ National Anti-Violence Week.
Find a way to be support without invalidating someone else. 

National Kindness Week! Start being nice now, and never stop.