21-year-old Bekah Miles has reportedly struggled with depression for several years.
The student chose to start a conversation about mental health and her own experiences by posting a picture of a tattoo with two opposing messages depending on how you look at it, according to the U.K. publication The Independent.
Although the tattoo appears to say “I’m fine” when read by someone else, it reads “save me” when the wearer looks down at it.
“So today, I got this tattoo. I feel that my leg was the best place for the meaning behind it. When everyone else sees it, they see ‘I’m fine’, but from my viewpoint, it reads ‘save me,’” wrote Miles in her Facebook post.
“To me, it means that others see this person that seems okay, but, in reality, is not okay at all. It reminds me that people who may appear happy, may be at battle with themselves.”
Oregon woman’s tattoo goes viral, gets Web talking about depression http://t.co/wHbqB7U4Q4 via @foxnewshealth pic.twitter.com/aeYpufIg4U
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 1, 2015
In the post, Miles also opened up about what depression means to her.
“Today, I am coming out with something that only few of you know. I am ready to have a conversation about my mental illness,” wrote Miles, according to The Huffington Post.
“To me, depression is the days that I feel sad for no reason. Depression is the morning that I don’t feel capable of getting out of bed. Depression is the tears I have because I don’t know why I feel so worthless, when I know I should feel happy.”
Miles’ story and tattoo have gone viral, grabbing the attention of actress Zooey Deschanel as well.
“I never expected it to go beyond my friends and family. I am completely and utterly in awe of how far this has traveled,” stated Miles.
“This is exactly what I wanted — to reach out to people and let them know they are not alone. Clearly, 24,000 people and counting and they are not alone. Please keep sharing and spreading the awareness.”
