It Looked Like Nothing

Today, Brandon Stanton, the photographer who created and maintains Humans of New York (HONY), captured the image and words of a man who once mocked mental illness and later realized how real it can be.

“I knew a girl in high school that always complained about having anxiety.  I used to make fun of her a little bit. It looked like nothing to me. So I assumed it was nothing.”

Posted by Humans of New York on Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Mental illness and struggles usually do LOOK like nothing. You often can’t see the pain, the suffering, the wounds – sometimes you can see the scars – but it doesn’t look like anything or ever any one thing. Mental health issues affect all of us it just is a matter of when or how. But know you are not alone, and there is help.

“I knew a girl in high school that always complained about having anxiety. I used to make fun of her a little bit. It looked like nothing to me. So I assumed it was nothing. And I dealt with it by trying to convince her that it was nothing. I called her recently to apologize. I’ve had really bad anxiety ever since my father died. And it’s definitely not nothing. It’s the indescribable fear of nothing.”