How to Love a Girl With Mental Illness

This girl is broken, but that doesn’t mean she is damaged. Every invisible scar is beam of light that shines stronger and brighter with each newly formed one.  Scars don’t make me bitter, they make me better.

Loving a broken girl can take patience and strength sometimes. But the ones who can handle those bumps in the road are the ones that can mirror my strength, and they are the ones I will love fiercely for it.

To love me is to understand me — to understand I come with insecurities and self-doubt. That I smile brightly when I am falling apart, that I hide my scars and fears. I don’t feel as strong as I know I really am, but I won’t show it.

I don’t need a man to cling to, I need someone to help me up when I fall, someone who will patiently wait for me to put myself back together when I fall apart. I need a man who loves my scars because they make me who I am. I need someone who hugs me before I ask for it and offers a shoulder when I break down and kisses my tears away.

Loving a beautifully broken girl is exhausting at times, and it takes strength to get through the tough times. But when those tough times turn into something beautiful and I see you, still there by my side, mending the broken pieces, I will give you my heart and soul. I will show you the scars make me beautiful.

We want to hear your story. Become a Mighty contributor here.

Thinkstock photo via Wavebreakmedia Ltd.