Strong Friends Need Support Too

There is a kind of silence only the ‘strong friend’ knows, the one who’s always there for everyone else but has no one to lean on. It’s the quiet weight of being the friend who never falls apart, who never shows weakness, who always knows what to say to others but struggles to find the right words for themselves.

If you are a strong friend, you relate to this feeling very well. You are the one people call at 3 a.m. when their world is falling apart, the one who listens patiently and reassures them that everything will be okay even when your world is falling apart.

You’re the one who fixes things, solves problems, and stays strong for everyone else. But when was the last time someone asked if you were okay?

Everyone admires strength and celebrates resilience. But no one talks about the burnout that comes with being strong all the time.

When people see you as unbreakable, they assume you don’t need help; they think you always have it figured out and will somehow manage every situation. So you learn to suffer in silence. You wipe your tears and talk yourself out of your pain and convince yourself that you don’t need anyone. You fear vulnerability because you’ve been strong for too long.

But the truth is, even the strongest people get tired and need someone to remind them that they don’t have to carry everything alone. Being a strong friend doesn’t mean you don’t struggle; it just means your struggles are invisible to others.

When you’re overwhelmed and drowning, you don’t scream for help, instead you smile and keep going. You master the art of pretending, hoping that someone will see past your mask.

However, being strong is not a problem. The problem is that people will always assume you don’t need support. They don’t check on you because they believe you can handle anything. And so, loneliness grows, not because people don’t care, but because they don’t realize you need them.

Many of us are strong friends, and we always fear burdening others while forgetting all the burdens we carry when pretending to be okay. If you are one, you don’t have to carry everything alone. Strength is not about never needing help; it’s about knowing when to ask for it.

It’s okay not to be okay, it’s okay to breakdown and It’s okay to say, “I’m not okay". Remember, just as much as others need you, you need someone as well.