Years ago, I watched a made-for-TV movie about a girl with anorexia. She was the ignored "good" girl in the family while her rebellious sister got all the attention. During a family therapy session, her therapist points out how the family is now all focused on trying to force her to start eating again, and he asks, "Why should she get well now, and lose all this attention?"

As someone with depression, I've had the same accusation thrown at me. To some people's thinking, I don't actually have low self-esteem. I only say those things so somebody will defend me and tell me good things about myself.

If I feel suicidal, that's also supposedly for attention. Some lists of red flag signs of an abuser will even cite threats of suicide as a manipulation tactic. So now I'm not even supposed to say so, when I feel that way, or else I'm being emotionally abusive.

Isolating? That's attention-seeking too, because I allegedly want everybody to miss me, and wonder where I am, and come and look for me. Say I really don't want that, and I want to be left alone, and I'll get, "Oh, but if we leave you alone, you'll.... (whatever they don't want me to do.)" Note, this is more so in the past than now. It has improved, but still the memories....

Right now I'm facing a depression I don't think I can talk about because I'll be lectured on how those feelings are wrong, and I should be glad for what I have, etc. (As if I'm not.) But I really don't want people swooping down on me being "supportive" when they're really being "intrusive." (Say so, and I'm bad for not being grateful that people care.) On the other hand it also hurts to say something a thousand times and have it keep going in one ear and out the other. But if I complain about not being listened to, then again, it's taken as attention-seeking.

???

PS: I turned the potential triggers white because I apparently don't know how to use spoiler tags. Can anyone enlighten me please?