Lemons Without Sugar

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade."
The truth is, some people like lemons. They like the tart sourness, and enjoy the taste that scrunches up the faces of others in dismay. Not that there's anything wrong with liking lemons, but in the general living of daily life, it makes you wonder about those who get pleasure or solace from watching others experience discomfort. In some cases, it's not that they actually like the lemon taste, but that they enjoy experiencing that sour taste discomfort in themselves. Why?
Various forms of mental illness can manifest in a similar way. A desire to feel companionship in misery by watching others feel angst. A deep seated self hatred that causes a need to create misery in one's self. A desperate desire to create a catalyst that causes the world around them to take notice and actively care in any form possible. None of it is positive. All of it is treatable ... if only the person allows it to be.
I think of the quote from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, "Everyone's got a little bit of loser in them." It's true. None of us are perfect. The only way that we can get through life and look at ourselves in the mirror on a daily basis with any clarity is to accept that we all hurt and can cause hurt, we all bleed and can cut others, and that we all must take ownership of each and every choice we make in life both positive and negative in order to proceed forward or make things right. None of us are infallible, but we all have the propensity to have empathy for those who require some form of assistance to see that in themselves. Additionally, when you truly love someone who is experiencing a break in their humanistic capacities, you don't damn them, you help them. They may not see it as help initially, but in the end, with proper guidance, they will.
As I write this, I can't help but think of the outpouring of support I've experienced over the past few days. Without it, I wouldn't be writing this post. I'd be curled up in a corner, a dissolving mess, unable to function due to stress and worry over things I have no control. While I've shed more tears lately than I have in a long time, I also know deep in my soul that by helping the one I hold dear in the only way possibly left, I'm doing the best thing I can do for everyone involved. It may not be easy for anyone, but it's the only way that open-minded empathy can continue to survive.
Help, Assist, Care, Support ... Not Shun

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress