05/12/2026
How many times have you jokingly introduced or referred to one of your friends as your “therapist”? Or how many of you are the friend who is the “therapist”? You know—the one everyone calls as a sounding board, a voice of reason, or simply a listening ear.
Whether you’re the one everyone relies on or the one who relies heavily on someone else, both roles can take a toll on your mental health if you’re not careful.
Think of it this way. 💭
You’re a flower 🌺 and your friend is a flower 🌹. Every traumatic experience, every negative thought, and every heavy emotion you’ve encountered—whether knowingly or unknowingly—fills your flower pot like little droplets of water. 🪣
When you share those thoughts, feelings, and experiences with your friend, now their pot is being filled with not only their own droplets, but yours too. Neither pot was designed with drainage holes, so eventually they begin to overflow, spilling onto everyone around them.
As a result, the flowers don’t bloom in the time or way they were meant to, because they’ve been overwatered.
This can look like:
“being a bad friend,”
“being overly tired,”
“feeling things too intensely,”
or simply performing poorly in different areas of life.
Moral of the story: you aren’t born as a flower—you blossom into one. And as you discover what type of flower you are, you also learn what type of care you need. You begin upgrading your lifestyle to ensure you can survive and thrive.
A pot with drainage holes—AKA therapy—allows that excess water to escape.
Sometimes your friends can support you, but they were never meant to carry everything for you. Healing requires safe spaces, healthy outlets, and sometimes professional help.
Therapy isn’t weakness. It’s maintenance. It’s growth. It’s learning how to bloom without drowning. 🌸
