Important
(this is fine to reblog if it personally applies to you and can help explain your own situation) I didn’t want to make this post at all, but apparently I have to. I am on an indefinite hiatus. Life became a lot to handle, and I needed to focus all of the energies I had into survival. This has been an ongoing thing. But there is another, larger point to this post. Sometimes people disappear without warning. They abandon social media, don’t hang out anymore, don’t answer calls. There are plenty of reasons this could happen- life stressors, difficulties maintaining socialization, health issues, personal emergencies... the list goes on. Whatever the reason, it’s probably not a reflection on you, the friend/relative/loved one/passing acquaintance that says hello to them every day on the bus. And naturally, concerns arise if you didn’t expect the person to seemingly drop off the face of the earth. So I’ve constructed these simple, handy lists for reference: Note: If you are an immediate family member of the person in question and have concerns about the circumstances of their disappearance, it is absolutely appropriate to contact your local law enforcement so they can assist you. This is not about those kinds of situations. Do These Things -send a message every so often to check in on the person, if you can -bonus points: little messages of encouragement -inform them that you aren’t angry with them about the lapse in communication -ask other people you know if they’ve had contact with this person -let them have space -hope they respond Don’t Do These Things -repeatedly message a person -demand to know where they went -attempt to guilt-trip them into responding -have other people try to reach them en masse -Do not contact their family under any circumstances unless you personally know that family member. -seriously don’t do that jesus christ -especially if the relative you are contacting is a known abuser??? it can have severe consequences for the person you’re looking for if they are in touch/living with that relative -likewise, do not contact every single friend/person they have communicated with recently -you are not a detective -that is not ok. Repeated and/or aggressive attempts to find someone you’ve been concerned about are understandable but ultimately can be incredibly harmful. In fact, they can further drive a person away and send them into a panic, which may lead them to completely cut off any means of communication that they could have been leaving open in case they were ready to use them again. That being said, I am staying on hiatus from social media in general. I may show up from time to time, but if I do, please don’t message me unless I expressly state that it is ok to. Thank you.
