People share 10 of the major giveaway signs someone is going through a tough time and needs help

We all need a helping hand.

Life is not a bed of roses for anyone. Everyone is fighting a battle that no one has any idea about. Sometimes people hide it so well that even their close ones are unable to identify that they are struggling. This oftentimes leads to disastrous consequences. Having a helping hand and apt support works wonders in a troublesome scenario. It is comforting to have someone to hold hands with while traversing the worst situations. To be this solid presence in a closed one's life, it is important to understand and notice when they are facing problems. This thread by u/citizen_of_leshp helps people in this pursuit. Several people in their answers to the question- "What is a subtle sign that someone's life sucks?" revealed how individuals keep their struggles under wrap. They range from behavioral patterns to changes in choices. Here are 10 of the major giveaways signs that people are facing tough times in their lives. 

1. Socialization goes out the window

They only socialize with coworkers. They don't talk much about things they did on the weekend, or when they took those two weeks off. Their hobbies are primarily passive, solo activities like watching television, playing video games, listening to podcasts, or reading books. u/rainbow_drab They start missing a lot of days at work and become less responsive and hard to get ahold of. u/Happy-Hearing6671 Whenever they go to a bar - they are alone, and not even the drunk people will approach them because they look like they are either about to cry or punch a hole in the wall. I know this from personal experience. u/higround66 They become “invisible people” when they can. They are polite and keep to themselves, but disappear into their home and don’t engage with others because it’s draining and/or mentally exhausting. They may or may not feel lonely, but realize that life has hit too many times, and all they want to do is feel safe and quiet at the end of their day. u/StarsofSobek

2. Highly aware

Always hyper-aware of their surroundings. That hyper-awareness stems from necessity, usually from a not-good situation. My wife couldn't understand why I always got so irritated at people's lack of awareness of their surroundings, particularly in grocery stores. It dawned on me that I grew up in a pretty dangerous environment where being unaware could get you hurt. Most people didn't grow up with that experience, it's easy for them to live in their little world oblivious to the people around them. u/Fearstruk

3. Sleep is their friend

They sleep all day. The only time they are awake is to work. Only because if they didn't work they would lose everything. u/krammiit Before I left teaching I was refusing to sleep because I knew the moment I would fall asleep I would have to wake up and go teach again. u/futureformerteacher Go to work, come home, and go to bed. Spend the whole weekend in bed. Get up Monday and repeat. u/JanuarySoCold  Their house is a mess. Their car is a mess. They lack a routine. Their diet is poor and they either eat too much or not enough. They overindulge in video game streaming or similar activities to escape reality. They neglect their responsibilities and loved ones, often slowly and unknowingly. They suffer from a memory deficit. They suffer from fatigue. They lack motivation. They sleep too much yet struggle to fall asleep. u/YumYumSW

4. Unintentional weight loss

Losing weight not on purpose. u/Illustrious_Young988 At one point in my life I dropped so much weight so fast that I had to come up with a stock response for when people complimented me on it. "Thanks! I'm on the Poverty Diet! I work all the hours I can stand up and hand my paycheck to my landlord!" u/OpheliaRainGalaxy True. my boss asked me if I was part of a special program or on a trendy new diet when we saw each other after about 3 months(totally inappropriate of her, I know) food bank. I dropped 60 lbs since March. I always skip breakfast, and sometimes I barely even have a lunch. get home and eat whatever there is for dinner. I'm always tired. u/IronMosquito

5. Pretension

When people make it sound like their life is perfect.. on Facebook. u/usernametaken585 They become desperate for outside validation. u/ThrowawayDewdrop For me. The cleaning and house duties start slacking. Dishes stay in the sink overnight. I haven’t swept for a while. But my faux face is on. Bright and happy. u/anikill They’re the only ones trying to be happy and enthusiastic through slightly stressful situations. They work 50-60 hours a week and never complain. They give to their detriment. They're morbidly obese/ extremely skinny and it’s not from medications or medical conditions. They don’t engage in hobbies they used to invest time into. They wear similar colors and clothing combos even to special events. They blame themselves for mistakes that are obviously not their fault. They dedicate most of their free time to social media or working out. This is what I’ve seen at least, on top of the more obvious things like drugs, negative vibes, and narcissistic tendencies. u/InformativeBubbles

6. Going out of the way to help

It is fairly common for people with depression to be extremely helpful and supportive of other people. So, if you have a friend who helps you, maybe you should have an eye on them too. u/Option_Witty I love and hate that I am my friend’s and family’s go-to “help me through this f***ed up situation” person. It’s nice to feel needed but it’s tough constantly being in crisis management. Brings back a lot of stuff I’d rather not think about. u/kyabe2 Those who are hurting the most often want to help others hurt less. Think Robin Williams. u/Ok_Audience_3413

7. Fiction is their reality

They seem to live vicariously through movies, TV, and TikTok. They don't talk about what's happening to themselves, they talk about what they SAW someone else do, real or fictional. Follow Up - Most of us do not have a plethora of adventures like Indiana Jones. But - we should all strive to lose ourselves and find ourselves in something besides someone else's life or imagination. Take a trip. Do a 10K. Get a side gig where you meet crazy people. Create a cool cosplay. u/Greaser_Dude

8. Crisis doesn't bother them

When sh*t hits the fan and everybody is running around waving their arms and screaming you can spot them. There will always be one guy who just sorta looks a bit tired, rolls up his sleeves, and starts methodically fixing the things within his power to do so whilst just blatantly ignoring the catastrophe around him. To everybody else the end is nigh. To him, this is Tuesday. u/Vict0r117 This might be a weird one but people who are constantly unfazed. Bad things will happen, like the kind of bad things that make everyone freak out, and they just coast like it’s just another normal day. u/Winstonisapuppy

9. Unwarranted anger

My mental health has been terrible all year, and I have found myself being so angry at people who did nothing to deserve it. It’s not even by choice (not saying I can’t control my actions, just my emotions), I just am so mad at myself and the world and circumstances and how I feel, every minor inconvenience feels like another personal fuck me so my anger is way overblown. u/kaailer  Disproportionate reactions. Their reactions to most things are normal or even low-key, but occasionally they have a huge response to something minor. A key sign of trauma. u/lokjasi856

10. Exhausted out of their mind

They look tired, absolutely "energy low powered" and sometimes they give the best advice to others that they should use for themselves. u/BellaManu They don't get excited to go home after work / find reasons to stay at work longer. u/noob_nooberson They look tired every time you see them. They're very interested in what you've got going on but don't really share themselves. They're distracted. u/provoloneChipmunk  “Hey! How’s it going?” “It’s going.” “How was work today?” “Long.” “How do you feel?” “Tired.” “Wanna go do something this weekend?” “Can’t, I got work.” Always low energy. Always tired. They don’t have time to do anything they like. Wake up, get clean, eat a banana, go to work, come home, eat a carcinogen-filled microwave dinner, go to bed. Same day, same routine, for the next 50 or so years. The most exciting thing was the promotion that raised their pay by a whopping 3.7%. u/cicatrix-maledictum