We are concerned about our friend, we think she needs help, but we don’t want to betray her trust

Dalia’s Take

Hi, my name is Dalia. I’m seventeen years old and in the middle of my senior year. I have a great friend named Simi. We became close a couple of years ago and I’m very lucky to have someone like her in my life. She’s so funny and she makes me laugh all day. It’s really nice to have a friend who can make you genuinely laugh. One good laugh can turn a rotten day into a good one, and I can’t count how many times Simi’s been able to do that for me.

The thing is, though, Simi seems to be laughing and smiling less and less lately. I noticed over the past few weeks that she seems to be struggling with something, and her happy-go-lucky attitude is slowly diminishing into this more stoic, unfamiliar Simi. I happen to know that she’s been having issues with her stomach and a lot of foods have been making her feel very sick. She’s lost a lot of weight, eliminating things from her diet to try and figure out what’s causing the extreme discomfort. She doesn’t complain about that (what teenage girl would?) but she’s definitely been weaker and less excitable. That part’s totally understandable. She’s going through a lot, seeing a different doctor every week, following this crazy diet and trying to keep up with schoolwork in the process.

What’s concerning me is that I think she’s going through some other stuff that she’s not telling me about. Slowly, she’s getting a little more depressed by the day and I’m not sure how to help her. She claims her health isn’t bothering her and that getting rejected from her preferred seminary isn’t at all a concern (yeah, right) but I’m suspicious that there’s more.