Check On Your Strong Friends

Check On Your Strong Friends

From Subjective by Donyelle Murray

June 12, 2025 · 29 min · Episode 14

About this episode

Donyelle Murray discusses the challenges faced by the 'strong friend' and the importance of emotional support.

In this episode, I’m unpacking what it means to be the “strong friend.” The one who’s always checking in but never checked on. The one who performs strength so well, no one realizes she’s falling apart. I share personal stories of how I learned to suppress my emotions, why I thought crying made me weak, and how I built an identity around being dependable and “fine”, even when I wasn’t. I open up about the quiet expectations that formed in childhood, how I used to “practice” being strong in unhealthy ways, and the turning point where I realized: I never wanted to be strong. I just didn’t have another option. This episode is a love letter to every strong friend who’s tired, and a wake-up call to the people who never ask how she’s doing. — 🖤 JOIN THE SUBJECTIVE COMMUNITY: 🎧 Listen on Spotify/Apple: https://beacons.ai/subjectivepod⁠ 📝 Read the newsletter/Substack: https://thesubjectivepod.substack.com/⁠ 📲 IG / TikTok: @TheSubjectivePod 📸 IG @_DonyelleMurray 📥 Business: subjective@donyellemurray.com 🔗 LINKS + MENTIONS: Community Receipts: https://beacons.ai/thesubjectivepod/receiptsresources Have a burning question? Need advice? Or want to share your wildest, craziest story…

People in this episode

Host: Donyelle Murray

Topics covered

  • mental health
  • friendship
  • emotional support
  • identity
  • vulnerability

Keywords

  • strong friend
  • emotions
  • mental health
  • vulnerability
  • support
  • identity

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