A 21-year-old woman has found a stunning way to share what it feels like to have depression – using an optical illusion tattoo.

“Mental illness is serious, but so shamed in our society”.

“This is one of the most difficult things to open up about because it’s extremely hard for me to feel vulnerable … but this needs to be talked about”, she wrote.

“That’s why I got this tattoo; they are great conversation starters”. The design is ingenious.

On Bekah Miles’ left leg, her new ink says “I’m fine” when read head-on. But from her point of view, it says “Save me”.

“To me, it means that others see this person that seems okay, but, in reality, is not okay at all”.

Miles posted a photo of her leg on her Facebook page that quickly went viral. As of this writing, the picture has been shared over 200,000 times.

Ms Miles was especially concerned that mental illness was not being taken seriously enough – in the same week as Iain Duncan Smith, UK minister for work and pensions, said depressed people should “get into work”. “If it’s such a huge issue, why aren’t we having this conversation about it?” It’s easy to ignore – until it’s not, and then sometimes it’s too late.

Who knows, maybe Miles’s tattoo will end up saving some lives.