Breaking down can be the best way to deal with despair | Letters

Morrissey managed to articulate a feeling that I’ve often struggled to express (Suzanne Moore, G2, 25 May). I’ve always found it deeply troubling when politicians use rhetoric following a horrifying attack such as “this will not break us”. In my mind, the phrase “not breaking” is associated with remaining the same, sticking to the same principles and regime. But, is this really what we should be doing? Refusing to address the underlying causes of such atrocities?

Little wonder that the mental health of this country is in such dire straits, with millions of people grappling with anxiety and depression. If we’re forever told that we mustn’t be broken, even when we read in the news about children screaming in terror, how can we not be broken? I certainly am. My heart is broken for the families of those needlessly killed in Manchester and my spirit feels defeated when I hear about children fleeing for their lives in Syria. If we’re constantly told that we should not be broken, if we suppress these feelings of fear and despair, then what good can possibly come of that? If I had lost someone in the Manchester attack, I would be angry that politicians could believe that I’m capable of not breaking, when my whole world had been shattered.

Perhaps if we had more open discussions about our feelings of despair, without shutting them down, then people’s mental health could improve and fewer lives could be lost. Perhaps what it takes is to be utterly broken in order to see the real issues and work to fix them to create a stronger world.
Hollie Brader
London

• As a mother of two teenage girls who has stood outside many concert venues waiting for my daughters after concerts, I was heartbroken at the bombing in Manchester. Keen to help, I read about the Manchester Evening News’s crowdfunding page on Justgiving.com. We donated £50 to the appeal, wishing we could afford to give more. Then, after reading the website’s terms and conditions, I realised that JustGiving takes 5% from all donations. I wrote to the company suggesting it might consider waving the fee in this instance. Its reply was a no. In my opinion, it is wrong for the company to make money in these circumstances.
Daphne Mather
London

• Your front-page story (25 May) quotes police describing the US leak that “undemines our investigations”. Yet you chose to publish one of the leaked photographs as your main illustration with several more on page seven. I expect better from the Guardian.
Denis Jones
Macclesfield, Cheshire

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