The TVTropes Trope Finder is where you can come to ask questions like "Do we have this one?" and "What's the trope about...?" Trying to rediscover a long lost show or other medium but need a little help? Head to Media Finder and try your luck there. Want to propose a new trope? You should be over at You Know, That Thing Where.
phalanx
Since: Jun, 2012
20th Oct, 2019 02:29:04 PM
If they're trying to help the main character, like Betty in your example, I think that'd be a form of The Cobbler's Children Have No Shoes. Also, Mutual Masquerade seems related, but that's for supernatural/fantastical secrets rather than something like anorexia.
Is there a trope for when we're following a main character going through something and we learn about it, but in the end, it turns out the seemingly normal friend is going through the same situation - the point being, we were so focused on the main character we didn't notice the telltale signs?
For instance, Alice is anorexic, she's been refusing to eat, her friend Betty compares their weight, notice Alice's been getting thinner, Betty offers Alice her food but Alice refuses, and eventually Alice's family manage to get her some help. Then, we cut to Betty, alone, throwing food away, and we see that while everyone was worried about Alice, Betty hadn't been eating anything, either.