The idea that having someone help you when you are "sad, desperate, sick" is something people "really have to grow out of".
The rest is like a naive self-help book, heal yourself style. Yes, some people play sad to manipulate others. But it's not like everybody is like some unique snowflake who can't get what they want and use that trick.
No, there are tons of actual sadness, sickness, depression (situational and pathological), need, etc out there, and there's nothing wrong in asking or giving help in such cases, in fact, it's what makes us human (or at least social animals, since other social animals will help their own too).
People needed help, asked for it, and (sometimes) got it, from friends, community, etc, even back when they survived horrible threats, witnessed (or even fought) in 2-3 wars each, and had self-reliance skills up the wazoo. It's not just the case with unique snowflakes who can't get what they want and throw a tantrum, as implied ("I say to grow out - because as children most of us learned the trick to pretend sad to get attention and it developed into all sorts of manipulations. When you don't get what you want, for whatever reasons - that is just it, to become sad or joyful is your reaction, it just shows your level of maturity in this world.")
Let's put it this way:
I agree that many people should learn to appreciate being alone, do things for themselves, not bother others for minor stuff and cry wolf, and depend on others for their whims, grow up and mature in this regard, etc.
But that's not all the people, all the time. All the people includes totally mature and otherwise self-reliant people, who do need help, assistance, empathy, etc. That's part of being human, not a sole trait of being a parasite to others.
Heck, even marines ask for help, depend on each others, and even share their feelings and help cheer up the other - and without those things they'd be far less effective.