You'll often hear people say 'If only he/she/they had asked for help'.

Well that's not true. You can ask for help all you want and most people just do not want to know.

If you're someone like me and have a reputation for being capable then people will simply assume that you can deal with whatever it is. Even if it is something completely outside the scope of your knowledge and experience. They'll actually get really pissed off at you for asking. Even if it's their job to help you.

And of course after it's all gone horribly wrong I just know they'll all be standing round saying "If only she'd asked for help."