I’ve never reblogged the post of another blogger, but the essay linked below did tempt me. It is close to a work of genius. The author understandably doesn’t want it to be posted to anyone else’s page because it is, after all, her work. She should be proud of it.
Allie Brosh’s description of depression, in words and original cartoon images, is astonishingly perceptive and “felt.” It gets inside of what it is to be depressed in every cell of your being; not every form of depression, but a good many.
She gets to the meaninglessness of things that once meant everything, the inability to feel pleasure in those things that used to guarantee it, and the annihilation of all emotion. The author recognizes the danger of too much hope (which sets you up for disappointment) vs. the equal danger of hopelessness. She describes how it feels to be approached by those who wish to help and those who are made uncomfortable by your sadness; often the very same people. Finally, Allie Brosh captures the contradictory combination of a passive wish not to live with the feeling that you don’t want to take the action of ending your life.
Surprisingly, this illustrated essay is not a depressing work. Rather, it is eye-opening and captivating. If you’ve been depressed, you will likely recognize those feelings that are almost inexpressible, but here are somehow expressed. And, if you’ve never been depressed, perhaps this will enlighten you and assist you in approaching others you wish to help.
Do read this. My only regret with respect to this essay is that I didn’t write it myself. I am in awe: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-part-two.html
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The above image is called Sad Woman & Stockings by Stan Wiechers. It is sourced from Wikimedia Commons.
Great read. I was chatting about Mather last night and thought of you. I hope all is well.
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Thanks, Tom. Much appreciated. Hope things are good for you too.
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Thanks for sharing. My bouts in the past of what I thought was depression doesn’t come anywhere near such a state of ‘deadness’.
I have a young relative who’s in such a state. Everything I’ve tried to reach him have failed.
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Thank you, Rosaliene. You make an important distinction, that the type of depression described here is one in which the emotions seem deadened, not the intense and acute variety that represents a different kind of agony. I hope your young relative improves.
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