Winston Churchill once famously referred to his “little black dog†of depression. He imagined depression was just like a dog – loyal and steadfastly by his side through life. The imagery stuck and continues to be the mascot in popular culture for depression.
But what if depression could be imagined in another form? How would depression look to you? Would it be a he, she or gender neutral? Would it be animal, vegetable, mineral? Or would it be intangible, like an image or moment in time?
Winston Churchill once famously referred to his “little black dog†of depression. He imagined depression was just like a dog – loyal and steadfastly by his side through life. The imagery stuck and continues to be the mascot in popular culture for depression.
But what if depression could be imagined in another form? How would depression look to you? Would it be a he, she or gender neutral? Would it be animal, vegetable, mineral? Or would it be intangible, like an image or moment in time?
This is an interactive online art project and not-for-profit. It is a chance to observe and give form to a condition that goes to the very core of the human spirit.
In time, I hope this blog also becomes a space for understanding. Depression is nothing to be ashamed of or to hide from. It does not reflect personal failure or defect, as it can happen to anyone at anytime.
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Comments
I’m right there with Sir Winston, as far as being a bipolar depressive and I love his analogy. For me it is like a very large, dark – if not black – cloud that follows me around. Most of the time these days with treatment it is out of site. But if I stop taking a med or something really bad happens, I can see that cloud drifting my way, sometimes two or three days away. I have learned to spot it , now, and jack up my antidepressants, but God forbid the cloud overtake me. If it does, it’s like being in the middle of a dark, pressurized nightmare where it’s difficult to move, all my thoughts are negative, I have no “gumption” to get up and go or do anything that I normally like doing. I will especially want to just be alone and not around any other people, and will often just zone in front of the TV. At its worst, while I am not suicidal, I will have thoughts like “I just don’t want to wake up in the morning”. It is psychological torture of the worst imaginable, and the worst part is while it is happening, I know that my own brain is producing the effects. This make sit all the worse, because I realize how abnormal and WRONG it is that an organ in my own body — the one that runs the whole show — has turned against me. The challenge for me now that I have been treated is to simply stay ahead of the cloud….So that’s my equivalent of the little black dog. Quite frankly, his depression sounded alot more friendly than mine. To help get a real handle on depression, visit my blog “Depression, Anxiety and Addiction”
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