Personify Your Depression: If my depression were a person... [fill in the blank]
Personify Your Depression: I learned about this coping technique today. Imagine that your depression is a person separate from you. The idea is that personifying our depression helps remind us that depression doesn't define who we are ourselves, and that invasive self-critical thoughts we experience often come from our depression and not our healthy minds. Some things to think about are: what kind of person would it be, what kind of hobbies would it have, what would it look like, what would its name be?
So, if your depression were a person, what kind of person would it be?
If my depression were a person, it'd basically be a helicopter parent, except, an abusive helicopter parent.
They'd want full control over me and my actions, always expecting me to conplete things, and when i do them, instead of praising me, they'd call me trash, and make me feel like shit.
They'd always want me to pursue the best paths, the roads less travelled, those that require a lot of grit, then shame me when i do take that path. "You bitch, you really think you can do that?"
They'd always compare me to my friends, my friends who are prettier, more talented, and smarter, and scold me for being worse than them, "why don't you do yourself a favour and just die"
But they just want me to succeed at life. They know how cruel the world is and is cruel to me so no one else is cruel by comparison. They want me to be happy even with the toxicity that is me. Yep.
@wontwakewontsleep
For me, if depression was a person, it would be someone who looks exactly like me, haunting me with our similarity. She follows me around and although no one can see her, she is the only thing I can see. Some days she is right next to me, smothering me with her negativity, whilst other days she sits in the corner of the room. No matter what, she is still here, never giving me a break. Her hobbies include hurting me and breaking me down, feeding me with all my insecurities and demolishing my self-esteem. She feeds me lies that although I know isn't logical, I can't help but believe. The worst part is, the more time we spend together, the more I am becoming her. Now, I am just a shell of the girl I used to be, someone who I can't even recognise anymore, an exact replica of her, inside and out. And that's what scares me the most.
I had made my depression into a demon that I call excuse my language but mofo. Anyway. . . I had a dream the other day that he was sitting on one bed and I was sitting on the other and no one was around (I live with family, so when they are gone I really notice)
The demon has red eyes, sharp teeth, messed up hair. with a face like his . . . I would be cranky too.
The demon laughed as I could not get my phone to work. The only thing that worked was a dim light. I freaked out as I looking for a way out and yet the demon just kept laughing. . . the irony is what I felt like for two years, stuck and alone.
My friend reassured me that he is not going anywhere after I told him about the dream.
If my depression were a person....
She would be the friend I searched for in everyone, the one who stays by my side all the time without asking and who keeps me awake at night. The one who barges into my personal space like she owns it and never leaves my side. The one who knows all my secrets and lies. The one friend who tells me at the end of the day 'I told you so' when my trust is broken by my loved ones. She would be the one who helps me see the harsh realities of life even though it hurts. A friend that I never asked for and can never get rid of.
If my depression were a person....
He would be my lover my Mom told me to stay away from because he's too dangerous for her little girl. The one with tattoos of ugly words inked on him. The one who is happy in my sorrow. The guy who keeps me as a prisoner and refuses to let me go. I'm the one for him but he is not the one for me. The world tries to save me from him but this heart keeps going back to him ; for the pain he gives is much better than the loneliness of this world.
If my depression were a person....
It would be me. Like the way I see myself in the mirror. Like the I way I feel everyday. Like the soul to my existence. She cannot be removed from me and I cannot be removed from her.
-SM
if my depression were a person it would be the shadow monster that sits on your chest making you feel like you're unable to breathe during sleep paralysis.
you can't move a muscle. you can't scream, why would you? no one knows how to help you. no one wants your baggage, the shadow would tell me.
you're stuck here. no way out. paralyzed, seemingly forever, no end in sight. until the moment it lifts for just a day or two, maybe a week or more.... and then you inevitably fall asleep again, and the process starts all over.
If my depression were a person, I would sit with it, befriend it and tell it I relate to what it feels
If my depression were a person they would say "You aren't going to make it anyway. Why try?" Then they would get angry when I stop trying. "Why are you stopping? You are better than this! No. Don't start again. You obviously can't do it. Someone else will do it."
My depression convinces me to delete my post it becasue it's dumb.
It distracts me while I'm trying to work. It puts a fog around me when I read technical documents. "Does the A wire connect to the B wire? Are you sure? You used to know this. You should know this. You've been doing this for 15 years. Why don't you remember? What do you mean you are confused?"
My depression cuts me off from my family and friends. "Don't tell your husband. He will try and 'fix it' instead of listening. He will see all the bad and think you are weak. He will feel sorry for you. He will have to try and fix you. You will stress him out. Your friends don't want to listen to you complain all the time. Don't bring the group down."
My depression would have me stay at home. My head stuffed in a book or video game. "Don't think about being sad or trying to get better. Have an adventure instead. Look, reading is smart. Video games are task accomplishment. That rush you feel is the same as being well. Who cares if you watched 30 youtube videos in a row. At least you know how laffy taffy is made."
My depression is that person that convinces me to be a mindless lump. Then gets angry at me for not doing anything all weekend. "The dishes are piling up, and so is the laundry. Your husband did the vacuuming and took those boxes of trash to the dump like you've discussed. And you can't even put the dishes in the dishwasher. Worthless."
My depression makes me fight to accomplish a real world task. I'm in combat every day. Fighting off what it tells me with what I yell back at it. The depression isn't getting louder. It is unrelenting. My voice is getting weaker.
My depression is a bad habit enabling, vindictive, sad, and angry person. My depression is me.
My depression is that one person that doesn't leave you alone.
Talks all day and texts all night.
Distracts you.
Keeps you from being... you.
Clingy.
Manipulative.
Wants me to suffer.
If my depression were a person it will be so much more easier for me because then I could kick and beat the c...out of it and send it reeling and crying for a change...yes I sure hope depression could materialise in some way so that...
If my depression were a person, well more like creature, it would pretty much look and act like a deathclaw from the fallout video games.
If it were a person though, it would look like my best friend, but would be a twisted, evil, judgmental, violent version of such, pretty much the exact opposite of how my (ex) best friend is really like.
@lycan9826
I so get the Desthclaw comparison it's relentless, almost impossible to battle and never gives up.
If my depression were a person we both would sit and do nothing,nothing at all,would want nothing need nothing,talk nothing. Basically we would just sit and be miserable,neither him nor I would have that strength to tell that it's going to be alright be strong ,live life a little GET UP. Stop typing on your mobile and really get up! Dude!...