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?
A dark brooding shadowy figure
Hey there! I thought I should check in on everyone. How's everyone doing?
My person would be a dark and formidable storm cloud traveling overhead and have lightning rod staff with bolt lightning sizzling from the tip.
Dark, broody, abysmal
She's grey. She wobbles when she walk. One minute she is singing in my ear rather beautifully and in the next minute, I can hear her sob. Her heart in hollow. She always knock on my door unannouced. I've told her many times to let me know when she wants to visit, but she never listens. I want her to leave me alone, to let me be.
If my depression were a person, she would be a little child who's lost and confused. She has been playing, laughing, messing around, crying and hurting all day but she does not know the way back home. She doesn't know what is real and what is not but all she does know is that she's tired. She just wants to go home and sleep. Away from the daylight, people, and familiar strangers; away from darkness and quietness. Away from everything. She just wants to sleep and never wake up.
If my depression were a person I would describe them as grey and almost ghost-like to where only I can see them. They are constantly attached to my leg bringing me down and have a voice that overpowers every sound heard around me because their voice is the only thing that I hear during the day. They also have the ability to slow me down and make everything I usually find fun, boring, and seem more like a chore than a hobby.
Wow, very interesting question. I never thought about it like that before!
When I think about my depression, I feel like a much younger, more vulnerable me.
Growing up my family moved around alot. My siblings and I transferred schools countless times across state lines. My Dad was always moving for work. This didn't mean that I had bad childhood, but it did often leave me feeling lonely, lost, leftout, or sometimes anxious about where I belong and who I was. These experiences really shaped who I am and they have allowed me to be able to connect with so many different types of people. I really enjoy getting to know people. Going to college were my golden years because I was able to finally stay put somewhere and build a strong circle of friends. I went out to meet people all the time and I loved it.
Fast forward several years to today (wow I can't believe its been that long already), I live by myself because my long term relationship that I was in didn't work out. I'm pretty much over it, but it has left me reeling. I'm not ashamed to say that I feel lonely. Its something that I think we all experience. But these past few years have been a struggle to get a hold of it.
My inner child who was scared, alone and lost often seems to make his presence known in alot of my thoughts. He's not a scary guy, I feel for him. He just wants comfort. And that is a hard thing to come by these days.
If my depression is a person, she'll be invisible and no one can hear her or she's just trapped inside a glass jar. Whenever she speaks or shout at the top of her lungs, no one seemed to care. She grew tired of trying so she just lie down waiting for time to pass by, people around here just walk past her, rushing off to their daily lives while she'll just be existing.
@wontwakewontsleep, this is such a great idea! (:
If my depression had a name, it would be Misery. That is exactly how depression feels - miserable. It would look like a human suffering immensely, going through many emotions of sadness, anger, and numbness while trying to juggle everyday tasks. They would be exhausted 24/7, so they would move slow & have difficulty socializing.
