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- Personify Your Depression: If my depression were a person... [fill in the blank]
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?
my depression is someone who follows me around and berates all of my decisions and choices. always tells me im wrong or lazy or no one likes me. hold me back when i try to get out and overcome it. sort of like im on a leash and i get pulled back to it.
@caringShoulder14 - yes :( very much like we are on a leash that's held by our depression, I think that was spot on. Hope we are able to hold the leash ourselves one day. Thanks for sharing <3
It would be very sad, confused, lost, and lonely. It's hobbies would include making all my thoughts seem bigger than they are and twisting the positive things into negative things. It would look fragile and its name would be Sadness.
@India15 - Aw, I almost feel bad for Sadness :( You sound like a very compassionate person. Thank you for sharing your thoughts <3
I dont think that my depression would nescesarily be a person, but I can sorta put into words how it makes me feel.
So theres someone that Im trying to find or someone that I miss, and I know they are near me but not where they are. As Im looking for them, tension and hopelessness sorta builds up in my chest and it makes me just want to sit on the floor and cry. I cant find what Im looking for and Im not able to keep looking.
Thats what depression feels like to me.
@nschapera - That's very illustrative of what depression feels like. :( I hope you find what you're looking for one day. :( <3 Thank you for sharing.
It's an evil mirror dimension version of myself. I don't know how else to describe it.
@tulseluper6491 - Yes :( It is like our evil versions, evil twins. Thanks for your thought
My depression would be someone that is constantly telling me that I'm not good enough.
@Mrhockey77 - yes :( sometimes that voice is a whisper and sometimes it is like our depressing is screaming at us. thank you for sharing.
My depression is more like a black hole, that was installed inside my chest and it steals/sucks all my energy, my hope, my will to live. And I am trying to find a way to turn it off
@Marypingolongo - A black hole, yes :( Very relatable. If you ever find a way to turn it off, please let us know. Good luck to you. <3
@wontsleepwontwake
Depression would be like one of those old friends you don t realize are toxic in your life until they are gone for a brief moments. It would always pretend everything s fine when in reality things are spiraling out of control. It wouldn t be a person, but rather some kind of soul-sucking being, that wears me out slowly, painfully and mercilessly. It would live in my mind, invading my personal space, laying on places where it shouldn t, always yelling at me without telling me why; always wanting to be right, always saying she has more sense than me. She would look at harm and show me reasons why I deserve it. She would take over the reigns whenever I got tired and lure me to sleep while she says it will be better not to do anything about it. She would be hella persuasive, rather tall, always smiling patiently at me because she knows I will eventually fail and she will have what she wants in the end.
@carolinahwriter - Yes to all of this :( Depression is such a soul-sucking kind of thing, a really manipulative presence that is super convincing sometimes, exclusively out for its own interests... I liked how descriptive you were of your depression and can almost picture her. Thank you for sharing. <3
i think my depression would be like one of the Evelyn Evelyn sisters (if you havent heard of them, theyre two sisters fused at the side) stuck to me, and currently unable to find a way to get rid of them. i cant get rid of them, and they keep whispering things in my ear and feeding me ideas about my surroundings, the people around me, and what i should be doing. sometimes it feels like they can control what i physically do, even my heart rate and breathing. it doesnt feel fair that im stuck to them. my thoughts dont feel like my own.
@inordinateenigma - I have heard of them. This is a really great visual. I definitely relate to feeling like my depression is fused to me, manipulating or even stealing my thoughts. It feels like it will be there forever. :( It's not fair, not fair at all. Maybe one day we will find a way. Thank you so much for sharing. :( <3
My depression is a figure made of smoke. It wraps itself around me and suffocates me. But I can't grasp it. I only claw at my skin as I try to make it release its grip. It dogs my mind until there is nothing left. It filters through my being until I'm left feeling empty. It covers me like a blanket at night, but this blanket doesn't comfort me. It restricts me and replays everything I've done wrong to me.
@ChasingStorms - Yes :( It is like a suffocating smoke that we cannot get a hand on, sapping us of everything. This is a good depiction of depression, thank you. <3
If my depression were a person, it would be anyone, everyone, everywhere. So, I guess thats like an omnipresent being. Therefore, my depression might be a deity that is rooted in everyone. In other words, I see my depression mostly come out or through interactions with people. So, if its not human nature for people to have something that depresses me, then it may be something more existential like a deity.
@CompassionOverPride - yes :( it is like an omnipresent being, twisting other people's words and expressions and reactions in our view to always remind us of it. Thank you for sharing <3
Depression is like a bubble, a bubble that has enveloped me ...
I can see the world , its the sams world as before depression but at the moment everything seems duller and muted. The bubble makes me feel alone even when surrounded by people.
I observe these people and long to see what they see, to experience life without the bubble, to see the world in HD, full of life , the colour and vibrancy .....do I look dull to them when they look at me ...do they see the bubble that surrounds me ....maybe they do, maybe they are afraid to come close to the bubble.
Has it changed me and will I get out of the bubble.... that's what I long for ...that's what I fight everyday for .... to break free of this bubble.
@Nans17 - absolutely :( it sucks all of the color out of everything and makes even fun activities seem like a dull boring thing. I often also wish I could experience the world the way not-depressed people do, even if just for a moment, to see what it was like, what they saw, what they felt. I love the bubble analogy because it's totally true. Sometimes I think of it as a shadowy void that surrounds me and keeps others away. Thank you for this. <3 Keep fighting, I will keep fighting with you. Maybe one day we will break free.
I named my depression JD after a bully from grade school. He had a pimply face, a constant look of disgust and was always condescending to me.
He acted like he hated my existence, and was disgusted by my presence. I see my depression as all the bullies from Catholic school who made me feel worse than worthless. The boy who pushed me out of the way to catch a baseball, while on my team, because he was sure I would not be able to catch it and ruin our teams chance of winning. The kids who hated me and wouldn't listen to me even when I was sure I had the right answer for group quizzes, and even when I was proven to be right still would reject any of my ideas out of spite.
Why did they hate me do much?? I carry this hatred with me as my depression and continue to hate myself for them even though they are gone and have lives of their own.
My depression is one of these hateful kids that wishes I was dead because I'm so disgusting.
@DinosaursandDesserts - :( What an awful string of experiences you've had. People can be so cruel! I also tend to be haunted by the criticisms others have made of me. You deserved better! I hope JD leaves you alone one day. Thank you for sharing this with us. <3
My depression is like a my mirror, it's me and it's not me at the same time. She's running around and leaves me alone when I'm surrounded by good friends or good circumstances, but when I least expect it, she jumps out of the corner and confronts me with thoughts I thought they wouldn't even exist. She pushes my boyfriend away when he tries to help me and distracts me from everything joyful in the world. It's like she found a way to change my mind from one second to another.
Whenever someone is telling me that there are easy ways to kill her, she whispers "You know, you would miss me, right?" and nobody sees that it's not that easy to leave her behind.
She takes care of me, when no one does and she keeps me warm when it's cold.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do.
@daddysprincess yes :( It is like a mirror, it looks like us even though it isn't us. That is a very good analogy. you're not alone in all this <3 we are here struggling with you. maybe we will figure it out one day if we keep talking about it. Thanks for sharing.
@daddysprincess I am so sorry to hear that. When those thoughts hit you it can be so hard to just 'switch them off'
@hibsta - ah, yes :( the faceless enemy, I can definitely relate to that. Thank you.
@wontsleepwontwake its tough when you cant see the enemy! But in the end, I hope we make it out stronger <3
@hibsta - Yeah! Me too. We got this. It can't hide from us for forever! *high five*
Okay faceless enemy... You will never win ever again !@hibsta
A snail in concrete down in a well, singing ' I'd like to move it move it '...
@Baalint - Yes, I think I've heard of this analogy before: 3 snail steps forward and 2 snail slides back. One day that snail will move it. Thank you for sharing with us.
@ThoughtfulOrange388 yes I can see this :( It's like our depression takes over our lives sometimes and we are just stuck inside our bodies watching it happen. thank you for sharing.
If I had to personify my depression it would be the evil villian in the movie, the bad guy/girl. Or if in a feeling state not relating it to a person of sorts I would say that vibe you get when you know that something is just lurking around the corner peaking out just waiting to come along.
@MelanieDaniels63 - yes :( It is like the evil villain in a movie, or like the haunting unknown thing in a horror movie that creeps around, waiting. Thank you for this perspective.