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Personify Your Depression: If my depression were a person... [fill in the blank]

wontwakewontsleep September 27th, 2017

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?

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purpleMap5053 April 12th, 2018

I'd kick its ass.

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 12th, 2018

@purpleMap5053 - And you're not alone in that! Sounds like a lot of us want to show our depression how we feel about it by beating it up. Wish that was possible! Thanks for posting

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determinedCake9464 April 12th, 2018

My depression is a geouchy git

It had saggy boobs and hairy pits....

2 replies
determinedCake9464 April 12th, 2018

@determinedCake9464

*Edit:-

My depression is a grouchy git

It has saggy boobs boobs and hairy pits...

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 12th, 2018

@determinedCake9464 - I can picture it! Nice rhyme by the way, I don't know if you meant that, but well done <3

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tristi17 April 12th, 2018

@wontsleepwontwake

She would look just like me. She sits with me but never speaks. She just gives me a look and suddenly the world is grey again. And then we sit there, mute, like twins.

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 12th, 2018

@tristi17 - Creepy and completely relatable and accurate. :( It definitely feels like being stalked by a colorless version of ourselves who can ruin any moment with just a look, or even the hint of a look, in our direction. Thanks for this depiction <3

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TreaureSeekers3 April 12th, 2018

My depression feels like I can't be me . I'm lost and can't hide . Everywhere I go it's there it troubles my thoughts and emotions. I can't take it anymore .I wish I wasn't this person.

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 12th, 2018

@TreaureSeekers3 - Yes :( Our depression ribs us of our personal identity. We lose interest in everything that we used to associate with who we are. Sometimes we may forget who we were before the depression, or if we were anyone else to begin with. With enough time, it starts to feel like all we are is this dark depression, that it defines us. :( the depression wants us to think that who we are is gone forever, but believe me, we are so much more than this depression, even though it definitely doesn't feel that way. Maybe one day we can still find ourselves again. This was a really honest answer that I think a lot of us can relate with so thanks a lot for sharing this valuable perspective <3

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BigJohn April 14th, 2018

If my depression were a person... It would be typical kindergarten bully.
Laughting at your body and making fun of you, thinking it is the best and can beat you up how he wants.

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 25th, 2018

@BigJohn - Depression is very much like a childish bully who leaves a lifelong impact on us. Thank you for posting

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Myrmaid April 18th, 2018

I would keep away from it. It would be a toxic person so I would be able to just cut it out of my life.

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 25th, 2018

@Myrmaid - Absolutely. I would go no-contact with my depression immediately if it were a person. Good analogy and good point!

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intelligentSquare3915 April 18th, 2018

My depression is a bee hovering amound me sometimes wanting to sting and others it will just hover

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 25th, 2018

@intelligentSquare3915 - Really like this comparison. Even when it's just hovering, we still hear it buzzing in our brains, apprehensive about when it will sting sgain. Thanks a lot for this. <3

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astuteScorpius April 19th, 2018

My depression would be a living train wreck.

It's Marla Singer from Fight Club.

Doesn't care about appearance. Indulges in things because they feel good with no care about the consequences.

Looking for a place to belong but feeling like an entity just drifting nameless through a sea of faces.

Self destructive and pessimistic.

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 25th, 2018

@astuteScorpius - Yes. :( Marla Singer is an amazing avatar for depression, a living trainwreck, self-obsessed yet self-destructive.

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stuckintime92 April 20th, 2018

My depression is a sort of squishy monster. It's blue and a bit smaller than me. It wears a dark blue, over-sized hoodie. And it loves to hug me. Its hugs are so warm, they're hard to get out of. Every time I'm knocked down, it's there. It hugs me and holds me and I'm stuck. I stay with it until I'm strong enough to break away but it's always there for next time. Sometimes I miss the warmth of the hugs. They feel like a comfort. It's hard not to go back to them when I finally get away. But the hugs are as suffocating as they are warm and that hurts. Sometimes I let myself get suffocated anyway. It's hard to break out of the hugs. But I do and I say goodbye and wave and step away from my cute little monster and I know it'll still be there, waiting for another hug but, for a while, I'm free.

Of course, I'm also alone.

And a hug is so close by.

3 replies
Magicalbored1237 April 21st, 2018

@stuckintime92 i love the way you worded that! :)

2 replies
stuckintime92 April 21st, 2018

@Magicalbored1237 Thank you. I know I shouldn't but sometimes I take comfort in my sadness. And sometimes it's even a welcome emotion compared to the apathy. In that way, the hugs are warm. But the hugs are suffocating too and that's why they're not good for me.

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Magicalbored1237 April 22nd, 2018

@stuckintime92 yeah I feel like that too. I hate my depression but I dont want it to leave either

2 replies
stuckintime92 April 30th, 2018

@Magicalbored1237 I'm not glad that you feel this way because it's not fun but I am glad you relate. Sometimes I think if I just tried a little harder I could banish my depression for good but of course, it's not really that easy.

1 reply
Magicalbored1237 May 1st, 2018

@stuckintime92 yes I know its hard. But Im learning to get rid of this feeling.

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wontwakewontsleep OP April 25th, 2018

@stuckintime92 - Incredible description :( I totally understand where you're coming from with this. Depression figuratively and literally holds us back... it's a complicated situation, with lots of internal conflicts. I really appreciate you writing it here, thank you. Maybe it will be easier for us to escape its death grip and give ourselves kinder hugs as time goes on - ok what I just wrote sounds so lame, haha, but I really hope it turns out to be true. Thanks again <3

1 reply
stuckintime92 April 30th, 2018

@wontwakewontsleep Thank you. And as cringy as it may sound, I hope so too. Depression is difficult but it doesn't have to win. We've got to be kind to ourselves.

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MilkyHoneyTea April 21st, 2018

If my depression were a person he would be shorter than me. He wears a hoodie to cover his eyes and only looks down at his feet. He is mean because he is hurting and doesn't know how to express it in any way other than to attack me. I am not bitter towards him, he has suffered too. I feel only pity for him.

1 reply
wontwakewontsleep OP April 25th, 2018

@MilkyHoneyTea - I think it is great you have such compassion for your depression. ): And I think you're onto something: it hurts so much because it is in great pain too. Thank you so much for sharing. <3

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