These images I took are to represent my story and struggles with depression. However, this is not a technical report if professional help is needed to contact Alpha Mental Health Services +1 415-663-5584. By sharing these thoughts and experiences I can tell a story that might help you or someone you know to not feel alone.
It is abstract and difficult to understand at first but with time and patience you see the bigger picture.
I chose this story because it is time I openly discuss mental illness without the stigma that follows. I think that by writing this blog I can toss out the bad and make space for the new experiences life has without being tied down to depression. Thus, I think I did well in capturing these images throughout my journey.
Living with a mental illness is not always being sad or being moody. Yes, you might think then what is it exactly. Well, it is dynamic because it has tLiving with a mental illness is not always being sad or being moody. Yes, you might think then what is it exactly. Well, it is dynamic because it has to do with your brain activity and can be caused by genetics or trauma. It is episodes, whether they are long or short periods it is usually triggered by something or someone. Having friends or family struggling with depression is challenging to understand because they can seem rather normal because for the most part people tend to hide and be ashamed by mental illness. Instead of seeking professional help or talking to someone they trust to help them cope. It seems easier to lock it away or indulge in dangerous behavior.
Conceal your sadness with a big smile.
Thus, seeming normal to others.
Each image has a role in how I am trying to explain this story. However, image 2 with a dipped paintbrush that creates an abstract water picture is the one I think is the best image because it is abstract not a fixed piece. Therefore, not everyone fits into one category when it comes to mental illness, depression is just one of many that are usually along with anxiety, bipolar disorder, and more. Yet, I will focus on depression because is what I can share. Being an abstract image best conveys this story by having the reader go through their thought process and emotions. Mental illness like depression is known to be a dark time in someone’s life for the most part. Yet, as mentioned before different people and different experiences.
Some people continue to live picture-perfect lives whilst struggling with a mental illness. On the outside, they seem to be happy because others see them thriving at work or school. In closed doors when no one sees is generally when the person breaks down because if they are leading a “normal” lifestyle they do not seek help and cope with their illness in a wrong manner such as self-harming, loss of appetite, and/or risky behaviors.
-Lao Tzu
For many people who struggle with depression rather not talk about it because they are afraid to be stigmatized and classified as weak that could affect their standing within some group dynamic, or they do not want others to worry about them, or simply not comfortable speaking up about their feelings and thoughts with others. Depression does not make you weak and you should not feel ashamed about it.
In public or with family & friends.
When you are alone at night.
This photo story has seven images that help me tell a story and the one image that cannot be on its own is image three because it can tell another story on its own. What I would do differently next time is to conduct interviews or surveys that will help me reach my audience which is students and faculty in California State University of Long Beach. At the moment I have many more photostories such as child abused and human trafficking on an international level and equal rights for all.
To get by your day to day life.
Kimberly's Art Blog 