19 Graphic Representations Of The Different Faces Of Depression That Will Make Your Skin Crawl

We've all experienced it at some point in time; having been through some dark days of your own makes you empathetic towards another¡¯s emotional state of being. Co-existing with sadness, experiencing a crushing heartbreak, holding on to morbid emotions, being stuck in a feeling of helplessness or being violated; life puts you through a string of grievances at some point during your life. That¡¯s probably why there are an estimated 350 million people known to be affected by depression worldwide.

AudreyBenjaminsen - audreybenjaminsen.deviantart.com/art/The-Other-Bedroom-340019861

Depression is a complex syndrome. Its exact cause has not been clinically ascertained yet, but the pain and the scars it sometimes causes can send tremors permeating through your body. In fact, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has ranked depression as the 4th leading cause of disability in the world and claims it is well on its way to becoming the second leading cause by 2020.

claralieu - instagram.com/p/BK7NxKbB9sg

Living with depression might seem imaginable at times, but if you think you are suffering in mental agony, don¡¯t ignore the signs. Seek help. These artworks personify the various forms of depression and the distinct triggers that we face at some point in our lives. Use the ones you connect with to inspire you to act on it.

1. Suffering from mental asphyxiation

Robert Carter - society6.com/product/brain-sick-ii_print#s6-4196488p4a1v45

Sometimes you have to put on a brave face outside to conceal the mental trauma you are experiencing on the inside. The foetal position of the man in this artwork signifies the overwhelming and debilitating state of mind that you sometimes endure, to no one else¡¯s knowledge. Food for thought: research reveals that people who curl up into a foetal position in their sleep are typically softer on the inside, even if they project a tough exterior to the world outside.

2. Sunk in deep within the voices in your head

Sebmaestro - sebmaestro.deviantart.com/art/Mind-devour-245696686

Psychological problems, such as schizophrenia or insanity can make the voices inside your head ring louder than any other voice. It¡¯s quite easy to drown in the voices playing up in your head if they don't stop speaking to you. Schizophrenia, a condition that affects almost 1 percent of the adult population worldwide, for instance, can make you deluded, impeding your ability to think rationally.

3. Your thoughts are completely clouded

Ajgiel - ajgiel.deviantart.com

Your head may be in the clouds sometimes because your thoughts could be floating in a space that may seem unrealistic to most or disassociated with reality because they are surrounded by a fog of distress, disorientation or complexities. One such study by the University of Michigan revealed that fuzzy thinking could be a symptom of depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder.

4. Your state of mind drains the life out of you

lolitpop - lolitpop.deviantart.com/art/Colorful-Depression-464671091

If colours were a representation of your feelings, then depression over a period of time can do this to you; leech out the colour from your life, leaving you in shambles. This sad depiction of the truth represents the debilitating effect depression can have on your zest within.

5. You conceal your tears from the world

Spagheth - spagheth.deviantart.com/art/Depression-425971855

We often conceal our sorrows far away from the eyes of people we care about. We let out our tears in the darkness of the night, behind closed doors or the ones we care about the most or for whom we shed our tears for in the first place. Your heart craves to put out a subtle cry for help, but your mind fiercely fights the urge to reveal your vulnerability.

6. You buckle under the pressure of being a teenager

carts - carts.deviantart.com/art/Teen-Depression-258748519

People often assume being a teenager is the only time in your life you can shrug off responsibilities and truly live for yourself. Depression spares no one; teenagers and adults alike. The emotions and pressures you face with your family, friends and peers in your youth slowly chip away on your mind crushing your exuberance. In fact, close to a 20 percent of teens experience depression in the United States alone.

7. You want to scream, but your mind holds you back

EmilyClark - emilyclark.deviantart.com/art/Depression-427116272

You alone can be your worst enemy at times, and that holds true for the most of us. Self-sabotage or self-criticism holds us back from truly expressing what you want to say out loud. Holding back from expressing ourselves creates negativity, fear and repressed emotion that coerces us to succumb to the fragility of our mind.

8. Major depression bounds its chain around you

Shawn Coss - boredpanda.com/for-inktober-i-focused-on-mental-illness-and-disorders/

Depression can be crippling when you remain in that state for the majority of the day since as long as you can remember. Severe conditions, such as major depression, can drastically impact your life by slipping you into a feeling of worthlessness or guilt every day. It eventually eliminates any pleasure you derive from almost any activity you partake in, disallows you to follow a sleeping regime, makes you suicidal, ruins your health and chains to you the falsified beliefs that you chose to hold on to.

9. The demons in your head will not let you be

Zary - society6.com/product/my-demons-jk1_print#1=45

The demons in your head that refuse to budge could be trying to tell you something. How you feel about something or someone, your innate fears, things you are intolerant about or even your deepest desires; your thoughts could be triggering from an emotion you may or may not want to address. Either way, they may haunt you till you act on them.

10. The several masks you hide your emotions behind

madNbrooklyn - www.reddit.com/r/DepressionArt/comments/2p48f7/my_depression_looks_like_this/

No matter your age, your state of mind, your situation and most importantly what you feel; most of us either put up or have in sometime in the past put on a poker face, hand-picked for the situation at hand. Behind that false smile or those dark glasses or even the most Zen-like expressions lies a sense of insecurity or fear of revealing yourself. Faking your emotions has become customary while being yourself could be more beautiful than you expect.

11. Trapped within the confinement of your sorrows

xfoshizzlexx - xfoshizzlexx.deviantart.com/art/Depression-268683098

Solitary confinement of your thoughts within your mind not only takes a heavy toll on you mentally, but it also weighs down on other aspects of your life leaving you crippled over your obsessions, unable to deal with your reality. Similar to the effect solitary confinement has on the inmates of a prison, it may even leave you actively psychotic or even suicidal.

12. Falling into the hands of a depressing state of mind

ZarinaSitumorang - zarinasitumorang.deviantart.com/art/Falling-into-Depression-1-597167100

The several faces of depression tend to reach out to lure you into a state where you fall deep into the recesses of a gloomy existence. Whether it is a loss of a loved one, loneliness or depression due to the use of nefarious substances; harsh grievous circumstances can pull you deep down into the abyss of melancholy if you choose to keep to yourself about it.

13. Crumbling under the weight of despair

claralieu - claralieu.deviantart.com/art/Falling-Sketch-No-55-387424978

There are times when you are bound to feel physically and mentally out of control or stifled. Your inability to break out of this grip suppresses you to a point where you can do nothing but break under the enormity of this burden. We've become accustomed to this feeling and victimise ourselves till we realise the impact it has on us. The magnitude of the burden of depression has spread so far out worldwide that the WHO has claimed it will be one of the leading burdens on human beings by 2030.

14. Confined in the trilogy of suffering

Johnny Golden - society6.com/product/stress-anxiety-depression_print#1=45

Stress, anxiety, and depression ¡ª the complex web of woes that we all seem to be caught in, to no avail. Although they are closely interlinked with each other, these three aspects hamper your life at different levels. You respond to a tricky situation by stressing over it but may remain anxious because of the stress. You become engulfed in this state of being if you perpetuate in this state of sorrow or discouragement if you refrain from finding a way.

15. Sinking into the recesses of hopelessness

Japeto9 - society6.com/product/depression-i6y_print#1=45

Sometimes you feel like you are sinking back into a space of doom and gloom. Any ounce of positivity you muster, tends to get beat down by the weight of the adversities you faced in the past. There's always light at the end of any tunnel; if you don't strive to crawl out of it for; however long it takes to do so despite the fact that it is difficult to see beyond the darkness that envelops you.

16. Being the victim of societal objectification

S.Yoshiko - society6.com/product/broken-wings-87v_print#1=45

Sexual objectification, domestic abuse, sexual assault or innuendos, and human trafficking can leave you in a tormented state physically, mentally or emotionally. Most women have faced some form violence according to WHO that claims about 1 in 3 women worldwide to have experienced either physical or sexual violence. The impact of victimisation is sometimes so grave that it makes you shy away from society and may even make you suicidal; especially if you refrain from seeking help because of the stigma attached to being a victim.

17. A family that stands up for each other stays together

John Holcroft - society6.com/product/broken-soul-n0r_print#s6-4321975p4a1v45

Human beings are fragile creatures; adversity can shatter us in a manner that makes it impossible for us to piece ourselves back together. The pain you endure may also get instilled in the hearts and minds of your family members. It is often the same members who help you stand up back on your feet. It comes as no surprise that psychologist and counsellors habitually recommend people suffering from hardship to keep their friends involved in their life and their families even more so.

18. Succumbing to the lows of intense yearning

Margarita Georgiadis - margaritageorgiadisart.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=153357259

Longing for something we had or have lost or never had, to begin with, can be debilitating. The vulnerability longing creates can compel us to idolise or desire someone or something to the extent that it leaves us in dismay when we don't see it actualise. Failing to get up from such a setback can leave us dispirited till we decide to live in the moment.

19. Burning bridges to start over

AliKhatoun - alikhatoun.deviantart.com/art/Move-on-Original-Painting-626069821

We all suffer from tragic occurrences in our lives. In the end, however, it is these experiences that mould us into becoming the best version of ourselves. We must learn to balm the wounds in our hearts, heal the scars in our souls, and let go of unfortunate events out of our control to move to a happier state of being. The path to happiness lies beyond the crossroads where adversity meets realisation.

Artwork courtesy Bored Panda