I Don't Connect With Stereotypical Depression Photos, So I Drew My Own

If we were to Google “depression art,” we would see a myriad of different images. They are often dark, gloomy, and consist of a palette of blues, grays, and black. Many of them also share a common element: rain.

The rain usually signifies sadness, hatred, or despair of or in oneself. Rarely do we ever see it resemble happiness.

A few days ago I was in a deep depression, feeling uninterested, unworthy, and unloved. It felt as if there were a heavy cloud hanging over my head, stopping the sunlight of life from getting through. I began searching the internet for ways to kick my depression in the a**, and among my search images were the stereotypical “tears-of-sadness-running-makeup depression” pictures.

It made me mad because depression doesn’t always look like that. I decided I wanted to change that. I needed a different perspective.

So I sat down and just drew how I felt. To me, depression feels like a big, black umbrella being held over me, keeping the rain from falling on me. Keeping me from splashing in puddles and singing in the rain that is life. The rain represents all that life has to offer, from friends and family to the little things like a sunny day or watching a movie.

I realize not everyone feels the way I feel or sees depression the same way I do. I just felt it was time we were shown another perspective, one we maybe haven’t thought of or realized before.

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