On the outside, you see: showered, dressed, freshly brushed teeth. Here’s the thing. I’ve been stumbling through the past couple of years of grad school in the unpredictable and impervious current of depression. I have managed my way through. I’ve stood upright at least once every day. I take my medication with food. I reach out to friends and family sometimes. sometimes. I see my therapist. On the days I want to hide away and bury my head in my cat’s soft, warm tummy, I push myself to walk the 20 feet to the mailbox across the driveway. Other days I run my 3.2 mile route to Meridian and bounce back on the Interurban Trail. Sometimes I force smiles at passersby. Sometimes the smiles are spontaneous. Surprises. they’re real. Felt. This dichotomous existence of depressed and ‘un-depressed’ - it’s exhausting. It’s distracting. Its splindle-y fingers like to play with my hair. and tie knots in my clothes. Some days I stick my tongue out at depression. And then. again. I find myself at the edge of its undertow. Grabbing my tongue from choking my throat. Clenching my neck from tearing away. In my head, my mush-of-a-brain swirls and squishes out thoughts. black sticky thoughts that barely convince me that I’m not whole and I can’t be. that I’m broken and bruise easily. that I’m not worth the wait and it’s easier to cut loose. that I’m not meant for this world. and it’s not meant for me. it’s not my oyster. it’s not my playground. it’s not my anything. And in my head, where these wicked mumblings meander through mush. I tap it on the shoulder. scream in its ear. and I say what I always say, “Shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up!Shut the fuck up!” “You’re not winning.” We’ve had this conversation before. (Journal entry, 2015) ••••• swipe 👈🏽 sparkle edit 👈🏽👈🏽 alt. pre-animated edit 👈🏽👈🏽👈🏽 original from #picsart #depressionart #depressionwarrior #depressionjournal #mentalhealthwriter #mentalheathartist #artivist #portraitoftheday #portraitart #portraitartist #fuschiablueart #trippyart #seattlecreative #pnwwriter #filipinaartist #artofvisuals #contemporaryartist #digitalcollage #aestheticedits #discoverartists #tumblrart #photomanipulation (at Seattle, Washington) https://www.instagram.com/p/CTaCPoAlC80/?utm_medium=tumblr
