50 Artists Try To Show What Depression Looks Like And It Will Make You Uncomfortable

• By Malaika Aman
• July 28, 2020
• 9 minutes read

Depression is not a matter to be laughed at.

So many people these days are battling with some sort of mental health issue. And it seems that nobody is paying attention. Many of us tend to put on a mask when we are feeling low because life stops for no one. Even if you have been beaten to the ground, you can’t expect people to care because you have to be a normal part of society.

This is why it is so important that we bring more awareness of depression and other mental illnesses. And these illustrations are certainly a step in the right direction. Everyone has a different meaning attached to what depression is and how they deal with it and the following 50 images are just some of the representations.

There are bound to be some images that will be relatable while others maybe not. You can take a look at it yourself by scrolling below.

#1 Stuck in your own mind.

This illustrates deep depression so well… Debilitating, overwhelming, and the foetal position is the exact posture you want to be in. -Natalie

#2 The screams from within.

The painting describes a person with psychological problems such as schizophrenia, insanity, depression or other mental problems. His endless screaming makes his own mind eat him up.

I have periods in my life where I feel like this. I wanted to make an illustration of my thoughts and my pain within.

#3 The haze that is your mind.

People always say my head is in the clouds. Little do they know those clouds are black and heavy with storms. -Little letitia

#4 All the happiness leaking out.

This is how it feels. The color is the color of life.. The cheer, the positivity, the energy and the lust for life. The drive tog get shit done. The will to see friends, the mood to party, dance, sing, cook, exercise, grocery shop, cook, shower, clean the house.. ALL OF IT! It leaves you… You are left with nothing.

Looking at your life through a dark grey tint. Making you paranoid that nobody was every really your friend. That all your accomplishments are laughed at by others. That you have wasted your whole life on nothing that brings your fruit and for the future, it all just feels like it is too late..

So you just sit there. Wondering whats wrong with you and if anybody will ever help. Cus you can not help yourself.. Continuing the spiral… Making the tint even more grey because now you also feel totally helpless.

Useless. Worthless. This piece of are shows the desperation. Very very powerful. -Sanna K

#5 Only seeing the tears.

#6 Not letting go.

#7 Holding you back.

#8 Pieces falling away.

Fading, fading, fading, until there is nothing left… oh yeah that’s right, there was never anything to begin with… -Marcus Delles

#9 Nothing left.

A figure sketch from “Falling” a project I worked on from 2010-2014 about my experience with depression.

#10 Putting yourself back togather.

#11 Which mask to choose today?

On my 27th birthday my depression was finally just too fucking much. After many years of silently treating the severe recurrent episodes of my major depressive disorder, I gave up. I was not well and I needed to take the time to deal with how bad it had truly gotten.

So I basically “came out” as the big faker depression had been telling me I was… no more masks.

#12 Monsters behind you.

#13 Tired of it all.

Somebody knows. Never thought I’d live to see the day. -Nova Warren

#14 Nothing makes sense.

#15 Coming to pull you back.

Wow I remember this just sitting in the bathroom stall in the school being sad for noting. -Jasmine Nixon

#16 The hole that can’t be filled.

#17 Pain that can’t be expressed.

This project is a visualization of personal experience with depression and anxiety. The condition brought on frequent episodes where I felt emotionally and physically out of control. Unable to “release” myself from these episodes, I waited for the physical limitations of my body to end them.

Recounting the affected years, I realize how accustomed I became to depression’s influence; many emotions and feelings belonged to it and not my own personality. After an extended, untreated struggle, a diagnosis brought relief, and the process of unearthing myself from the disease began.

#18 Falling into hopelessness.

#19 The cancer of the brain.

#20 The wolf that follows you.

There’s a black dog on my shoulder again. Licking my neck and saying she’s my friend. Solitude the one thing that I really miss. Guess my life is a compromise. -Daria B

#21 Which holds us back.

#22 Sleeping on clouds.

#23 A new future.

#24 Leaving you behind.

Bleeding out as you put on mask after mask. -GalaxyInAJar

#25 The eyes that say everything.

This was inspired by depression and the effect it has on people, its a subject thats very close to my heart and i feel very passionate about it.

So i created this image almost to try and explain depression to someone who’s never experienced it or can not understand the effects it has on people.

#26 The cracks are getting bigger.

Someone somewhere feels less alone when finding that they can relate to something. Mental illness can feel extremely isolating.

#27 The sleep that haunts you.

Really troublesome. My mind can’t settle. Sometimes it end up with… twisted dream. I feel so depressed and sad every time I wake up, especially when everyone has gone.

#28 Everything is fine.

#29 The strong wind.

#30 Feeling of emptiness.

#31 Pulling your strings.

#32 Which face to show?

#33 Battered and bruised.

#34 The reality.

This is amazing. You really capture the essence that is depression. -Tara Hulko

#35 Stuck being alone.

#36 Taking a piece of you.

#37 Nothing else to say.

I feel sad and cold. But happy, because I have friends. So I feel guilty that I’m sad.

#38 Feeling blue.

#39 Not the one in control.

#40 Shattered like a glass.

You feel shattered completely. -Elecia Windmeyer

#41 The dark clouds follow you.

I can relate to most of these images. I have my depression mostly under control these days. When it comes now, it is like this, a brain cloud that I can feel the darkness gathering and engulfing me.

An improvement from the animal clawing desperation of past days. -Debbie Chappell

#42 Monsters within ourselves.

#43 The unrecognizable face.

“Nothing kills a man faster than his own head.” -Tieryen LaPlant

#44 Behind bars.

#45 Nothing left of the future.

#46 The silent scream.

#47 Pulling out your hair.

#48 Only within the eyes can you see.

#49 The old and depressed.

#50 The voice sown shut.

What did you think of these representations of mental illnesses? Comment down below and let us know.

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