Educational Cartoons...

While it is something that is often on my mind, consistently in my prayers, and regularly in pieces and posts that I read, I haven't blogged about Depression and mental illness for a little while. I suppose its partly because its very personal - even when it is just poetry - and because its draining to say things over and over again, but now and again I am prompted to write a little, to think a little, to share a little.

I write - or rather type this - whilst basking in the glow of a 'Mini Daylight', or more specifically, a ELE018838. I have this light because in the past I have struggled with quite serious bouts of depression, and there is something to be observed in me particularly struggling with academic work, and winter/autumn. People close to me suggested that getting one of these lights might be a good idea - so they did get me one, and it perches near my desk, and will hopefully be a good and useful companion this autumn term.

But that isn't why I wrote this post. Though I might write about it again. Or not. Its my light.

A friend on Twitter shared a link to 'Buzzfeed', that was titled '21 Comics that Capture the Frustrations of Depression'. Have a look at them. I didn't actually 'get' number 11, thought number 17 was pretty wierd (potentially unhelpful?) but otherwise, its a good little collection, and I want to particularly spend some words on five of them. IT MUST BE NOTED I DO NOT OWN THESE CARTOONS - HENCE COPIOUS LINKING. IF YOU ARE AN ARTIST WHO MADE THEM, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH IF YOU'D LIKE ME TO REMOVE THEM.

- I -

(image from article, artists website here)

I like this one as it spoke directly to me. When people are depressed, their life and ways are often incomprehensible to those around them. This cartoon illustrates that well - it is of course bizarre to wake up and be 'disappointed to not be covered in parasites' - and I think that helpfully echoes the dissonance between 'normal' life and the internal reality of what it is to be depressed. 

- II -

(image from article)

This, I think, is fantastic. What if, as this poster suggests, we treated every illness the way we treat mental illness? It is nonsensical to expect someone with two arms in plaster to type out a coherent report or essay on their own - I would contend it might well be ludicrous to ask someone with severe depression to do the same, on their own. I'm also thinking that this cartoon helps to challenge those of us who have/do struggle with mental illness to realise that it is ok to seek medical help. Lots of reasons - shame, misguided approach to religion, societal or relational pressures - can stop people getting the help they need, but it is out there. This cartoon particularly links to the power of mental illness - people cannot 'snap out' of something that consumes them and, often for a season, defines them. What would happen if we treated every mental illness the way we treat illness generally?

- III -

(image from article, artists website here)

I have a great deal of experiential sympathy with this one. Sometimes the hardest part of a day is the first part. I've never liked breakfast, and so food-based bribes don't help. Sometimes it is hard to get out of bed - but I like the way this cartoon slightly mocks parkour in a way of making the point. If you have a depressed or otherwise mentally ill partner/spouse/friend/child who you have encountered of a morning, then you will recognise this difficulty, and if you don't, then I hope this simple cartoon helps you to!

- IV -

(image from article, artists website here)

Bed related again, I think this is fantastic too. Whether the day off is part of a prolonged time of sick leave, or a normal saturday/sunday/day off, 'anxiety' as pictured here (and Depression, and others) can keep people chained to their beds. Chained by thoughts. Chained by negative reflections and rememberings. As a Christian I am called to a future, to a renewed mind, but so often when I am chained to my bed by my mind, it is easy to forget that, and sometimes the promises can even seem like a condemnation. This, I think, is a cartoon that demonstrates a simple truth about the power of mental illness. It can be crippling.

- V - 

Finally, and I was encouraged to see that one of the simplest and most resonant for me was by a Christian cartoonist, was number 19, 'The Roller Coaster Ride of Healing'. I think this cartoon both nails my experience of depression and coming out of it, but also makes a powerful theological point with application far beyond Depression/Mental Illness. Here it is;

(image from article, Dave Walkers website here)

This simply and accurately pictures something I have found difficult in the past to explain to non-sufferers. Getting 'better', particularly from Depression, doesn't mean living in a state of great elation. Neither, I think, does it mean accepting a humdrum existence. Rather reality is more real, more normal, more reasonably priced. Trust me, when you are as low as it gets, the thought of an in-between level, with reasonably priced drinks and snacks, is appealing. And equally - as can often happen in the process of Depression - the peak of 'Great Elation' can be a little too much, unsustainable, scary (particularly if it comes very quickly after a pit), and that cafe is appealing again.

I think think this cafe cartoon makes a powerful theological point too. One about balance, and rest, and about where Christians should be. On this issue, I think we should be the people waiting at the cafe, signposting it, but also those deliberately meeting people in the pits and at the peaks. Our churches should be places - not necessarily with literal cafes - that are places where people can come at any point on their journey of healing, and know that they are loved, valued, welcomed. I'm quite convinced about this. This notion of balance and welcome and reality, Christianity is not about being holy-ly miserable. Neither is it about irrational elation, or spiritual highs. Its better than that. Probably even better than the cafe, but thats another story. 

__________________________

Thanks for reading this post. I hope you enjoyed the cartoons and that they piqued your interest. I've written before on Christianity and Depression, and about World Mental Health Awareness Day. I've also shared some of my own story, in those posts, and in a poem. I've also written about 'Hope in the Darkness' for World Suicide Prevention Day. Finally there are a trio of books that I've read and reviewed and would recommend to you, John Piper's helpful 'When the Darkness will not lift', the Procter's wonderfully practical 'Encountering Depression', and Emma Scriveners powerful book about eating disorders, 'A New Name'. I hope some of these posts/books/reviews bless you!