In this post, we discuss the faces of depression. More specifically, we look at the common issue of people who “don’t look depressed.” The idea that you can see depression is a myth. There are many signs and symptoms of depression, but you don’t always see depression on the surface. Plus, you can have moments of happiness within bouts of depression. There are many different faces of depression.
Never Give Up Crochet Mandala
This is a beautifully bold neon version of the standard 12 round crochet mandala pattern by Marinke. I love the way that the variegated neon yarn is worked in throughout between rows of solid colors. And I really love the tagged message added on to Never Give Up. It adds even more hope to the piece.
Reminder: this is an updated 2015 post. I’ve started sharing all of the old posts, freshly updated, in the order they originally appeared. This is a great way to revisit the project from start to finish.
The Mandala Maker
This special crochet mandala comes to us from Karen who says,
“I am a stay at home mom of 4 grown / teen children, nana to one beautiful grandson with another on the way! My husband is very patient with my yarn hoarding and encourages me in everything I do. He is my Knight in Shining Armor.”
Karen blogs at The Shtick I Do. Find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram under the name crochet2002.
To those who knew her and to her family
I express my deepest sympathies and want you to know
that my prayers are with you and with Wink.
Words by Wink
On August 31, 2011, Wink shared some fun facts about herself including:
“I’m somewhat of a hippie. I love the 60’s (and the 70’s, and the 50’s, and the 80’s…) and I try to live my daily life with a hippie mindset. It’s really not that hard: be friendly to everyone, don’t judge on appearance or anything else, recycle, don’t stand in the shower longer than 10 minutes, don’t own a car, don’t rush.”
She added that she loves animals, doesn’t eat meat and never did any drugs.
Faces of Depression
Let’s talk about the faces of depression. I want to highlight something that Jillian Capewell wrote in her article 6 Things a Woman With Depression Wants You To Know where she makes the point:
Putting on a happy face in public doesn’t mean we’re “faking it.”.
She adds: “people with depression don’t look like glum cartoon frowny faces, or spend their days sighing and staring out of rainy windows. We contain multitudes, man — some days, or months are easier than others. Most of the time I come off as a happy and sociable person, because that’s the version of myself that I want to project to the world.“
Many people online have mentioned that Wink seemed so happy in her blog and that they didn’t realize she was dealing with depression. I thought it was important to highlight this point that often we aren’t faking it when we are presenting as happy to the world, in person or on our sites. Sometimes we’re presenting our best side, sometimes we’re presenting the way we wish we are, sometimes we’re finding a moment of happiness in the midst of the darkness (which is what I suspect Wink was doing when she posted small moments of joy like her Instagram of wearing flowers in her hair). Depression is complicated.
There are many faces of depression. Learn the warning signs and symptoms. However, don’t assume that you can always see depression from the outside. If you think someone you know may have depression, don’t be afraid to ask them how they are feeling. Let people know you are there for them, regardless of how they appear on the outside.
Updated Mandalas for Marinke Posts
Here are some of the topics in the posts that have been updated so far:
- First contribution to Mandalas for Marinke
- Statistics on Women’s Depression
- Reverse Seasonal Affective Depression,
- Genetics of Depression
- Color Therapy
Featured Photo by omid armin on Unsplash
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