Today’s pretty contribution to Mandalas for Marinke comes to us from Stacey, “a student in her final semester of Bachelor of Music who would love to set up a crochet shop and help the homeless!” Stacey can be found on Instagram and her blog, Brown Dog Creations.
Stacey writes,
“I fell in love with Marinke’s designs from the very first time I visited her website. The kaleidoscope of colours, amazing pictures and her very conversational way of writing got me hooked. I wanted to create designs and colour combinations just like Wink! I’m sad that she was suffering from depression and ultimately took her own life. I’ve never been diagnosed with depression and can’t imagine what it’s like or how it was for her, but by contributing to this project I hope that we will be able to raise greater awareness about the illness.”
And she adds in her own post,
“I hope that by writing this post, we can raise the awareness about depression and how it affects someone, and also how we can help someone going through this illness. Having said that, we should always try to be supportive of people, and be there for them when they need a listening ear, for example, or just someone to spend time with them.
To those who are battling depression, I hope that you’ll stay strong and that you’ll find the light at the end of the tunnel. There is always help! Don’t give up!
Please share this message.”
There are many different initiatives and campaigns and projects to spread the message and raise awareness and lend support. One that is popular with younger people is Love is Louder, “created with actress Brittany Snow to support anyone feeling mistreated, misunderstood or alone.” This is not specifically about depression but it touches it and relates to it in many ways. The concept is “love is louder than any voice that brings us down”, including louder than the voice of depression.
“How can you be part of the Love is Louder movement? Connect with it. Take actions to support yourself and others. Express all your feelings — from the challenges and the hurt to the possibilities and the hope. And never forget that the opportunities for support, help and love, are always louder and more powerful than the pain.”
The “expression” is done in large part through social media, where people channel their feelings into art of all kinds and use the #loveislouder hashtag to share it with the community. One suggestion is to write “love is louder” or even just “love” on your arm and whenever anyone asks you about it take that as an opportunity to raise awareness.
The organization was launched in response to a spate of teen suicides, particularly those linked with anti-LGBTQ bullying.
This post is part of the Mandalas for Marinke remembrance project