Hello and welcome to my new comic series: The Shackles of Depression.
Page 1

As the title suggests, this series will take an in-depth look at what it means to live with depression and also what it means to develop it at a young age and have it grow with you, over time. I was officially diagnosed with depression when I was 11. Despite always being considered very bright and one of the "gifted kids" in school (which comes with its own set of drawbacks) I had straight F's, because I didn't do any of the work. But I got A's on all of my tests, which is the only reason why I moved on to the 7th grade (had to do summer school, etc). That was when my parents knew that something was wrong. Looking back, I definitely had issues as early as age 9 - that's when I started to lose interest in things that I used to enjoy, which is the first warning sign of depression.

This is what makes depression difficult to talk about... it's not what people think it is. Everyone has experienced situational depression, but not everyone has experienced clinical depression. This means that everyone has expectations and biases about clinical depression and they even try to offer advice. As well-intentioned as it is, it is unfortunately based on incorrect criteria.
Situational depression means being upset/miserable when things are going wrong in your life. A bad breakup, losing a close friend, a death, losing a job/financial stress, etc. It is a normal, healthy emotional response to external distress.
Clinical depression means being upset/miserable, even when everything is going right in your life. You can do fulfilling work/be at the top of your career, enjoy a multitude of hobbies and interests, be in a stable, healthy relationship with someone who supports you and builds you up, you can have everything and you still aren't able to find happiness. Jim Carrey highlighted that when he said he was amazed that he still felt sad/empty after accomplishing everything that he ever wanted to accomplish. Not only is this not a normal or healthy response to life, being unable to find happiness or get a serotonin rush can significantly alter your brain chemistry in ways that a non-clinically depressed person would probably never imagine.

This comic is meant to just explore what the disease is and express it in a way that (I hope) will be digestible and easy to understand.
Also, I should take this moment to say that I am okay. Yes, I do have depression, but I have had it for a very long time and it is well-managed, by this stage in my life. Although it never truly leaves, it will linger in the background for the rest of my life, I left the worst symptoms with my adolescent years. I've been on an uphill trajectory, since my early 20's. Please do not interpret this as a cry for help or me begging to have people reach out. This is merely an exploration of one of the darker sides of the human psyche. Art exists to explore concepts through a visual means - humans are highly visual creatures. I only hope that this can broaden the understanding of the reader and remind a fellow sufferer that there are others out there who know the struggle.

Remember: though the initial impulse is to self-isolate. That impulse does not need to be followed.

Art ©:  priestofjashin
Ajabu ©: Myself