Depression, a skull helmet

Post Reply New Topic

Thats the image I have been getting when it comes to depression when I think about it. While I have been depressed every now and again it certainly isn't 24/7 though for some of you I know that is the case. However, I thought of a skull helmet because of the fact that a skull obviously represents death, something depressed people think much about at times.

Having it be a helmet makes you understand that wearing this thing represents all the burdens and memories that are eating away at the person underneath the skull. It is also heavy, causing the head to look downwards most of the time and it takes a lot of strength just to keep your head up. Also when people look at the person and see the skull that the depressed person wears, they become afraid or very unsettled. They become afraid because they see death in the personification of the skull and that it reminds them of their own mortality. They don't want to share the same fate so they break away rather than try to help the person.

Those that try to help sometimes try to rip the skull helmet off, but it only hurts the person underneath for its sealed quite tight. Unless the root of what created the helmet is dealt with, it will merely regenerate with time. As the person wears the skull helmet for extended periods, the body slowly decays from the head downwards. The flesh slowly ebbs away until finally the person becomes a mere skeleton. Its a metaphor for when the person becomes so depressed that they finally commit suicide. For some the process is quicker, for others it goes on for years. But the end result is the same as long as the helmet is worn constantly.

So what is the root of depression? Scientists believe it is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Perhaps, but I feel thats merely a symptom not the cause. The root of what caused the chemical imbalance in my opinion is due to several factors (least in my case). When I get depressed its mostly due to several things: Reflecting on past mistakes, knowledge of society's expectations and inability to fulfill said expectations, social or spiritual needs not being met, and forseeing only more of the same mistakes being repeated and needs not being met in the future, as well as not trusting yourself to come up with a solution or other's solutions.

If you are thinking about such things, usually you're going to get depressed. How badly depends on how important those things are to you. In my case its the fact that I am pretty much a social outcast, I don't trust the system or my peers in general to look out for me, I have a need for a woman (being a man) but I know its futile because no woman (other than my mom obviously) would ever attempt to engage in a relationship with me, and knowing that all physical things are futile inevitably. For in the end, death will claim all. There is no creature or anything made in this physical realm that can escape its grasp. With that inevitability in mind, people who are depressed seek out death to either end the pain they feel, or just to simply hurry a process which was going to happen anyway.

Anyway I wrote this up trying to explain the mindset of a depressed person. Some people try to rip the helmet off with idealistic optimism but it only brings about more pain and suffering for the person depressed. If I could draw, I would probably show you what it looks like, or maybe someone here who understands that may draw it. Pictures speak louder than words ever could.

I wish I could provide solutions but those vary with the individual's circumstance.

A good analogy. Not quite the one I'd have used, but good nonetheless. I do not fear the skull anymore. It is a mask I wore for many years, until I finally set it aside. I know its corrupting influence well. Yet there are ways to remove it, and to help others remove it.

A lot of the time I feel unable to fulfill society's expectations of me too. And then I get angry at society for expecting me to do things I can't do and getting angry at me or looking down on me or punishing me when I can't do it, and I get depressed.

It reminds me of what happens when you let dogs try to discipline other dogs. It gets nasty and ugly, often the other dogs will attack and bite the dog that isn't following the pack. In a similar way humans do the same thing, either literally with physical abuse or mentally using slurs and other means.

I consider myself a cat personally and I sit on a fence high and away from such individuals.