What if mental illnesses were shown on the outside?
Would we still be afraid to ask for help?
Often times I’m asked what it feels like when the depression hits. Is it just sadness? Do you just want to isolate yourself and be alone? I mean yes, it is. But theres so much more. It feels like there’s a hand inside of my head that is pulling on the back of both of my eyes, slowly encasing me in myself. It makes you feel like you want to cry, but for me, no tears ever come. It’s like there’s a black hole sitting in the middle of my chest that is sucking any little bit of life that I have out of me. From the tips of my fingers to the bottom of my feet, I feel everything start to retract. And I go numb. It can happen when I’m in a room full of laughing people who I could consider my best friends. And out of no where it’ll hit me like a truck. And often times all I can do is watch as the truck approaches, caught like a deer in the headlights. I’ll start to slip. And my mind feels heavy with pressure as doubts flood in and I start to question even the most concrete parts of my life.
The text above is from a piece I wrote a few months ago trying to describe what depression, and to an extent, anxiety, feel like to me.
Now. a few months later, not only do I have words to describe what it feels like, but photos. These shots come from my project Consumed: Mental Illness Through Photography that looks to depict different mental illnesses externally instead of internally. Over the last few weeks I spent time with two models to personify the darkness I feel that consumes me on a daily basis.
I hope these photos help you represent what you fight like they did for me, and I hope those who have trouble understanding what anxiety and depression feels like, understand a little more.
See more shots below. Also expect another update on the Consumed photo series next month as I have two new ideas with two more shoots scheduled to continue to personify my interpretation of depression and anxiety. Feel free to follow the site with your email to get updates, or find us on twitter and facebook.
And always remember you are not alone.
You are loved.
PF
Want to submit to this site and share your story, art, or article? Email wemustbebroken@gmail.com
Dear Hope 
Superb! Just superb !!!
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Thank you for writing this♡
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Thank you for commenting! Feel free to share these image if you want =)
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♡♡
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Wow, what an incredible set of images and can definitely relate to the visual they portray. You’ve done an incredible job in illustrating what depression can be like, hopefully this will give people who don’t suffer an idea of just how consuming it can be.
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Thanks so much for commenting. I hope this does help people who have trouble understanding what depression and anxiety feel like. There’s so much stigma attached, along with a lack of education, that make this a difficult thing for a lot of people to talk about. Feel free to share, and be on the lookout for future images!
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