depression comix

Story/Art © 2017 Clay

263 "If you're wrong..."

Published 21 Comments

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English
PANEL 1:
— HEY! Did you tell my partner that her illness probably isn’t REAL?
— Well, she …
PANEL 2:
— You could be RIGHT. If she’s faking it, she’ll get bored and move on. And as for you, the quality of your treatment won’t change. Nothing bad happens to you.
PANEL 3:
— … but if you’re WRONG and your bullying dissuades her from getting help and she ends up DEAD because of it …
PANEL 4:
— … if you think you’re championing depression by closing the door on people instead of opening it … you’re just as much an obstacle as anything ELSE.

Comments

  6. This is why I actually dislike when people go around telling other people that they’re “romanticizing/glamorizing” a mental disorder when the other person has expressed that they are suffering. Sometime I feel that there’s a ridiculous amount of infighting in the mental health community because some people are telling others that there is a particular way you have to suffer before being taken seriously (which is harmful, because it can sometimes cause a person to believe their behavior needs to escalate so they can “prove” they need help). It is good to talk about better ways to cope (self-care is important!), but not to shit on people you don’t think are coping with a mental disorder the way you think someone with that mental disorder should/does cope. It also sometimes craps on people who are getting the early onset of a mental disorder, when it’s most easily treatable. A good example is eating disorders, going from body image issues/mild EDNOS to anorexia & bulimia, when doctors/therapist tell you to “come back when you’re sicker”, so you come back like “I’M DYING! NOW CAN I GET TREATMENT?!” Leading on with this idea in mind, when people who have/claim to have a mental disorder but say they aren’t suffering, or they are but it’s “worth it” that is romanticizing. An example like my other is Pro-Anas. Even taking this though doesn’t mean a person doesn’t have a disorder even if they’re romanticizing it. But people with/without mental disorders should be called out for romanticizing, but not in a way that denies their struggle altogether, and is dehumanizing. With some people & some disorders, it can take a long time for someone to drop the denial of the harm (or amount thereof) the disorder is inflicting on their lives. I’ll admit, I’ve “called someone out” in a way that did more harm than good too, but I’m trying to recognize when I’m doing it & what needs to be said instead. We need to be smart & sensitive on how we approach these things, or like cutter girl’s girlfriend said, it could have disastrous consequences. Sorry for the rant 😛

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  7. So on that note, with the belief that romanticizing a mental disorder is saying that (a) mental disorder(s) does not have a negative impact on people (or this person/group of people), or that it does, but the “benefits of said disorder(s) are worth it” (again to any set number of people), cutter girl isn’t even romanticizing depression!

    Reply

  10. Knowing that mental illness is “all in your head” doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. It just makes it more difficult to convince people that it’s real.

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    • I like to hit people who use that argument with a certain line from Harry Potter. Shuts them right up in my experience.

      “Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

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  11. I love the unspoken implication of her partner’s words in the third panel.

    “If it turns out you’re right and my partner is fine, then nothing bad will happen to you. But if something DOES happen to her because of your words, I WILL END YOU.”

    Reply

      • I agree with Murphychacho, you chose the better ending. And I freaking love this character and the relationship you depict with her depressed partner. You’ve shown her frustrated with the many manifestations of her partner’s illness, but she hangs in there. It’s encouraging.

        Reply

  15. One of the propositions I learned to loathe from legal work is “secondary gain” – the idea that people have exaggerated their conditions to gain attention, increase their emotional/monitary support, get relief from work, etc. and thus should be punished for faking. Mostly, it’s depression from chronic pain or disability, and the victims actually are in desperate need of what they’re asking for, as well as depression treatment. It’s so rarely a conscious process of faking or cheating, but the social assumption is that this is self-dramatization a/k/a moral failing.

    Reply

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