AN OPEN LETTER TO DEPRESSED

 We used to be happy, we used to be understood, the world was a safe place to live, there was less harm. And although humanity today is confident, assertive,  we are miserable, lonely and depressed.  Is today's reality unkind to our well- being? Let's talk about it.

We have no privacy today. Our mind is preoccupied with money, fame and image and it isolated us from each other. Social media and its matrix sucked us into the worthless, hopeless state of mind. The law of the jungle took over. Every man for himself, anything goes, survival of the strongest. It becomes tougher to deal with every day.

You are unhappy, angry, destroyed because you are alone. You admit you are depressed, but you hesitate to seek help.Why? Because society will not accept it. Because they will label you as mentally ill. Are you with me so far?

Then depression and anxiety take over.  Like a hay fever, it flares up. If before you could somehow cope with it and move on, today you choose to disrupt lives.

The agony of being unheard, misunderstood, ignored takes over. You choose to cause pain to society, you aim for the most precious, you aim for the lives of their loved ones. Why? Because you want all of THEM to understand the pain YOU had to cope with alone, for so long.

I know how you feel. I felt that way once. I felt alone, miserable, misunderstood. My mind screamed vengeance!  Who dared to let them judge me? Who dared to label me as incompetent?  I was angry at first, then I fell into depression. But I chose to act and I chose to do it without seeking retribution. It is precisely when my creative side raised above me.  Never have I thought that depression could awaken the creativity within me and gear my attention away from hate. Never have I thought of the power of its healing force for the body and the mind.

What if I tell you that depression and anxiety are symptoms of creative side?
What if I tell you that you are feeling this way because there is an artist within you that screams to come out?

Hear me out. It's been proven that creative process helps release brain chemicals that fight depression. You see my friend, the two are interconnected. When at the time of misery gazillion thought go through your mind and the anger tightens your throat and burns your chest, make a conscious choice to sit with the feeling. Don't choose violence and pain. Instead echo your struggles through creative process. Paint, illustrate, write, express it with dance, song, a poem!
Turn the most bizarre associations into the most productively creative ideas!

Don't fill that sense of emptiness with false friends, material things, medication or drugs. IMAGINE AND CREATE it will give you a sense of purpose. Believe in yourself, believe in your creative vision and give your vision a voice. Troubled thoughts they fade with time and you become more resilient and better equipped for the future, bright and healthy future that lies ahead.

Written by Juliet Belkin

TRADING INK FOR COFFEE

Giulia Bernardelli takes spilt coffee and turns it into art. The 27-year-old Italian artist received a bachelor’s degree from the Academic of Fine Arts of Bologna, and presently works with children at a museum. Bernardelli’s work is always spontaneous. The Italian artist produces intricate paintings that look as though they've been created by spills or drippings from a spoon. Portraits, animals, and sprawling seas appear so effortlessly crafted that they look like they were just happened. She doesn't plan her work in advance and instead trusts her instincts. For more of Giulia Bernardelli's work visit @bernulia