When J.K. Rowling created the Dementors that haunt Harry Potter, she reportedly based them on her experience of depression. In their presence, all the joy, warmth and happiness feels like it’s being sucked out of the air, though the real terror lies in their ‘kiss’, which drags out one’s soul (though maybe she’s trying to ward her kids off dating there).
If you haven’t had depression the Dementors probably washed over you as generically evil creatures, particularly with their hooded cloaks, rotting hands, and general hovering around. But to those in the know, the Dementors are clearly Depression. And they affect every witch, wizard and muggle in a 100 metre radius.
It’s no coincidence that they are a portmanteau of dement and tormentor. If you want to understand what depression feels like, these gravity-challenged entities hit the mark: “If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself… soulless and evil. You’ll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life.” They then “freeze your insides”. And to top it off: “they don’t need walls” to keep their prisoners, their prisoners become “trapped inside their own heads”.
Despite the multitude of campaigns around telling us the signs of depression, it’s often not easy to recognise those signs in yourself and pop down to your GP. People who fall under depression might very well need help to get help. Unfortunately, just like you wouldn’t want to be around a Dementor, it is tough being around their prisoners. While depression can affect people differently, there are a few possible, and not often talked about, by-products which can make it even harder.
Top Comments
It is great to have a more comprehensive article on depression. Too often people think it is just about feeling sad and not being able to get out of bed when the symptoms are more than that. It would've been good to have more ideas for the partner of the person with depression, on how to cope with it. Sometimes you need more than patience.
Thank you thank you thank you. This is SO timely. My partner has been going through a serious bout over the past couple of weeks and it's been so exhausting. I have bought all the Christmas presents for both families, bought food, cooked, packed, made our travel plans, cleaned out flat, washed our clothes all on my own. I've felt isolate and lonely at a time whenall my friends are enjoying themselves. I have blamed him for not helping more, tried to reason with him and gotten angry. He's finally on medication and we're hoping to see some benefits soon. Just thank you - your article explained everything we've been feeling so well.