Monday, March 12, 2018

Grey and Dismal Green

Steve Spicer, a friend of mine - I hope I can call him that although we've never met - has written, illustrated and published a book called Grey and Dismal Green.

I'll quote from the cover: What it means to be a person who is depressed, anxious, or self-harming, and how you can care for them.

The title comes from the colours they paint institutions.

It tells a personal story of how depression and anxiety can take hold and dominate a life. I say personal; it's incredibly personal and must have been so hard to retell and relive. Indeed the story continues today. As I said in my previous post I only suffer mildly; this sort of suffering must be almost unbearable and proved to be on occasions when suicide was attempted.

And it must be horrendous to care for a person you love and see that person in mental agony and torment.

The majority of the book tells the sufferer's story in her own words and in amazing pictures but it also offers help, suggestions based on experience, on what to do if someone has a panic attack, is suicidal or self-harming.

I am so moved by it and am convinced it could be really helpful to people either suffering or caring for a sufferer.

It will be available from Amazon soon; in the meantime if you're interested and would like to buy a copy contact me.

4 comments:

PipeTobacco said...

I do appreciate you talking about this book! Dark emotions can be so overwhelming and consuming of time and energy.

PipeTobacco

Pam said...

Depression can take hold and if you are not strong enough to ward it off it can drag you way down. Everyone that has ever suffered depression knows how bad things get! More people need to talk about this in order to help others.

Anne in Oxfordshire said...

This was me 2011 and 2016 , Depression took a grip of me , to the very lowest depths yep suicidal , I did go to my doctors, I did share and I got all the help I could. But it was there. I vanished off the face of the earth , ALL social media was non existent. My poor friends on Facebook were so worried but I couldn't even go on the computer , nor answer my phone. And I lived on my own (not the first time). The only place I could go was the doctors. My friends around me , phoned , knocked on the door , I didn't answer , I didn't want them to see me like I was. But today I am fine. I am a manageress of a guest house in Oxford. You can overcome it , I believe it will always be there , but now I can tell the signs of anxiety and lowness. I do hope you friend is Ok Liz ..xx

jabblog said...

It is encouraging to see and hear so much about mental health issues and can only be helpful to those affected - the sufferers and their close circles.