HADES

Spirited Away (2001)

2 Siblings One Disease

My little brother and I have both, at different times and for different breakdowns, been diagnosed with manic depression.

There are many different types of manic depression, and like most of the mental health diagnoses you hear about often/are sensationalized by the media, the crossover for diagnostics can be huge.

I went home to visit my mom briefly last week, and out of the blue, she turns to me and asks, “Do you think your brother has autism?”

And I felt myself dissociate almost instantly, because I’d wondered the same thing about myself many times, and here my mother was, casually asking the same thing of my brother.

My brother’s been in and out of serious trouble his whole life - terrible movie about mental health type trouble - like drugs, gang activity, shoot-outs, the law. I, on the other hand, hold a high-level management job at just 24. Though my outbursts are certainly significant, they occur in containment. There’s only two and a half years between us, but at times that feels like an ocean.

He’s moved across the country now, and we hardly talk. And I can’t help but be jealous. For me, being “bipolar” is a trap both mentally and physically; I’m tethered to my disease in my mind and tethered to the burden of my Normal Face in the real world, both of which have kept me from doing what I want in my life.

In other ways, I’m grateful that I was able to keep my disease from multiplying into thousands of demons, millions of extra pounds to carry around as his did. 

I finished with my set of Dragonball motivational characters! I’ll be making these into acrylic keychain charms and stickers for RTX. Once I have enough merch made I’ll open an Etsy for all of it too =D

I’ve been stuck in a rut lately but things got better as soon as I went back to my favorite sketchbook and paint from vintage magazine scans from @myvintagevogue and @barbiescanner , flipping through these retro pictures always fuel my inspiration, I recommend checking these out! . Materials: Watercolors from Winsor and Newton & @le.pigmentarium, Acryla Gouache, Pentel Brush Sign in Strathmore Mixed Media Sketchbook 500 Series