Churchill’s The Black Dog. A helpful analogy for beating depression!

I new about the ‘Black Dog’ comparison quite some time ago, even before I sunk into my deeper depressive episodes about five years ago, it was only though time and with the painful passage of hindsight that I began to truly appreciate how helpful and realistic such a comparison is for people trying to ‘beat’ depression. Please remember ‘beat’ does not mean abolish or eliminate depressive thought and experience altogether, it would be naive and remiss of this site to encourage that line of thinking (such hard headed thinking is often a function of some sort of warped, disordered or rigid thinking anyway), ‘beating’ is an active and ongoing process.

Man and dog are companions, closest friends beyond all other creatures on earth. Depression too is an intimate relationship, highly person, unique and close to the person. Depression like relationships with a dog is not normally a brief or fleeting affairs, they are normally over a long period of time, it evolves, grows and deepens. Dogs are also unpredictable and sometimes prone to bite despite years of seemingly subdued and obedient behaviour.

This video nicely encapsulates why this metaphor is so important and vital to take hold:

A dog like depression is something that can be mastered with time, patience and the right methods of control! This is very encouraging and comforting! Very practical, pragmatic and comforting advice for the ages.