This 'Awkward Yeti' Comic Perfectly Encapsulates What It Feels Like to Have Anxiety And Depression

It's often difficult to describe anxiety and depression: They're serious mental illnesses that can have emotional, psychological, and even physical symptoms. Depression and anxiety are nuanced, heavy veils that prevent sufferers from seeing clearly. They also have a tendency to sap energy and motivation, making it nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning or to focus on simple tasks.

Perhaps the worst part about having both anxiety and depression at the same time is that it’s a double whammy. One is like walking uphill through mud, making you feel weak; the other swoops in shortly after to torment you with sudden over-stimulation, hyperventilation, and irrational fears. Depression prevents you from getting things done, then anxiety arrives to the party and makes you worry incessantly about how you can’t get anything done. In short, it’s a tough walk to get through.

One of the most important things we can do to help people who suffer from mental illness is to reduce the stigma. And what better way to do that than to picture anxiety and depression in cartoons — depicting them as bumbling beings that block your view from the pretty things in life, take up all the space in your mind, and crush you with their weight.

Cartoonist Nick Seluk, the creator of the comic strip The Awkward Yeti, has created a simple yet poignant strip that shows what it’s like to live with anxiety and depression.