Ghosts

Years ago, I went through a depressive episode that took a lot of time and effort to get out of. It was tough, but I did get out of it, and for years, life was normal. Until one day, I found myself slipping back into old habits of isolation and punishment and, suddenly, it just wasn’t... It was in this context that ‘Ghosts’ was made. As a reflection on the accumulation of the self-sabotaging coping mechanisms that haunt us.

I tend to use autobiographical comics as a form of journaling to work through certain emotions or thoughts I may have. It helps give form to abstract emotions or experiences, and by doing so, I’m able to better understand and process them. The act of creating something concrete also feels proactive, like I’m working towards a solution. ‘Ghosts’ is about isolation in the sense that feeling isolated can lead to depression, but also the ways in which we continue to actively perpetuate that isolation once depressed. Feeling shitty and so cutting yourself off from those around you, but this just leads to a downwards spiral of self-sabotage. Self-sabotage until you have not only isolated yourself from others, but from yourself as well.