Capturing a snapshot of depression doesn't necessarily equate to mournful pictures of tears or sadness. Depression is, after all, a dark and complex creature that manifests itself in different ways in different people who suffer from it.
Look at the picture below for example. You might see a girl going through the same normal routine that most of us go through on a regular basis, but the truth is that the girl in the picture - Katelyn Marie Todd - isn't going through a normal routine at all. She's doing her best to overcome the depression that's drained her of so much energy that she hadn't even been able to brush her hair for the last four weeks.
"It was matted and twisted together," she wrote on Facebook recently. "It snapped and tore with every stroke. I cried while I washed and conditioned it, because I forgot how it felt to run my fingers through it. I brushed my teeth, too, for the first time in a week. My gums bled. My water ran red. I cried over that, as well." The picture soon went viral after she uploaded it to Facebook, and so far it's been liked more than 165k times and shared by over 235k people, many of whom praised her for sharing her experience.
"Please be easy on your friends and family that have trouble getting up the energy to clean, hang out, or take care of themselves," she wrote. "And please, please take them seriously if they talk to you about it. We're trying. I swear we're trying. See? I brushed my hair today."
More info: Facebook
Katelyn Marie Todd recently uploaded this picture to Facebook to highlight the struggles of depression
"I brushed my hair today," she wrote. "For the first time in 4 weeks"
"Depression isn't beautiful. Depression is bad hygiene, dirty dishes, and a sore body from sleeping too much"
"Please be easy on your friends and family that have trouble getting up the energy to clean or hang out"
Her post has since been liked by more than 165k people and shared over 235k times
People were quick to voice their support, and many could relate to Katelyn's experiences
