Blogging from A to Z Challenge – B is for Black Dog

April 2, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in A-Z Blogging Challenge 2015, Experiences, Mental Health | 13 Comments
Tags: depression

Black Dog

Black dog – a ghost in British legend relating to death.

The black dog is a symbol for depression, widely known in medical circles and among those with depression. I have suffered from it since I was a youngster, and still do. However, I am more able now to cope with its debilitating symptoms, partly through medication, and partly by knowing that I can get through it because I have done so for the last 60+ years.

This is a poem I wrote whilst in the throes of a depression.

Black dog brings me down;

Black dog lays me low.

How can I get away?

Where, oh where can I go?

Black dog stalks me,

Tracks me, follows me.

Wherever I hide

He always will find me.

Black dog is cunning,

Hiding and waiting.

However I try

I cannot evade him.

I want to catch him,

Chain him and hold him;

Keep him imprisoned,

So I can escape him.

Black dog brings me down;

Black dog lays me low.

How can I get away?

Where, oh where can I go?

Black dog he deceives.

He makes me believe

I’ve left him behind –

But there is no reprieve.

Black dog’s tenacious,

Stubborn and tireless.

I can’t outrun him

His stamina’s matchless.

I want to be free,

bright future to see;

and to know for sure

that he cannot find me.

Black dog brings me down;

Black dog lays me low.

How can I get away?

Where, oh where can I go?

If you suffer from depression, there is help. In Australia, the Black Dog Institute can help. So can Beyond Blue.

(c) Linda Visman