Overcoming Mental Illness

Yep, after that last post I have superheros on the brain…so it’s random silly poll time! 

Which superhero do you most wanna spend the night with? What you do is completely up to naughty-little-you ;)

Male Superheroes

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Female Superheroes

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

Have a fun kinky day :)

One of my pet peeves about suffering from bipolar/depression is the constant judgement I receive for being a depressing man. I do not view myself as a depressing man, nor do I view myself as depressed. To say I am “depressed” or “depressing” is labelling me with the illness I suffer from. It would be like labelling someone with cancer as “cancerous” or simply “cancered”. My illness does not define me, nor should it label who I am or my personality, but on so many occasions and by so many people (who could be described as ignorant) it does.

Depression is my illness, not my personality! Just as cancer is something someone has, bipolar/depression are things I have, and not am. (i.e. I have bipolar, I am not bipolar.)

Whilst writing a blog on mental illness it is difficult sometimes for people to get to know the real me, as often I am merely writing about how these illnesses have and are affecting me. In this first post of a planned series I hope to start showing people who I really am by exploring some of the idiosyncrasies and passions which make my blood bubble and my mind explode with pseudo-orgasmic delight.

Now I love art. I have done for a long time. Whilst travelling I would always make a trip to the city’s main art gallery in the first few days, and then spend time seeking out as many of the little galleries and hidden away gems that I could find. I have fond memories of Toronto, Halifax and Vancouver’s galleries - and some of the paintings & sculptures in Edinburgh and Inverness still haunt me to this day.

My favourite genre of art however is:

Faerie Art

In other words, art which depicts beings of otherworldly ethereal beauty. Faeries, imps, mermaids, pixies…anything along these lines make me go all goosebumpy with delight and I become almost intoxicated with pleasure.

My favourite artist of this ilk is Brian Froud, who some of you may know from his design work for the films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. His book “Good Faeries-Dark Faeries” is a seminal piece in this field, and perfectly encapsulates the grace, eroticism and beauty which this genre always exudes. My copy of this book however has long since gone, gifted to a woman who I loved, and still do, and hope she receives as much pleasure from it as it gave me.

These days I explore deviantART for it’s cavalcade of wonderful work from this genre. There are so many artists in the world creating inspiring pieces of fantastical realms and beings that it always makes me yearn for the ability to draw (which I unfortunately cannot). Here are a few selections from my favourites collection to show you what I mean:

The following pieces are from the artist dark777fairy, who I adore tremendously and I think it is clear as to why from her work. They exude such a divine beauty and sublime power you can hardly not be captivated by her skills as an artist:

This genre of art is not the only one I am interested in. It is merely one of many, my favourite, and I am sure over time I will share more of my favourite art with you. In order for people to remove the “depressed” or “depressing” label from my head then they need to look beyond it.

Depression is but one tiny corner of who I am…faerie art is another, and a much bigger one at that!