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Dementors have haunted me ever since I read The Prisoner of Azkaban way back in 1999. I was a Pre-Teen who was pretty much unaware of the depression that was just around the corner, in a way this book prepared me for what was to come, and after multiple reads, it became my go-to reference when explaining my depression.
First off let's give a brief outline of Dementors, these magical wraith-like creatures can generally be found guarding Azkaban Prison, sucking the happiness, hope, and peace out of everyone around them. If you have had a horrible life marked by loss and abuse (just like Harry) you are much more affected by them than someone who has not, as they also cause depression and despair in there victims.
They can sense and taste fear, but thankfully they can't seem to tell people of the same build from each other, and they are able to communicate with members of the ministry. Is it just me that thinks its weird they can talk? But the weirdest thing about them is they grow from decay.
Dementors are Depression
Depression is the one mental illness that always floors me, I deal with Anxiety for the majority of the time, and for me I feel everything and nothing. Dementors embody death, pain, loss, and if you leave them unchecked they will turn you into a shell of your former self.
You will essentially become them, just as if Depression is left unchecked it will eventually take your life, it is a horrible thought to have but it doesn't make it any less true. Today we skirt over it as no one seems to know what to say, but JK was teaching us about depression almost 20 years ago.
Dementors freeze everything around them, turning the air into ice as they glide towards there victims, covered in tattered cloaks but what little of the creature we can can see symbolises death. They look like rotten corpses which have started to decay long ago, as depression makes us question our own mortality, the Dementors embody death and decay.
The Dementors kiss sucks your soul out of your body as you survive a shell of your former self, just existing but not living, which is also a symptom of depression for some people. Now I understand not everyone becomes disassociated from themselves, but I do, grief and abuse made me a shell of myself as I just existed.
For most of my adult life this has plagued me, but in those real times of despair, I wasn't really here. I felt nothing, the weight grew as I stayed still, and the world passed by without me. It was as if I'd suffered my own Dementors kiss, not really existing, and yet still here.
I'm not saying that it was a perfect portrayal as one happy thought cannot slay depression, I can feel extreme happiness and still be depressed as it doesn't work that way, but as the black cloud that hangs over us sucking out our life force, Dementors are pretty spot on.
Do you think Dementors are an almost perfect portrayal of depression in a magical world? Or do you think they don't go far enough in educating the world about depression? Also comment below with any important information that you think I missed.
EXPECTO PATRONUM...
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