Invalidated Faces
Filtered tears of desperation
I am not depressed, but a lack of compassion shows in every mindless grin I'm faced with.
I am used and abused; no pills can replace a life stolen, and resold for a few thrills.
I am lost and clinging to the bone, cracked and left in the streets alone
I am haunted by a past too horrific for my eyes to witness or my mind to revisit.
I am fearful of the future we are all hurtling towards, hands up, unsecured.
I am sickened by every atrocity committed, every excuse worn like armor by those with power in shameless complicity
I am disgusted by laws that allow the innocent to starve and die in the streets while the fat are allowed to dispose of any whom they wish
I am not depressed; I am a human in existential distress. I need no mask of happiness, nor chemical intervention, only for evil to be consciously confronted.
K.B. Silver
It isn't depression to look around at the state of the world and find it upsetting; to feel empathy for others is not a disease. Depression isn't crying over the loss of a loved one, a job, or the massive loss of human life we are being exposed to as if it were some movie and not real life. It is a chemical imbalance, and these real problems can't be solved by pills.
PTSD from being attacked, a soldier exposed to the evils of the world under order, or held in abusive captivity as a child, is not remedied by pills. There may be medication to alleviate some of the symptoms, like anxiety, insomnia, and some can even help suppress the flashbacks. There are no easy fixes for these violence-related mental health problems, especially when it comes to working through the trauma. You have to work through it to get over it. I have made the most progress with W.E.T. or Writing Exposure Therapy. Every poem, memoir, short story, or chapter of my book lightens my load.
About the Creator
K.B. Silver
K.B. Silver has poems published in magazine Wishbone Words, and lit journals: Sheepshead Review, New Note Poetry, Twisted Vine, Avant Appa[achia, Plants and Poetry, recordings in Stanza Cannon, and pieces in Wingless Dreamer anthologies.
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More stories from K.B. Silver and writers in Poets and other communities.
CH 20~ Party Down
Argento’s ninth (eighteenth in earth years) Birthday came and went Thursday, the thirteenth, and he’d already received his father’s gift, if you could call it that. You had to commit a fairly serious infraction to be cut off; the Arch-Baron was keeping up appearances and maintaining his own reputation as much as any sense of love or attachment to Argento with his “gift.”
By K.B. Silver Exclusive • 5 days ago
Bruce Lee and The God of War: Kuan Ti
It starts with love.. The Power to the God Of War and Wealth Walk into a Chinese restaurant (even in Oklahoma, USA), a Chinese police station, a kung fu martial arts studio or even a Chinese temple and you often see a red faced warrior holding a heavy quan-do (spear like weapon).
By WILD WAYNE : The Dragon King7 days ago in Chapters
Comments (12)
"I am not depressed; I am a human in existential distress. I need no mask of happiness, nor chemical intervention, only for evil to be consciously confronted." Literally gave an applause after reading. Amazing work! Thank you for sharing!
This one really hit home, and I suspect it will fare well in the challenge. This is my hope, KB. ❤ Congratulations on your powerful top story!💪👏🥳
This has me speechless in the most beautiful way! Thank you for writing this beauty and sharing it. Congrats on the top story 💗
“I am not depressed; I am a human in existential distress” Top notch. I expect this to do well
this reminds me of my brother. he was so strong is some ways and weak in others. GREAT story. congratulations on TS.
I cannot agree with this more. As there are many different people in the world with their options of choice, I'm sure that many would choose that 'pills route.' But I absolutely DETEST the fact that alternatives WITHOUT medication do not receive an equal level of promotion, support, and focus--like the deck is stacked for the pharmaceutical companies. And yes, the world is a mess right now. Struggling to cope with that is not a sign of weakness, PTSD, depression, and the like. It's a sign of compassion in a world that has lost so much of it...of having a moral compass...having love...awareness...a sense of what is right. Maybe if such ones were in positions occupied by the current global leaders who contributed to current status, the world would look a lot different than it does now. Just a thought... Thank you so much for writing and sharing K.B. 💙
Thank you. I’m at a place in my life where I know that pills aren’t the answer for me, but it seems like that’s the only answer that I’m getting for how I’m feeling—grief for the loss of a loved one, existential dread over the state of the world and where the world’s leaders are taking us. I’m glad to see that people understand that it’s not always the answer. Again, thank you and congrats on the Top Story.
,.,.𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒆 10 𝑷𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝑰𝒏 10 𝑫𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝑮𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒅….𝗞𝗲𝘁𝗼𝗕𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁.𝗰𝗼𝗺 ;;;;
💖💖💖
This is powerful and deeply honest. I really respect how you’ve drawn the line between natural human empathy and depression.
Good work! Thankyou!❤️
This needs to be shouted everywhere, honestly. Empathy, feeling horrible at the world unravelling, that's not depression and it's not wrong. Loved your author's note too. Great take!