Once upon a time… it had been a tough year. A whirlwind of change brought seemingly never-ending waves of stress and a loss of self. In the midst of grand transitions, a life altering diagnosis, and depression brought about through genes and circumstance, I discovered that what I knew of myself was wrong and that I needed to start over. It might sound simplistic, childish even, but fairytales and stories have immense power to heal us.
I have been far too well acquainted with darkness, with sorrow, and with self doubt. Having been to counselling, and had a brief interlude with anti-depressants (ugh!) I have since discovered an altogether more effective remedy for those mental and emotional demons.
I have always loved stories, specifically fairytales. Fiction was my first true friend, it spoke to a place inside me that I did not know even existed until many years later. Reaching your 30s and discovering you don’t know who you are because you’ve never liked yourself enough to discover the truth about all your own intricacies is sobering. It can lead a person to throw in the towel and give up. It can also lead a person to reach a place where they can no longer flee, and have no choice but to fight back.
Fairytales and children’s stories are full of characters who have been downtrodden, who have felt beat down by their circumstances and perpetually underappreciated. These characters have lived too long without knowing who they are or what they’re capable of. Fairytales give life to our deepest longings and fears through the use of tangible evils and monsters which are ultimately defeat able. Instead of intangible and invisible forces attacking us, fairytales give physical form to enemies and forces that work against us.
Here are 4 ways that fairytales/metaphors can help you conquer depression, self doubt, and more:
- Giving Form to Your Dragons: when you are feeling down, depressed or disillusioned one of the worst aspects is the feeling of helplessness, that feeling that you can’t do anything to help yourself, that the things that weigh you down are bigger and stronger than you. But imagining them as dragons, or dark forces, gives them shape. It makes them beatable.
- Seeing Beyond Your Current Situation: One of depression’s biggest dangers is its ability to make us think we are alone and unable to move beyond our current circumstances. We begin to feel isolated and lost, as if every day will be exactly like this one for the rest of our lives. Fairytales show us that there is more than our current circumstance. All the great heroes in fairytales ultimately conquer their enemies and come out valiantly on the other side.
- Having a Purpose: One of the biggest causes of hopelessness is a lack of purpose, feeling there is no meaning or reason to our existence. Everybody needs to feel they are important to somebody, and that there is a purpose to their life. Fairytales regularly show characters discovering purpose and thus finding happiness, even in dark circumstances. Characters who seek something better than themselves, who fight for something beyond their circumstances find meaning in even the mundane and are able to overcome.
- Everyone Has the Ability Be a Hero: In every great fairytale there is a hero. There is someone who slays the dragon, or the monster, who defeats the evil and rises above his situation to overcome all forces of darkness; there are no pre-requisites for this. Everyone and anyone can take on the role of hero in a fairytale. When you’re struggling with depression, self doubt, sadness or other related psychological ailments, knowing that anyone (yes even you!) has the power to be heroic, is incredibly empowering and healing.
Fairytales aren’t just those found in moral tales of old, those by Grimm or Aesop. These fairytales are indeed classics, but fairytales are everywhere. They are in our modern fiction, in television shows, films, and comics.
Fairytales are simply this: stories which take characters on a fantastical journey (through adventures and circumstances far bigger than them) to defeat dark forces or dangerous creatures and save the world from evil. Their power is in their simplicity and their ability to connect with the deep longings of our souls. For those suffering with depression or other struggles, these tales give name and form to the forces against us, thus enabling us to defeat them and come out as heroes in our own lives. Magic.
@kimberleynewey is a writer of fiction and web content. She currently writes for a matrix management company that specialises in cross cultural awareness training.