In the image you can see the resemblance of an individual that seems as though particles are

separating and flying off of him. This image relates to my topic of male mental health in many
ways. One way this image relates to my issue is that it shows the deterioration of one's sense of
being as their mental state deteriorates.
In this image you can see the silhouette of a person with lightning crashing inside of his head.
This lightning causes cracks in the shape of the person causing pieces to break and fall off. The
individual has a hollow expression on their face portraying their feeling of internal emptiness.
The lightning could symbolize the mental turmoil that a depressed individual goes through on a
constant basis. The cracks could symbolize the deterioration of a depressed individual's mental
state.
This image portrays a presumably young man hunched over with his hands on his head. A
storm cloud filled with words hangs over his head seeming to plague him. The words hanging
over him could symbolize what is troubling the portrayed individual and causing him mental
distress. The words represent factors that cause mental health issues and factors that cause
suicides.
In this image you can see two individuals. The female individual has a concerned expression on
her face while the male individual is holding a paper with a smile over his actual lips. The male
individual's eyes portray a look of exhaustion, discomfort, and sadness which is the polar
opposite of the emotion being portrayed by the piece of paper. This can represent the facade
many depressed people present to the world in order to trick them into thinking they are fine
when instead they are dealing with an internal mental battle.
In this image you can see the silhouette of a female with the words “I am not enough” displayed
in large letters. The large letters on her head could symbolize that the thought of not being
enough is constantly on her mind and there is no escape. This relates to my topic because a
common theme of thought that is shared by many depressed individuals is that they are not
enough or that they often fall short.
This image portrays an individual in white being haunted or tormented by the being in black. The
white individual has a sad solemn expression on his face while the figure in black has a more
sinister and malignant look on its face. The figure in black could represent all of the sadness,
sorrow, and dark thoughts that constantly plague a depressed individual. The black figure can
seem bigger than the person as if it controls them which is sometimes the case in
circumstances where severe depression is present.
In this image you can see the silhouette of a person with a string in his/her head. The sting
seems to be being pulled by two hands that do not belong to the individual. This image can
easily represent two separate and distinct ideas. One being that, in certain cases the people
around you may be the ones causing you mental distress and may be pushing your limits until,
like the string, you snap. The other idea that could be portrayed in this image is that sometimes
you need the help of others to help untangle the chaos in your mind.
The portrayed image presents a track or trail leading to the end of a tunnel that has a blaring
light streaming in. This image can also portray many things such as death or a new beginning
but I think that it relates to my topic in a different way. One way of looking at this image could be
that people with mental health don’t see a way out of their predicament, or in other words, the
light at the end of their tunnel. Another way of viewing it is that many depressed individual feel
like the only way out of their situation is suicide which they consider to be the light at the end of
their tunnel.
This image is quite vague compared to the others but what it shows is a rope with frayed ends
that is only hanging on to the other side by a single thread. This segment of rope could
represent the fragile state of mind the individuals with mental illness suffer from. All it takes is
one bad day for their sense of self and being to snap and cause them to do something drastic. It
could also represent the severed ties that often come with depression.
In this image you can see an individual with transparent skin where all but his/her brain is blue
while the brain is bright red and orange which seems to be distressed. The individual has
his/her hands on their temples seemingly in pain. This image could possibly portray the agony
that individuals with mental illness may feel on a constant basis.
This image depicts a cartoon character having been stabbed in the back several times. This
image shows the societal stigma shown towards males and showing pain or weakness. They
may be going through a lot of mental or physical pain but society has branded into the mind of
every male that they are week if they show emotion, weakness, or vulnerability.
This image portrays a man sitting on a fork in some train tracks. The man looks to be
contemplating something; maybe suicide, maybe something else. Depression often leaves
people feeling like they only have two option; live on and suffer or commit suicide to end the
pain. The problem with the latter of the two options is that it affects others greatly.
This image is much more gruesome than the others but it is supposed to be more impactful. The
image depicts blood running down a drain. In the context of suicide this is a terrible and sad
situation where someoen is struggling enough in life to take their own life in their hands and end
it all. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
 Goals and Choices
My overall end goal that i would like to accomplish with my project is to make males feel
more comfortable having and expressing their feelings so that they can get help. People need to
realize that men are still just humans filled with emotions but throughout the years many men
have been taught to suppress bottle up and even hide their emotions from others. The practice
of bottling up one's emotions is toxic to the mental health of an individual and will eat away at
the conscience. Suppressed emotions and feelings are dangerous as well. They are dangerous
to others besides the individual because there is indeed a connection (no matter how small)
between violent crimes/actions and people with mental health issues.
The creation of this project has helped me in many ways. It has helped expand my mind
and intelligence to reach out and grasp otherwise unknown information. This project has helped
me feel more compassionate towards others due to the fact that so many are in mental anguish
and agony and the smallest little thing can push them over the edge. The memoir has helped
me take a step back and look at the situation that I experienced from a logical standpoint so that
I can evaluate the information and use my literary skills to turn it into an intriguing recollection of
events for the reader to enjoy.
One of the choices I have made regarding this project is that of making all people feel
included. While on one hand it may seem that I am only focusing on the recognition of mental
health in males I am really intrigued and supportive of all people getting the treatment and help
they need so they can be mentally healthy and stable. I am only focussing on males because it
seems like they get the least recognition and help in the field of mental health.
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