Depressed is painful to watch.
Written by and starring Nadia Osman as an all-too-relatable victim of hopelessness, each of the six installments in this series are more than funny — they’re real and affecting. Depressed achieves a tone few digital contributions have in its diligent exploration of a certain kind of suffering. This isn’t the usual “FML†ennui that sours the fruits of creators who are giddily welcoming existential crises. No, Osman’s work seems to be born out of a true experience with acute mental turbulence.
I recognize it. I’ve struggled with clinical depression all my life.
The commentaries on how diet and exercise can change everything (or so one hopes), the sometimes clinging attachment to a therapist who doubles as a safety blanket in a world that seems much more terrifying than it is, the inability to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, or with sharing the roots of your anxiety — it’s all here, in this series, and it’s all there … in real-life mental torment.
Helmed by director Greg Smith and shot by Ryan Moulton with an appropriately no-frills approach, the below episodes present various dimensions of the depressed brain. This isn’t that bizarre brand of circumstantial bummers branded as mental illness, a kind of transient anxiety that festers into a shitty week or month. This is a battle with depression: always worth waging, but here to stay.
This is bittersweet truth.
“Good Day / Bad Dayâ€
“Quick Fixesâ€
“Apologyâ€
“Speed Therapyâ€
“Distractionsâ€
“Honestyâ€
None of us are alone in our feelings, and we should feel empowered to share them.
In crisis? The number for the Suicide Prevention Hotline in the U.S. is 1-800-273-8255, or you can visit the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
Luke is executive producer at Big Breakfast and a watcher of many web videos. Send him yours @LKellyClyne.