I had a black dog
Doing anything or going anywhere with Black Dog required superhuman strength.
Activities that usually brought me pleasure suddenly ceased to.
He chewed up my memory and my ability to concentrate.
Black Dog could make me irratable and difficult to be around.
As the years went by, Black Dog got bigger and he started hanging around all the time.
I would say THAT'S IT!!! and attack him with whatever I though might send him running.
But more often than not he would come out on top. Going down became easier than getting up again.
Extracts from I HAD A BLACK DOG copyright Matthew Johnstone 2006
Winston Churchill suffered from depression, on and off, throughout his life (yet still led the country through the Second World War). He called his depression a 'Black Dog' that followed him around. The following illustrations come from a brilliant book called I HAD A BLACK DOG written by Matthew Johnstone who also suffered from depression. It is published by Constable & Robinson at £6.99, isbn 978 1 84529 3147, and is available at bookshops and websites such as Amazon . Matthew and his publishers kindly allowed us to use the illustrations for this website. If you see yourself here, we would strongly recommend getting hold of this book and seeing all the other illustrations that show not only how depression can affect your life but also give you some good ideas to get on top of your Black Dog.
