DAWN DRAWN

We asked individuals who have or had experienced the respective mental illness:

"Are the illustrations by the public sterotypical, inaccurate?"

Here's what they thought...

Generalised Anxiety Disorder

Worry and fear are constant and overwhelming, and can be crippling.

"There are different forms of anxiety and they are based on the different kinds of problems and insecurities in people's life. Hence, a certain anxiety a person faces may not be the same as for others as well." -- Jessica

Stereotypical. Usually patients with GAD get anxious about certain things they have problems with. This [anxiety] doesn't necessarily mean friends. Though [an issue] may make me upset and slightly uptight, it does not cause the attacks.	This is accurate for me. I cried when I was stressed with my studies. Because doing badly in it means my mum would not be happy and basically I felt I wasn't good at anything.
This is untrue, unless the person has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). But other than that, we worry more about the things that are more important to us, which can range from studies to family to friends.	Worrying is normal for people unless the worrying starts affecting your everyday life, such as sleep and activities.
[Refusal] to talk to people is because people with anxiety are afraid to face others' judgements and reactions to them. We still talk normally but may be more sensitive to some of the words people say.

Depression

Feelings of worthlessness and guilt are overwhelming, marked by recurring thoughts of suicide.

What does the question mark represent? While [slashing] is representative of what the depressed person sees visually, it may encourage others to do the same when they're depressed. I suggest replacing or having an additional painting which shows what the person feels inside ie a heart being scarred like the arm.	It is true. I have done [the same]. The trembles look unreal as I felt immobile and I didn't move. I lay on my bed with my blanket off and my eyes staring into the air blankly.
True. Crying inside all the time but showing a happy front.	Drawing people leading normal lives outside the corner would make it [more reflective of] what I feel inside my heart.
I either listen blankly without things going in [my mind] or I just walk away, with or without [an] excuse.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Fear of a threat after a traumatic incident causes extreme stress even after the danger passes.

"Overall the pictures give a general idea of how PTSD is like but should not be used as a stereotype as each case is different, with different degrees of trauma and reception from the victim. How the victim responds is very highly subjective. Although it is normal for the peers and loved ones of the victim to want to help him get over this dark time, I believe that help should not be asserted onto the victim. Instead, he should be left alone to recover and get his life back to normal. Help should only be given when the victim requests for it." -- Nicholas

Refusal to accept reality does not have to manifest in physical ways or expressed as rejection of help from others like shown in the photo. For my case, I did not outwardly express any signs of refusal to accept reality. After the accident, it felt like what happened in the past was a bad dream, a recurring nightmare that forced me to come to terms with every day. However, this inability to accept reality slowly faded with time and more importantly with closure.	This picture is accurate in depicting that phobias to certain stimuli related to the incident of trauma will develop. As my accident was a vehicular one, I sometimes get a little anxious when the vehicle I am in is going slightly faster than normal.
This picture is not applicable to me but I would believe it to be relatable to people who suffered from extremely traumatic life-changing experiences.	I'm not so much more attentive to my surroundings overall but more attentive when it comes to something related to the accident. For example, mine was a vehicular accident. Now, I am more cautious when I'm on the road, be it as the driver or passenger. I will constantly be aware of road conditions and tipping the driver when I feel a particular road condition is unsafe.

Refusal to accept reality does not have to manifest in physical ways or expressed as rejection of help from others like shown in the photo. For my case, I did not outwardly express any signs of refusal to accept reality. After the accident, it felt like what happened in the past was a bad dream, a recurring nightmare that forced me to come to terms with every day. However, this inability to accept reality slowly faded with time and more importantly with closure.

This picture is accurate in depicting that phobias to certain stimuli related to the incident of trauma will develop. As my accident was a vehicular one, I sometimes get a little anxious when the vehicle I am in is going slightly faster than normal.

This picture is not applicable to me but I would believe it to be relatable to people who suffered from extremely traumatic life-changing experiences.

I'm not so much more attentive to my surroundings overall but more attentive when it comes to something related to the accident. For example, mine was a vehicular accident. Now, I am more cautious when I'm on the road, be it as the driver or passenger. I will constantly be aware of road conditions and tipping the driver when I feel a particular road condition is unsafe.

DAWN DRAWN

Generalised Anxiety Disorder

Stereotypical. Usually patients with GAD get anxious about certain things they have problems with. This [anxiety] doesn't necessarily mean friends. Though [an issue] may make me upset and slightly uptight, it does not cause the attacks.

This is accurate for me. I cried when I was stressed with my studies. Because doing badly in it means my mum would not be happy and basically I felt I wasn't good at anything.

This is untrue, unless the person has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). But other than that, we worry more about the things that are more important to us, which can range from studies to family to friends.

Worrying is normal for people unless the worrying starts affecting your everyday life, such as sleep and activities.

[Refusal] to talk to people is because people with anxiety are afraid to face others' judgements and reactions to them. We still talk normally but may be more sensitive to some of the words people say.

Depression

It is true. I have done [the same]. The trembles look unreal as I felt immobile and I didn't move. I lay on my bed with my blanket off and my eyes staring into the air blankly.

True. Crying inside all the time but showing a happy front.

Drawing people leading normal lives outside the corner would make it [more reflective of] what I feel inside my heart.

I either listen blankly without things going in [my mind] or I just walk away, with or without [an] excuse.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

This picture is accurate in depicting that phobias to certain stimuli related to the incident of trauma will develop. As my accident was a vehicular one, I sometimes get a little anxious when the vehicle I am in is going slightly faster than normal.

This picture is not applicable to me but I would believe it to be relatable to people who suffered from extremely traumatic life-changing experiences.