The pretty face of depression by @jhellenmjgr

Hi @photographylovers community, this is my first post in this community and makes me very happy 'Cause I'm a photographer myself. Well, last September, I did the sixth edition of an event of mine called "the pink experience", they are photo shoots for brands.

This beautiful redhead is the sister of my photographer colleague. He told me that he was worried about his sister who was extremely depressed and under medication because she came to Venezuela for a visit and got caught by the coronavirus and her boyfriend stayed in Mexico.

I wrote to her and invited her as a model for this event with the full intention of clearing her mind and distracting her for a day. To my great relief, she was very enthusiastic and painted her hair, did her nails, made herself up and arrived like a queen.

I share this anecdote with you because this is usually the face of depression: a person with a smile.

We should not confuse this. Fortunately this beautiful girl opened up to me and told me her sadness, we shared psychiatrist numbers, I hugged her and we are in contact to this day.

She is now back in Mexico but we still keep in touch with each other. I feel a great relief, because I already lived the experience of having a friend who suffered from depression and smiled all day long and one day she committed suicide. Depression should be taken very, very seriously, never say to someone who is depressed "oh but you are young, beautiful, you have everything", we should not downplay the importance but on the contrary be empathetic and investigate how to help, however an excellent start, is a good hug and a you are not alone, I am with you.