Only Way Out is Through

"When someone close to you is suffering, in this case with depression and anxiety, it is instinctual to want to help them...calm their nerves, make them smile and pull them outside so their face can feel the warmth of the sun. This is especially true when you feel directly responsible for their well-being, for their every happiness. When your attempts are unsuccessful, you risk falling down into the darkness as well - their pain is your pain, their anxiety becomes yours. In this painting, I am desperately trying to climb out of the darkness that had entangled someone I love, holding onto her with every strength I have left, trying to push aside my own anxiety...knowing that there is light right above us, the world right above us and many other loved ones who are patiently waiting for us to get out - to get through. You have to go through things directly to get out to the other side."

Submitted by ​Aubrey Sanchez