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Toby Allen created these representations of the illnesses in an attempt to “give these intangible mental illnesses some substance and make them appear more manageable as physical entities.” I feel really connected to these works. For people who suffer from mental illnesses, these monsters are very real, they cause a lot of pain and cannot be simply willed away. People who do not have first hand experience with mental illnesses often have a hard time imagining what it would be like to have to fight these monsters when the fight is not physical.
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http://zestydoesthings.tumblr.com/post/61131470551/the-real-monsters-are-reborn-upon-getting-so
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Click to read Bringing Mental Illness to Life as “Real Monsters” – an interview of Toby Allen by NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness)
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