A comic by Liz Argall
A Few Survival Resources
Liz Argall is the creator of Things Without Arms and Without Legs - A comic about creatures who are kind. Liz’s Things Without comics have helped people understand their own feelings and emotions and be able to embrace and harness the sadness we all feel but society prefers to pretend doesn’t exist.
Boot Wants You to Survive is a gentle reflection of an angry sad past that was hard to shift. Liz has also prepared some resources for those needing a little survival help.
Checkpoint (a non-profit providing mental health resources for gamers) has a great looking list of resources and helplines around the globe. It’s better to reach out for help than suffer alone. I also love how Checkpoint’s mental health guides (handy for anyone, not just gamers) come with fun monster illustrations and the writing is so down to earth and approachable. The Depression monster looks so cute and is a grumpy jerk!
Lifeline 13 11 14, is a fantastic general support line in Australia. The Creator of the Things called them once because she had a really rough day at work (police stations were involved, and she held someone’s hand while they were brave). It felt a bit silly to call, she wasn’t in massive crisis, but she reminded herself they said nothing too small and not to self-censor yourself out of accessing support.
It was nice to be able to talk through some stuff in a confidential anonymous way that respected the privacy of the person she had helped. Calling definitely pushed her comfort zone, but it was also really empowering. She went and got the help that felt best for her needs, not the oughts society tells you (especially the ‘you ought to just deal with it’).
The Australian Institute of Family Studies maintains a much larger list of help lines for specific issues and specific regions.
We Need to Talk About Mental Health talks about stuff that’s much bigger than sadness. But is a handy resource in these complex and crazy making (literally crazy making) time. I hope it helps folks navigate some of the bigger issues and have a resource to share to make certain conversations easier.
A Sad is a comic folks have found handy for talking about their emotional needs. It can be hard to feel heard sometimes.
Survive Comic transcript
Boot: When I was younger, anger and sadness kept me alive.
Love was too impossible and made feelings too intense anyway.
When I got older that embarrassed me
… and now that I’m even older still I say “you smart young boot, you stayed alive. You worked to be responsible with your anger
and you lived…
There is no shame in your sadness and anger.
No shame staying alive out of spite.
You survived.
You held on
And got us here.
And I am glad.
