I'm a doctor and an artist working in the UK. I'm planning on a project in the field of mental health and would like some help from you.

Winston Churchill famously described his depression as a "black dog" that followed him around through life. If you have or have had a mental illness then I'm interested in any other metaphors or descriptive, visual feelings you may have about it. These don't have to necessarily be so particular or well formed as the black dog, I've previously seen patients in the course of my work who would describe their episodes of depression as a dense fog descending over their life or people who saw themselves in schizophrenic episodes as though they were characters on television with viewers commentating on their actions. I'm not looking for anything made up purely for this post, and reality is more important than exaggerated imagery here.

The aim of getting these views is to produce some art based upon them, partly because I think this will be interesting work and partly to enable a better understanding of how people with mental illness feel. The medium will be dependent on the content but I have mainly worked in oils, ink and copper plate etching in the past.

For those descriptions that I end up using the final work would be displayed alongside the original description, which would be anonymised. If you would like to see any pieces that result from your contribution that can be arranged and I'll keep you updated if they ever go on display. If the piece is two dimensional and of a reasonable size for a scanner I would be happy to send you a copy.

Here then are the questions I'd like you to answer and message to me. You can answer in the comments if you feel comfortable but a private message might allow a bit more openness.

1). What (if any) mental illness have you been diagnosed with? 2). In visual or metaphoric terms how does this illness make you feel? How do you feel about this illness? 3). Has this visualisation helped you deal with your illness at all, or has it hindered you? And how?

Any other information you feel might be pertinent would also be gratefully received, but I'm not looking for the full history of your illness or any personal information. Include an email address if you would like to be kept updated as I mentioned above. I will also not be giving out any medical advice, as this is not an appropriate forum. If the issues raised by this are troubling you I suggest you visit your general practitioner, or your psychiatrist if you have one.

Thanks for your time.