Photo taken by contributor Kyle Anderson, a man from Saskatchewan, Canada. Kyle is a health care professional in his forties who has battled depression and addiction for most of his life. He escapes by letting the camera become his mind’s eye, and hopes that each photo he takes allows others to see the world as he sees it, even for a split second.

About this photo: “I’ve always liked the powerful message behind this whimsical photo. We are all the same. Born from the same tree. But, when we self identify as having a mental illness we suddenly stand out from everyone else. We become marked. Even though the flames may have been long extinguished and everything is calm and serene, we still carry that black mark in other people’s eyes. The force of stigma makes us feel mismatched.”

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