[Panel 1: Comorbid: Making Friends with the Voices in my Head by Christine Deneweth.]

[Panel 2: A young person with short curly brown hair and a long-sleeve blue shirt playing with a toy car. Her name is Crass. There is a small dragon behind her. The text says, “It started as a puff of smoke. Whispering words in my ear only I could hear.”]

[Panel 3: Close-up of the dragon. The text says, “It spoke in tongues and had multiple voices.”]

[Panel 4: Drawing of Crass with the dragon on her shoulder looking at another person. The text says, “I was surprised to learn that no one else seemed to have one.”]

[Panel 5: Drawing of Crass struggling to carry the dragon through a school hallway. The text says, “As I grew, it grew too.”]

[Panel 6: Drawing of the dragon blowing smoke. The text says, “Not only did it speak in several voices, it leaked smoke that made things hazy. It was getting harder to do anything with this smoke constantly in my eyes.”]

[Panel 7: Drawing of Crass sadly trying to play with a two-headed dragon behind her. The texts says, “I didn’t enjoy things like I used to. The smog kept getting thicker.”]

[Panel 8: Drawing of a three-headed dragon breathing smoke. The text says, “Once I was a teen, it grew another head. Now it would prod me until I would rage and tear my room apart or sit motionless for hours.”]

[Panel 9: Drawing of the three-headed dragon crowding Crass. The text says, “My emotions were erratic or nonexistent and the voices continued to get louder.”]

[Panel 10: Drawing of Crass yelling at the dragon. The text says, “I tried my best to fight it. But I soon learned that this was a beast that could not be defeated.”]

[Panel 11: Drawing of Crass on a computer. The text says, “But this wasn’t the end for me. I did something different. I decided to learn what it was and why it was doing this.”]

[Panel 12: Drawing of Crass talking to a therapist. The text says, “After a couple of years of help, it had a name. Schizoaffective Bipolar Disorder.”]

[Panel 13: Drawing of a Crass touching one of the dragon’s heads. The text says, “Instead of fighting it, I learned how to live and cope.”]

[Panel 14: Drawing of the dragon sleeping next to a dog food dish. The text says, “Feed it good things and make sure it gets enough rest.”]

[Panel 15: Drawing of Crass breathing next to the smiling dragon. The text says, “Breath and think before I react with emotions.”]

[Panel 16: Drawing of the dragon watching Crass draw. The text says, “Make sure I get time to myself to mentally decompress and have fun.”]

[Panel 17: Sleeping dragon. The text says, “All of these things help quiet the voices.”]

[Panel 18: Drawing of all the dragon heads with a smiling Crass. The text says, “Learn to understand it until it has a name.”]

Comic made by Christine Deneweth for Everyday Feminism.