Why is depression sometimes referred to as 'The Black Dog'?

In Irish culture, there's a saying that describes someone who has it easy: tá saol an mhadaidh bháin agat, or 'the life of the white dog.' However, in English, the metaphor of the black dog is often used to represent depression. From world leaders to lexicographers, many have used this phrase—so where does it originate? Why is the dog black?

Black Dogs in Myth and Folklore

To understand the connection between black dogs and depression, it's important to explore their place in myth and folklore.

In Greek mythology, Cerberus is often depicted as a black, three-headed demon dog guarding the house of Hades, preventing the dead from escaping—and consuming anyone who dares to try.

In 16th-century Britain, the black dog appeared frequently, albeit in various forms but with similar motives. The Black Shuck, for instance, was said to prowl the coastlines of Suffolk and East Anglia, hunting for human victims. According to legend, it embarked on a deadly spree in two churches during a storm in 1577.

Considering these stories, it’s clear how the black dog—a hellish guardian and churchyard killer—could evolve from myth and legend into a symbol trailing behind those grappling with depression (which itself can feel like a personal hell).

Historical Depictions of The Black Dog

Some sources claim that the black dog of depression originated nearly 2000 years ago in ancient Rome, with the poet Horace (also known as Quintus Horatius Flaccus), the son of a former enslaved man and a close associate of Emperor Augustus. Horace was well aware of the importance of living in the moment, famously coining the phrase carpe diem (“seize the day”) in his work Odes.

Horace is also credited with more than one famous saying. In his 1863 translation, John Conington renders a passage from Satires where Horace writes, 'No company’s more hateful than your own… the black dog follows you, and hangs close on your flying skirts with hungry fangs.'

Modern scholars, however, suggest that the Latin phrase Horace originally used translates more closely to 'dark companion' [PDF], and that Conington's translation may have misrepresented the meaning. This implies that the black dog was already a familiar metaphor in his native England.

A socialite and lexicographer may be credited with introducing the black dog metaphor. Samuel Johnson, often mistakenly thought to be the creator of the first English dictionary in 1755, is also sometimes credited with popularizing the black dog in English. However, it was actually his friend, author and diarist Hester Thrale, who first mentioned the black dog in her letters to Johnson.

The Oxford English Dictionary’s earliest reference comes from one of Thrale’s diary entries dated 1790, though she had been using the term with Johnson much earlier. In a 1776 letter, she wrote, 'Mr. Thrale, thank God, is very comfortably set up again. The last hard gale blew him almost down though… but he scorns the black dog now: he will swing him round and round.'

The black dog made frequent appearances in their letters. In one exchange, Johnson tells Thrale that he 'hopes always to resist' the black dog and prays that a mutual friend 'will soon shake off the black dog, and come home light as a feather.'

Few individuals are more closely linked to the black dog than Winston Churchill, who battled depression long before he became Britain’s prime minister and confronted the Nazi regime.

In a 1911 letter to his wife, Clementine, Churchill expressed hope that a German doctor could 'be useful to me' if 'my black dog returns,' noting that, at the time, the black dog was 'quite away from me now.'

While Churchill’s name is often tied to the black dog, some argue that the phrase was simply 'an expression of Victorian nannies to connote bad moods,' rather than a formal self-diagnosis of mental health. Churchill’s daughter, Lady Mary Soames, seemed to agree with this view, responding to questions about her father’s black dog with, 'I think the psychiatrists have made rather a big meal of that!'

It’s evident that Churchill didn’t use the black dog to describe a positive mental state. Rather, the black dog that trailed him represented periods of intense sorrow that shadowed him throughout life.

Other Metaphors for Depression

Throughout history, there have been many vivid metaphors for depression—and some of them even involved different animals.

For example, author Ernest Hemingway used wild donkeys to symbolize his depressive moods. In 1945, he wrote, 'Certainly have the Black Ass today. Miss Mary so much it makes me sick... So am being black-assed and temperamental.' Green’s Dictionary of Slang defines black ass as 'a state of depression or disgust.'

Meanwhile, Theodore Roosevelt took a different route with his metaphor. Roosevelt endured a series of personal losses before becoming president, including the tragic deaths of his mother and his first wife (who died of kidney failure just a day after giving birth to their daughter) on Valentine’s Day 1884.

Roosevelt managed his sorrow by immersing himself in work and ranching in the Dakota Territory. While Horace’s black dog clung to his skirts and Thrale’s dog 'swung round and round,' the 26th president of the United States—perhaps influenced by his cowboy lifestyle—declared that 'black care never sits behind a rider whose pace is fast enough.' It seems that hobbies and horses were enough to leave the black dog in the dust.

Modern Usage of The Black Dog

The World Health Organization estimates that around 5 percent of the adult population worldwide struggles with depression. While the black dog remains a prevalent metaphor, it has evolved into a symbol for raising awareness about mental health.

In 2015, the UK mental health charity SANE enlisted a number of celebrities to lead its Black Dog campaign, which sought, as The Guardian put it, to 'defeat depression.' As part of the campaign, SANE commissioned black dog statues, the first of which was named Horace. 'Dogs, like mental health conditions, can be tamed,' SANE’s website stated.

More recently, cultural icon Taylor Swift included a track titled 'The Black Dog' on her latest album. Swifties speculated it could be about depression following a breakup, while others pointed out that the black dog could symbolize death. However, it turns out that 'The Black Dog' refers to a pub in London. Thanks to an influx of informed Swifties flocking to the pub, the owners are likely living the life of the white dog—at least for now.