Houseplant Meant to Ease Owner’s Depression Dies Due to Owner’s Depression

Sandra Doddle’s peace lily plant dropped its last sad, brown leaf on October 14th, 2020. Doddle says she feels an unsettling combination of mourning and shame following the loss.

“When it was beautiful and thriving I kinda over-posted pics of it on Instagram and it was like the most likes I’ve ever gotten, so, I haven’t told anyone it died yet,” Doddle says.

Doddle says walking past her peace lily on her daily trip across the room to throw her dirty clothes on her chair would always perk her up, and brought her small but meaningful moments of joy. “How can my peace lily bring me peace if it’s dead?” Doddle wonders.

It was only a couple months before that Doddle decided to take a chance on a new plant for her home. “My therapist recommended that I give myself something to care for and nurture so I brought home this cute li’l peace lily with so much hope,” Doddle explains.

She asserts that her first mistake was putting the plant in her bedroom. “Laying in bed all day got a little depressing, so around mid-May I switched to laying on my couch all day,” Doddle says. “So I just never saw it around unless I was going to bed, and it’s like, I’m not gonna wanna water it then,” she adds, “I’m tired.”

Doddle reports that Google fully equipped her with the knowledge she needed to care for the plant, but just not the gusto. “I barely take time to drink water myself,” she reasons, “It’s like, ya gotta put the oxygen mask on yourself before you assist others with theirs, ya know?”

Still, the loss saddens her. “You know, lilies are what you’re supposed to give as a gift when someone dies,” Doddle says with a sad smile, “So… what? Should I buy a lily for myself to mourn my dead lily?”

“Maybe I could try an emotional support pet next,” Doddle ponders, “Their thirst has gotta be way harder to ignore, right?”