You may laugh, and you may cry. But hopefully you'll feel a little less alone in your struggles after reading these depression quotes.
36 Depression Quotes That Capture Exactly What You’re Feeling
1. Depression can feel like losing a sense
“Depression is being colorblind and constantly told how colorful the world is.” —Atticus poetry
2. Sometimes it’s numbness, not sadness
“People who have never dealt with depression think it’s just being sad or being in a bad mood. That’s not what depression is for me; it’s falling into a state of grayness and numbness.” —Dan Reynolds, Imagine Dragons
3. If you can’t believe yourself, believe your loved ones
“Listen to the people who love you. Believe that they are worth living for even when you don’t believe it. Seek out the memories depression takes away and project them into the future. Be brave; be strong; take your pills. Exercise because it’s good for you even if every step weighs a thousand pounds. Eat when food itself disgusts you. Reason with yourself when you have lost your reason.” ―Andrew Solomon
4. The worst thing to lose is yourself
“Depression is feeling like you’ve lost something but having no clue when or where you last had it. Then one day you realize what you lost is yourself.” —Unknown
5. There’s nothing glamorous about it
“Depression is melancholy minus its charms.” ―Susan Sontag
6. Never forget: You are a survivor
“In my opinion, living with manic depression takes a tremendous amount of balls. Not unlike a tour of Afghanistan (though the bombs and bullets, in this case, come from the inside). At times, being bipolar can be an all-consuming challenge, requiring a lot of stamina and even more courage, so if you’re living with this illness and functioning at all, it’s something to be proud of, not ashamed of. They should issue medals along with the steady stream of medication.” ―Carrie Fisher, Wishful Drinking
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7. It becomes a way of moving through the world
“The hardest thing about depression is that it is addictive. It begins to feel uncomfortable not to be depressed. You feel guilty for feeling happy.” ―Pete Wentz
Feeling guilty makes depression that much harder. Here’s how to stop feeling guilty all the time.
8. Drop the fake smile
“Depression is your body saying, ‘I don’t want to be this character anymore. It’s too much for me.’ You should think of the word ‘depressed’ as ‘deep rest.’ Your body needs to be depressed. It needs deep rest from the character that you’ve been trying to play.” —Jim Carrey
Presenting a false happy face is a type of emotional labor. This can be exhausting and can hurt your health.
9. Even Olympians get depressed
“After every Olympics I think I fell into a major state of depression, and after 2012 that was probably the hardest fall for me. I didn’t want to be in the sport anymore. I didn’t want to be alive anymore. I think people actually finally understand [depression is] real. People are talking about it and I think this is the only way that it can change.” —Michael Phelps
Find out how 16 people just like you deal with their depression.
10. Depression isolates you from loved ones
“A big part of depression is feeling really lonely, even if you’re in a room full of a million people.” —Lilly Singh
Try these 50 science-backed tips to not feel lonely.
11. Don’t tell people how to feel
“Whenever someone tells me to ‘Just be happy,’ I want to yell, ‘Oh, hey, depression’s gone! Why didn’t I think of that?’ But usually I just roll my eyes instead.” —Anonymous
This is just one of many things never to say to a person with depression.
12. Repeat after me: Depression is not the same as sadness
“It’s so difficult to describe depression to someone who’s never been there, because it’s not sadness. I know sadness. Sadness is to cry and to feel. But it’s that cold absence of feeling—that really hollowed-out feeling.” —J.K. Rowling
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13. Sometimes you just feel…nothing
“What they don’t tell you about depression is that sometimes it feels a lot less like sadness and a lot more like the emotional equivalent of watching paint dry.” —Alexis, Tumblr
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14. Depression can almost feel like a comfort at times
“I was so scared to give up depression, fearing that somehow the worst part of me was actually all of me. ” —Elizabeth Wurtzel, author
15. It takes a toll on a person to fake being happy
“The only thing more exhausting than being depressed is pretending that you’re not.” —Anonymous, Twitter
Sound like someone you know? Try these 12 ways to help someone who’s depressed.
16. Is depression a way to deal with the world?
“Sometimes I just think depression’s one way of coping with the world. Like, some people get drunk, some people do drugs, some people get depressed. Because there’s so much stuff out there that you have to do something to deal with it.” —Ned Vizzini, author
17. People with depression may love harder than others
“The broken will always be able to love harder than most because once you’ve been in the dark, you learn to appreciate everything that shines.” —Anonymous, Twitter.
18. You can’t just shake off depression
“In addition to my other numerous acquaintances, I have one more intimate confidant… My depression is the most faithful mistress I have known—no wonder, then, that I return the love.” —Søren Kierkegaard, philosopher
19. Do you have depression or do you need a change?
“Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by a**holes.” —@Debihope, Twitter
20. Depression is pervasive
“Our Generation has had no Great war, no Great Depression. Our war is spiritual. Our depression is our lives.” —Chuck Palahniuk, writer
21. If you can’t survive tomorrow, just survive today
“That’s the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it’s impossible to ever see the end. The fog is like a cage without a key.” —Elizabeth Wurtzel, author
22. Don’t compare yourself to others
“My mental health problems are real and they are valid. I will not judge myself for the bad days when I can barely get out of bed. I will not make myself feel worse because someone else appears to be handling their mental illness better than I am handling mine. Recovery is not a competition.” —Matt Joseph Diaz, Tumblr
Not sure how to start recovering? Try these science-backed ways to help depression.
23. Depression can feel like drowning
“I am in that temper that if I were under water I would scarcely kick to come to the top.” —John Keats, poet
24. It might be annoying, but exercise can help
“To those struggling with anxiety, OCD, depression: I know it’s mad annoying when people tell you to exercise, and it took me about 16 medicated years to listen. I’m glad I did. It ain’t about the ass, it’s about the brain.” —Lena Dunham, American actress
What you do counts: Are you doing any of these daily habits that raise your risk for depression?
25. Don’t ask people why they’re depressed
“If you know someone who’s depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn’t a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather.” —Stephen Fry, author
26. It’s hard to care about posture when you’re depressed
“This is my depressed stance. When you’re depressed, it makes a lot of difference how you stand. The worst thing you can do is straighten up and hold your head high because then you’ll start to feel better. If you’re going to get any joy out of being depressed, you’ve got to stand like this.” —Charles M. Schulz, cartoonist
27. Explaining depression and anxiety is exhausting
“It is very hard to explain to people who have never known serious depression or anxiety the sheer continuous intensity of it. There is no off switch.” —Matt Haig, writer
28. Depression doesn’t care about what’s going right
“Being sad and being depressed are two different things. Also, people going through depression don’t look so, while someone sad will look sad. The most common reaction is, ‘How can you be depressed? You have everything going for you. You are the supposed number one heroine and have a plush home, car, movies… What else do you want?'” —Deepika Padukone, Indian actress
29. Managing depression isn’t easy, but it’s possible
“Getting better from depression demands a lifelong commitment. I’ve made that commitment for my life’s sake and for the sake of those who love me.” —Susan Polis Schutz, poet
30. Whatever you do, just keep fighting
“Depression is like a war—you either win or die trying.” —Anonymous
31. Depression is like a heavy blanket
“Because that’s the thing about depression. When I feel it deeply, I don’t want to let it go. It becomes a comfort. I want to cloak myself under its heavy weight and breathe it into my lungs. I want to nurture it, grow it, cultivate it. It’s mine. I want to check out with it, drift asleep wrapped in its arms and not wake up for a long, long time.” —Stephanie Perkins, author
32. People often understand physical pain more than mental pain
“Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: It is easier to say ‘My tooth is aching’ than to say ‘My heart is broken.’ —C.S. Lewis, author
33. It’s past time to ditch the stigma about depression
“Whether an illness affects your heart, your arm, or your brain, it’s still an illness, and there shouldn’t be any distinction. We would never tell someone with a broken leg that they should stop wallowing and get it together. We don’t consider taking medication for an ear infection something to be ashamed of. We shouldn’t treat mental health conditions any differently. Instead, we should make it clear that getting help isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a sign of strength—and we should ensure that people can get the treatment they need.” —Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States
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34. Living in the present might be the key to happiness
“If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace you are living in the present.” —Lao Tzu, philosopher
35. It’s difficult to see the light when you’re living in the darkness
“The sun stopped shining for me is all. The whole story is: I am sad. I am sad all the time and the sadness is so heavy that I can’t get away from it. Not ever.” —Nina LaCour, author
36. Even if it doesn’t feel like it, there’s always hope
“The pupil dilates in darkness and in the end finds light, just as the soul dilates in misfortune and in the end finds God.” —Victor Hugo, author
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