Life with depression

• “You are a burden to everyone”
• “Your head is surrounded by a thick, black, unrelenting fog
• “Exhausting, like you’re living in a cage”
• “Hopeless. Like there is no person or thing that can help you forget about everything that makes you sad all of the time”
• “An overwhelming sense of sadness about life and about all that you are and all you do”
• “Fighting an exhausting battle against yourself”
• “A needle of pain pricking at your body at every chance it gets”
• “You need to hug someone. But at the same time, you don’t want any human to hug you”
• “You have a lump in your throat, as if you’re about to cry at any moment, all day”
• “Being misunderstood and ashamed”
• “Difficult to tell if you can trust your own perception of reality”
• “Soul sucking torture”
• “You are numb to the world”
• “You want your life to get better, but everything is so hard to do and you have no motivation”
• “All you want is to go home and just curl up and fall asleep forever”
• “Drowning and no one sees it and you feel helpless against the water around you”
• “Really terribly lonely all of the time”
• “A dark, empty room with no escape”
• “It’s hard to be happy, to love or accept love”
• “You’ll never be happy again, even when you know that’s not true”
• “Heavy and tired, like you’re moving through quicksand”

Depressive disorders are real illnesses that involve extended periods of feeling extremely low and disrupt a person’s ability to enjoy life. They affect:

The body

Causing:

• headaches
• changes in appetite which cause either weight gain or loss
• constantly feeling tired
• body aches and pains
• a weakened immune system
• sleeping too much or not enough

Thoughts

Causing people to feel:

• inadequate (like they aren’t good enough)
• extremely sad
• guilty
• irritable
• lonely
• empty
• pessimistic (having a negative outlook)
• preoccupied with death or suicide
• unable to focus
• unmotivated

Behaviors

Causing:

• withdrawal from social activities
• decreased interest in sex
• slowed speech
• difficulty finishing (or even starting) tasks
• not keeping up with daily responsibilities

Figure out what lifts your spirits and make a list you can refer to when you start to feel down. Some things you might include: funny websites, movies that make you laugh, looking at pictures of good times, playing with a pet, taking a bath, hiking, puzzles, phone numbers of people you like talking to, or places you like to go.

Get moving to get your body’s feel-good chemicals flowing. Take a brisk walk, go up and down the stairs, or do some jumping jacks. Aim for 30 minutes daily – you can break it up into three 10-minute sessions to make it easier.

Remind yourself that everything does not suck by keeping a journal. Take some time each night to write down three things that you’re grateful for, three things you achieved during the day, and/or three good things that happened.

Make an appointment with a therapist. It might take a while to get an appointment, but once you have that relationship, it will be easier to set up appointments in the future. Taking that first step can make you feel like you’ve made progress, give you a sense of control over your condition, and hope for the future.

If your to-do list seems daunting, take a few moments to determine how much time it actually takes to complete each task. For instance, folding laundry may seem like a real pain, but only takes about 10 minutes. Rather than allowing it to sit and become a big, intimidating laundry pile, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment in getting it done. Start with quick tasks and build up momentum to taking care of the more time-consuming ones.

Call someone you trust and ask them to talk to you or even just sit with you. Having a non-judging person present can help you open up, or at least feel less alone. If you can’t get in touch with a friend or family member, use a warmline to find someone to talk to.

Challenge your negative thoughts about yourself. Being depressed may make you feel like something you’ve done was horrible, or that you’re ugly, or that you don’t deserve good things to happen. But if a loved one told you they were feeling that way – what would you say to them?

If you think you may be showing signs of a depressive disorder, take our screen. A screening is not a diagnosis, but it can be a helpful tool for starting a conversation with your doctor or a loved one about your mental health.

Take depression screen

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.