Relatable Quotes About Depression That Remind Us All We're Not Alone

Depression affects over 18 million people (1 in 10) in the United States in a given year, so chances are you or someone close to you is intimately familiar with its effects on your life and mental health. Its impact can be anywhere from mild to completely debilitating and has often been an issue people avoid talking about for fear of saying the wrong thing or the stigma and shame that can sometimes come with mental illness. But as someone who personally deals with depression, I know how encouraging it can be to hear that I'm not alone in the experience. Solidarity goes a long way when talking about any life struggle— allowing us to feel less alone in our experience as well as having greater hope for growth and healthier days ahead. So we've gathered up some of our favorite and most relatable quotes about depression that offer up help and connection to those currently experiencing depression and can provide empathy and education to those who know someone in their lives who does.

The unfortunate truth is that depression is the primary reason why someone dies of suicide about every 12 minutes (over 41,000 people a year), so it's imperative that we understand it and seek out help if we are experiencing it. If you are wrestling with depression right now, or suspect that you are, be encouraged by the following quotes that you are not alone and that help and healing is not far away.

• “Depression is being colorblind and constantly told how colorful the world is.” —Atticus poetry

• “Depression is melancholy minus its charms.” ―Susan Sontag

• “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

• “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

• “I’ll never forget how the depression and loneliness felt good and bad at the same time. Still does.” ―Henry Rollins

• “A big part of depression is feeling really lonely, even if you’re in a room full of a million people.” —Lilly Singh

• “There is no point treating a depressed person as though she were just feeling sad, saying, ‘There now, hang on, you’ll get over it.’ Sadness is more or less like a head cold – with patience, it passes. Depression is like cancer.” ―Barbara Kingsolver

• “Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they’re going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It’s hard to be a friend to someone who’s depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do.” ―Stephen Fry

• “Depression, suffering and anger are all part of being human.” –Janet Fitch

• “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, The Problem of Pain

• “I didn’t want my picture taken because I was going to cry. I didn’t know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and the sobs would fly out of my throat and I’d cry for a week. I could feel the tears brimming and sloshing in me like water in a glass that is unsteady and too full.” ―Sylvia Plath

• “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

• “I go through a lot of depression, and I know other people do, too, but I have an outlet that so many people don’t. If you have that inside of you and can’t get it out, what do you do?” –Billie Eilish

• “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

• “Depression on my left. Loneliness on my right. They don’t need to show me their badges. I know these guys very well.” ―Elizabeth Gilbert

• “Depression doesn’t take away your talents—it just makes them harder to find.” —Lady Gaga

• “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

• “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

• “Almost everyone is overconfident—except the people who are depressed, and they tend to be realists.” ―Joseph T. Hallinan

• “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

• “I was so scared to give up depression, fearing that somehow the worst part of me was actually all of me. ” —Elizabeth Wurtzel

• “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

• “I need one of those long hugs where you kinda forget whatever else is happening around you for minute.” — Marilyn Monroe

• “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

• “I understand your pain. Trust me, I do. I’ve seen people go from the darkest moments in their lives to living a happy, fulfilling life. You can do it too. I believe in you. You are not a burden. You will NEVER BE a burden.” —Sophie Turner

• “Take a shower, wash off the day. Drink a glass of water. Make the room dark. Lie down and close your eyes. Notice the silence. Notice your heart. Still beating. Still fighting. You made it, after all. You made it, another day. And you can make it one more. You’re doing just fine.” ―Charlotte Eriksson

• “I believe that words are strong, that they can overwhelm what we fear when fear seems more awful than life is good.” ―Andrew Solomon

• “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.” ―Soren Kierkegaard

• “You’re like a grey sky. You’re beautiful, even though you don’t want to be.” ―Jasmine Warga

• “It’s my mission to share this with the world and to let them know that there is life on the other side of those dark times that seem so hopeless and helpless. I want to show the world that there is life — surprising, wonderful and unexpected life after diagnosis.” —Demi Lovato

• “Understanding the difference between healthy striving and perfectionism is critical to laying down the shield and picking up your life. Research shows that perfectionism hampers success. In fact, it’s often the path to depression, anxiety, addiction, and life paralysis.” ―Brené Brown

• “Depression isn’t a war you win. It’s a battle you fight every day. You never stop, never get to rest. It’s one bloody fray after another.” ― Shaun David Hutchinson

• “All it takes is a beautiful fake smile to hide an injured soul and they will never notice how broken you really are.” —Robin Williams

• “I have probably been very close to a complete breakdown on numerous occasions when all sorts of grief and sort of lies and misconceptions and everything are coming to you from every angle.” —Prince Harry

• “Depression is like a bruise that never goes away. A bruise in your mind. You just got to be careful not to touch it where it hurts. It’s always there, though.” ―Jeffrey Eugenides

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, help is available. Speak with someone any time, day or night at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. 800-273-8255

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