Depression is being colorblind & constantly told how colorful the world is.

It’s a state of exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix.

Simply existing is a full time job when you are under depression. It’s a flaw in chemistry, not character.

Its like living in a body that fights to survive, with a mind that tries to die.

We drown but no one see the struggle. Its not always tears that measure the pain, sometimes it’s the smile we fake.

Nobody ever tells you that emptiness weighs the most.

Something inside, just broke, that’s the only way someone can describe.

Having anxiety & depression is like being scared & tired at the same time. It’s the fear of failure, but no urge to be productive. Its wanting friends but not socializing. Its wanting to be alone, but not wanting to be lonely. Its feeling everything at once then feeling paralyzingly numb.

We feel to close the door & shut the world out. Moods don’t just swing, they bounce, pivot, recoil, rebound, oscillate, and fluctuate.

There is a point where you no longer care if there is a light at the end of the tunnel or not. You are just sick of the tunnel. I have a depression but I prefer to say I battle instead of suffer. Depression hits, I hit back, Battle goes on.

You look happy but you don’t feel happy. That’s what depression does to you.

I wanted to write down exactly what felt but somehow the paper stayed empty & I could not have described it any better.

Sleep just isn’t sleep anymore, its an escape. If you know someone who is depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn’t straightforward response to a bad situation, its just like weather.

DO:

Stay calm: It’s hard to hear about a friend’s distress but your calmness, calms them

Hang in there: While appear to be a bad friend and push away, always remember context

Keep support measured: provide help but don’t remove their total need to be self-reliant

Look after yourself: You being healthy means you have capacity to help them

Keep in contact: A text or call lets them know you’re thinking of them

Encourage safe socializing: small groups or exercise is great mental health medicine

Offer practical support: accompany to appointments, give a lift, help with paperwork

Just listen: The Samaritans SHUSH! campaign highlights this: Show you care Have patience Use open questions (e.g. “how are things?”) Say it back (e.g. “so you feel like nothing’s going right?”) Have courage

DON’T:

Tell them to “cheer up, mate”: Fuel. Fire.

Be critical: It’s often hard to understand an issue, especially in stigmatized mental health

Force the issue: If you push, your friend will push back – and then build a Trump-sized wall

Go to the GP for them: while valiant, as a GP, we cannot discuss their case specifically

Encourage triggers: Alcohol is a depressant, so a piss-up may not have the desired effect

Try and fix it: This is not something for you to fix, just to support If you know someone is suffering from depression try to talk to him or her openly, even it means asking them uncomfortable questions to try to get them to talk. Once you get the conversation started you can begin to help by finding out more about how they’re feeling and ultimately point them in the right direction to get help. Listening and talking goes a long way, but advice should always be given by mental health professionals – they’re the experts and will know what is best for each person and how they are feeling.

Every day is a second chance.

Hold on to this hope & you can get better from depression

We need one of those long hugs where we kind of forget whatever else is happening around us for a minute

We hide to try our feelings but we forget that our eyes speak:

I am bent, but not broken. I am scared, but not disfigured. I am sad, but not hopeless. I am tired, but not lifeless. I am afraid, but not lifeless. I am afraid, but not powerless. I am angry, but not bitter. I am depressed, but not giving up.

No matter how bad things are right now. No matter how stuck you feel. No matter how many days you’ve spent crying & wishing things were different. No matter how hopeless & depressed you feel, we believe you won’t feel this way forever, keep going…

As if you are in a cage without a key, you just have to find a way to break & get free. It needs a struggle, a fight.

Our sorrows & wounds are healed only when we touch them with compassion.

Just keep living until you are alive again. Sometimes, even to live is an act of courage.