26 Depression Quotes That Capture Exactly What You’re Feeling

BY FELISSA BENJAMIN ALLARD, Reader's Diegest

You'll laugh. You'll cry. And then hopefully you'll feel just a little bit less alone in your struggles.

The magic cure!

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"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 14 things never to say to a person with depression.

Repeat after me: Depression is not the same as sadness

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[post_ads]"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

Do you know these warning signs of depression?

At least you feel like you accomplished something with the paint

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"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

Next, check out what psychologists wish people knew about depression.

The real fear of depression isn't dying, it's living with yourself, forever

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

Did you know that scientists have found a gene for depression?

Now turn that frown upside down ...  even if it means standing on your head

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"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.

I'll take one depression, on the rocks

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"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

Do you have any of these signs of high-functioning depression?

Hope is giving your pain meaning

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"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

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But will depression give you a foot rub?

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"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

Here's how to deal with a depressed spouse.

Legit question

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"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

It could be both, actually: Nicer people are more prone to depression.

Well, that's depressing

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"Our Generation has had no Great war, no Great Depression. Our war is spiritual. Our depression is our lives." —Chuck Palahniuk, writer

Are you of the depression generation? Take this test to see if you have depression.

If you can't survive tomorrow, just survive today

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"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

Check out the scary-sounding treatment that helped one woman finally emerge from the fog of depression.

Repeat after me:

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"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 16 science-backed ways to help depression.

Follow Dory's advice and just keep swimming

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"I am in that temper that if I were under water I would scarcely kick to come to the top." —John Keats, poet

One thing that helped Keats deal with his depression: Being out in nature.

Sometimes the annoying people are right

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"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 up your risk for depression?

This question? Again? Really?

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"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

Don't be that person; read 14 things never to say to a person with depression.

Well this kinda explains Charlie Brown, to be honest

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[post_ads]"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

These 29 cartoons will help you get through this week.

Explaining is exhausting

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"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, journalist

P.S. Here's how to just say no to the annoying things in your life, like people who keep asking you to explain your mental illness.

How can I be depressed? Watch me.

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"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

Although, to be fair, counting their blessings is one of the things that happy people do every day.

Hold on to this hope: You can get better from depression

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"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

Here's how to hang on to your hope when the going gets tough.

So whatever you do, just keep fighting

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"Depression is like a war—you either win or die trying." —Anonymous

These are the foods that can help fight depression.

Hello darkness, my old friend...

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"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

It's not all bad: Smart people have a darker sense of humor, according to science.

I have a heartache, not a headache

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"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

Broken heart syndrome is a real thing, actually.

It's past time to ditch the stigma about depression

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"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

Postpartum depression in men is a very common mental illness that no one talks about.

#goals, 7th Century style

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"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

Want more mantras? Try one of these 14 daily mantras to help you reach your #goals.

The sun always comes out eventually

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"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

Here's how to know if it's clinical depression or everyday sadness.

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In the end...

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"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

This factor predicts whether or not your depression will return.