Here’s a list of the best depression quotes I could find. I hope you’ll find relief, meaning, and perhaps inspiration. I created this article because I’ve been depressed too so please keep in mind: you’re not alone.
There are times when explanations, no matter how reasonable, just don’t seem to help. Fred Rogers
There is no person in this whole world who is a mistake, no matter how different that person may seem. Fred Rogers
You are strong. You are beautiful. You are resilient. You are loved. You are capable. You are not weak. You are not defected. You are not weird. You are not a lost cause. You are not different. The Anxiety Man (@RealAnxietyMan on twitter.com)
It is easy to be heavy: hard to be light. G.K. Chesterton
No darkness lasts forever. And even there, there are stars. Ursula K. Le Guin (The Farthest Shore)
We know you’re tired, tired and scared. Happens to everyone, okay? Just don’t let your feet stop. Haruki Murakami
A depressing and difficult passage has prefaced every page I have turned in life. Charlotte Brontë
Depression lies. It tells you you’ve always felt this way, and you always will. But you haven’t, and you won’t. Halley Cornell
No storm, not even the one in your life, can last forever. The storm is just passing over. Iyanla Vanzant
The more you see and accept reality, the more you’ll understand and love yourself. Maxime Lagacé
There are some things about myself I can’t explain to anyone. There are some things I don’t understand at all. Haruki Murakami
Depression is, in part, grief for your own life not turning out how it should; grief for your own needs not being met. Johann Hari
Love your future more than your past. Joe Dispenza
The shadows are as important as the light. Charlotte Brontë
Winter always comes to an end, always. Maxime Lagacé
See also: hope quotes, loneliness quotes, encouraging quotes
The Best Depression Quotes
Life begins on the other side of despair. Jean-Paul Sartre (Nausea)
You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes. Winnie the Pooh
Sometimes, when I say “I am ok”, I want someone to hold me tight, look me in the eyes and say “No, I know you are not”. Paulo Coelho (Hippie)
There is no normal life that is free of pain. It’s the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth. Fred Rogers
Going through anxiety or depression or any other psychological condition doesn’t make you unlovable – it makes you human. Seth J. Gillihan (See also: Yes, You Are Lovable With Depression and Anxiety, webmd.com)
All obstacles that are perceived with love can transform into the greatest life lessons. Gabby Bernstein
Never lose hope. This life is worth the struggle. Your future self is pleading with you to stay. You are more than your thoughts. You are more than your fears and stronger than you give yourself credit for. The Anxiety Man (@RealAnxietyMan)
If you are depressed and anxious, the main thing I want to tell you is: your pain makes sense. It has meaning. You aren’t a machine with broken parts. You are a human being with unmet needs. Don’t let anyone tell you you’re crazy or broken. You deserve love and practical support. Johann Hari
Being deluded and scared will make you suffocate. Being honest with yourself and responsible will make you breathe. Maxime Lagacé
There will always be suffering. But we must not suffer over the suffering. Alan Watts
It isn’t that they can’t see the solution. It is that they can’t see the problem. G.K. Chesterton
The fundamental delusion – there is something out there that will make me happy and fulfilled forever. Naval Ravikant
Whereas pain is a physical experience, suffering is a mental one. It is the sense that things should be other than they are. Its antidote is acceptance. Wu Hsin
And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. Haruki Murakami
We cannot simply sit and stare at our wounds forever. We must stand up and move on to the next action. Haruki Murakami (1Q84)
It is in dialogue with pain that many beautiful things acquire their value. Alain de Botton (The Architecture of Happiness)
There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them we will understand why they were there. Paulo Coelho
You know quite well, deep within you, that there is only a single magic, a single power, a single salvation…and that is called loving. Well, then, love your suffering. Do not resist it, do not flee from it. It is your aversion that hurts, nothing else. Hermann Hesse
Don’t cling to the yesterday. It was beautiful, but it was beautiful yesterday. Osho
The wound is the place where the light enters you. Rumi
See also: the best quotes of all time (we read and use them every month or so)
What Is Depression?
Depression isn’t a disease; depression is a normal response to abnormal life experiences. Johann Hari (Lost Connections)
Depression is a kind of constricted consciousness. Bill Richards
The opposite of play is not work – the opposite of play is depression. Stuart Brown
What people think causes depression: being weak, being lazy, choosing to think negative. What actually causes depression: a loved one dying, trauma, bullying, low self-esteem, body image issues, financial struggles, genetic factors. Mental Health Notes (@depressionnote on twitter.com)
Depression is a medical condition. We need to create a world where people are as comfortable seeking care for their minds as they are for their bodies. Adam Grant
Depression is being colorblind and constantly told how colorful the world is. Atticus
See also: What is depression? – Helen M. Farrell (YouTube Ted-ED video)
Part 2. Depresssion Quotes That Are…
The Most Famous Depression Quotes (J.K. Rowling, Jim Carrey, Paulo Coelho, etc.)
Depressed means you need deep rest from the character you’ve been playing in the world. Jim Carrey
Make peace with your past so it won’t destroy your present. Paulo Coelho (Hippie)
Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create. Oprah Winfrey
With depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you’re not alone. Dwayne Johnson (The Rock)
Real change will come about not as a result of prayer, but of using intelligence and taking action. 14th Dalai Lama
I have never felt so much pain in my life. It was tough for me to even get out of bed and I had days when I couldn’t walk, let alone write a rhyme. Eminem
You have to take responsibility for your own happiness. Reese Witherspoon
You need to know that part of being strong and tough is having the courage to ask for help when you need it. You must not silently suffer. You are all in this together. And, if I may speak personally, we are all in this together because asking for help was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. You will me continually amazed how life changes for the better. Prince Harry
One of the best things that helps depression is work, and socialising with other people and connecting. Because when you work you find purpose. Trevor Noah (The Daily Show)
I was hiding out from the celebrity thing, I was smoking way too much dope. I was sitting on the couch and just turning into a doughnut, and I really got irritated with myself. I got to: ‘What’s the point? I know better than this. Brad Pitt
Therapy gives you another perspective when you are so lost in your own spiral, it helps. Jon Hamm (Mad Men)
I’ve suffered through depression and anxiety my entire life. I just want these kids to know that this modern thing, where everyone is feeling shallow and less connected…that’s not human. Lady Gaga
I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that. Robin Williams
Depression is the most unpleasant thing I have ever experienced… It is that absence of being able to envisage that you will ever be cheerful again. The absence of hope. That very deadened feeling, which is so very different from feeling sad. Sad hurts but it’s a healthy feeling. It is a necessary thing to feel. Depression is very different. J.K. Rowling
I need one of those long hugs where you kinda forget whatever else is happening around you for minute. Marilyn Monroe
I’ll never forget how the depression and loneliness felt good and bad at the same time. Still does. Henry Rollins
People talk about depression all the time. The difference between depression and sadness is sadness is just from happenstance – whatever happened or didn’t happen for you, or grief, or whatever it is. Depression is your body saying f*ck you, I don’t want to be this character anymore, I don’t want to hold up this avatar that you’ve created in the world. It’s too much for me. Jim Carrey
You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past. Hannah (13 Reasons Why)
I struggled with anxiety and depression and questioned whether or not I wanted to be alive anymore. It was when I hit this low that I decided to reach out and ask for the help of a licensed therapist. This decision ultimately helped save my life. You don’t have to wait for things. Michael Phelps
Promise me you’ll always remember: You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. Winnie the Pooh
I don’t feel very much like Pooh today. Winnie the Pooh
More famous quotes
See also: Joe Rogan and Johann Hari on Depression and Anxiety (YouTube video)
You may also like:
Short Depression Quotes
One-liners, short depression quotes, sayings, thoughts and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds.
Breathe. @DailyZen
It’s okay to not be okay. Unknown
There’s always a solution. Noah Kagan
Reframing is a super power. Rorty Witt
It won’t always be like this. Halley Cornell (See also: Things That Get Me Through Bad Depression Days, webmd.com)
Nothing changes if nothing changes. Mel Robbins
I need a break from my own thoughts. Paulo Coelho
I’m too tired for long explanations. Haruki Murakami
Numb the dark and you numb the light. Brené Brown (Daring Greatly)
Do not stumble on something behind you. Seneca
Real change requires a desire to change. Gabby Bernstein
The soul is healed by being with children. Fyodor Dostoevsky
Today’s hot pain is tomorrow’s cold wisdom. The Stoic Emperor
To heal a wound you must stop scratching it. Paulo Coelho
All of our miseries are nothing but attachment. Osho
The greatest griefs are those we cause ourselves. Sophocles
When you don’t know what you need, you want everything. Thibaut
The act of releasing your shame is – in itself – healing. Johann Hari
More short quotes
Inspirational Depression Quotes (Some Quotes Could Motivate You To Overcome Depression)
Only stepping out of old ruts will bring new insights. Andy Grove
The Universe has your back even when things aren’t working out the way you expected. Gabby Bernstein
I was blaming instead of taking responsibility. I was taking the easy route that led nowhere instead of taking the hard one that led somewhere. Maxime Lagacé
Even lost and alone, I kept moving forward. Even scared and confused, I kept moving forward. In the end, that’s what you must do: keep moving forward. Maxime Lagacé
Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge. Eckhart Tolle
Go to the place inside that hurts. The part that’s lonely or sad. Your broken heart. Your bruised ego. The part of you that worries it will always be this way. Go there now and silently repeat: May you be happy. May you be safe. May you be filled with love. You’re not alone. Jason Garner
You’re tired. You’re stressed. You’re mentally and physically drained. You feel alone. Struggling with the present, uncertain of the future. Life sucks right now. You’ll be fine. I promise…It gets better. Just keep moving forward. Ralph Napolitano
Don’t attack your problems. Face them, confess them, understand what they are. That is the process. Iyanla Vanzant
Nothing has a hold on your mind that you cannot break free of. Iyanla Vanzant
Nobody else can destroy you except you; nobody else can save you except you. Osho
Reminder – if you feel chronically depressed – try this before you swallow pills: Sunlight, exercise, clean diet, meditation, 8-9 hours of sleep, human interaction. Daily for 2-3 months. There’s a very high chance your depression will get fixed. @LifeMathMoney
It’s not too late to recover. You’re young, you’re tough. You’re adaptable. You can patch up your wounds, lift up your head and move on. Haruki Murakami
You got this. One day at a time. You are resilient, courageous, and capable. Be proud of yourself. It isn’t easy enduring depression/anxiety. The Anxiety Man (@RealAnxietyMan)
Every day of our lives, we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference. Mignon McLaughlin
See also: hard times quotes, positive quotes, strength quotes
Helpful Depression Quotes (If you’re trying to help someone with depression)
Offer whatever light you can. Unknown (Submitted by the Wisdom Quotes Community)
I’m tired. “Go to sleep then”. No, you don’t understand. Unknown
What not to say to someone with anxiety: quit being dramatic, you need to toughen up, you’re just lazy, when are you going to grow up?, pull yourself together. Try one of these instead: I know this is hard for you, take some time, it’s okay, how can I help? Mental Health Notes
Please be aware, I am trying my hardest to push through the pain, the exhaustion and fatigue, the brain fog, the insomnia, the fear, the guilt, the judgement, the relentlessness of it all. All the time. Mental Health Notes
Being depressed, all I needed was someone who could listen to me, believe in me, encourage me, but most of all, understand me. Maxime Lagacé
How to help people struggling with their mental health: Learn about mental health, go to visit them, give practical support, ask other people to help, listen to them, give them a hug, celebrate their small steps. Mental Health Notes
Listen. Really, really listen if someone opens up to you about their mental health. A response isn’t always needed, but a compassionate ear is. The Anxiety Man (@RealAnxietyMan)
If you have a friend going through a crisis, never say “if I can help, let me know.” It sounds vague, perfunctory. I try to always say: “please tell me what I can do to help: I want to help you.” Friendship is a commitment: always show up in a crisis. Johann Hari
With the right help, we can understand these problems and we can fix these problems together. But to do that, the very first step is we have to stop insulting these signals by saying they’re a sign of weakness, or madness or purely biological, except for a tiny number of people. Johann Hari
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
We can’t take away the suffering of others. What we can do is show up for them. And in doing so, take away the pain of having to suffer alone. Jason Garner
See also: friendship quotes
See also: Helping Someone with Depression (helpguide.org)
Helpful Depression Quotes (For people with depression)
It’s okay to not be okay all the time. Unknown
If you think you are alone in your problems, you are not alone. There are 7 billion people out there. Someone is going through the same thing. Justin Kan
Go on that journey to discover who you really are, what you love, what you hate, what’s the content of your mind, why you are the way you are. Be curious about your own mind, your fears and your sadness. Meditate and take care of yourself. The more self-knowledge you’ll have, the better you’ll feel. Maxime Lagacé
The people who have already walked through the fire can help you do the same. James Clear (30 Famous People with Depression from socialworkdegreeguide.com)
Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You’ll learn from them – if you want to. J.D. Salinger
Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Do not become bitter or hostile. Be hopeful, be optimistic. John Lewis
If you are depressed or anxious – your pain makes sense. You’re not crazy. You’re not broken. There’s scientific evidence for why people feel this way. There’s a mix of causes – biological, psychological and social. None are your fault and all can be dealt with, with love and support. Johann Hari
No matter how bad things are right now, no matter how stuck you feel, no matter how many days you’ve spent crying and wishing things were different, no matter how hopeless and depressed you feel, I promise you that you won’t feel this way forever. Keep going. Helen Wilson
This is one more piece of advice I have for you: don’t get impatient. Even if things are so tangled up you can’t do anything, don’t get desperate or blow a fuse and start yanking on one particular thread before it’s ready to come undone. You have to figure it’s going to be a long process and that you’ll work on things slowly, one at a time. Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood)
If you run away from pain without identifying and solving the underlying issue, you will probably run to exactly the same situation again. Justin Kan
I believe depression is legitimate. But I also believe that if you don’t: exercise, eat nutritious foods, get sunlight, get enough sleep, consume positive material, surround yourself with support, then you aren’t giving yourself a fighting chance. Matt Stephens
When something is too close to your eyes you cannot see it. For seeing, some distance is needed. Osho
Love is the most healing force in the world; nothing goes deeper than love. It heals not only the body, not only the mind, but also the soul. If one can love then all one’s wounds disappear. Then one becomes whole – and to be whole is to be holy. Osho
I was only able to start changing my life when I realized my depression was not a malfunction. It’s a signal. Your depression is a signal. It’s telling you something. Johann Hari
The scientific evidence is clear that exercise significantly reduces depression and anxiety. Johann Hari
The more you think life is about money, and status, and how you look to other people, the more vulnerable you are to depression and anxiety. Just like junk food has taken over our diets, junk values have taken over our minds and made us sick. Johann Hari
It’s okay to worry; it’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to get scared; it’s okay to be mad. It’s okay to embrace our humanity. In fact we don’t have any choice but to be the sensitive, vulnerable creatures we were made to be. Breathe. Let go a bit. It’s okay to be you just as you are. Jason Garner (See also: zen quotes)
In meditation we learn that sitting is enough. Breathing is enough. This life is enough. And we’re enough too. Jason Garner
What if we weren’t so hurried to find the answers? What if it was safe to hang out in the unknown? To stumble around in the dark, curious as to what we might find, comfortable in not having it all sorted out. What would we discover about ourselves? About each other? About life? Jason Garner
If you are being gentle with yourself during a difficult time, that is not self-pity. You would show compassion to a friend in pain, even a stranger, so why withhold it from yourself? Don’t. Keep moving. Maggie Smith
For anyone struggling or battling through mental and chronic illness, please please remember that you are so brave even though you might not think it. You are literally fighting for your life, fighting through pain and fighting to get through each day, which makes you so fricking strong. Roxxy (@galacticxtears)
Things to remember: it’s okay to cry, it’s okay to ask for help, you are enough, you matter, bad days happen, you are not alone. Mental Health Notes
In case no one told you today, you are needed, you are stronger than you think, you are doing great, you deserve the best, you are here for a reason, don’t give up. Mental Health Notes
See also: Coping with Depression (helpguide.org) or Coping Strategies And Tips (adaa.org, Anxiety and Depression Association of America)
And remember, again, you’re not alone: List of people who had major depressive disorder (wikipedia.org) and National Suicide Prevention Line 1-800-273-8255
Funny And Surprising Depression Quotes
Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self-esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes. Sigmund Freud
Take your M.E.D.S.: MEDITATION – It’s easy to be constantly doing with no time to be. EXERCISE – Our body needs to be stretched. It’s a use it or lose it. DIET – Food for energy which builds and augments rather than destroys. SLEEP – Get the correct amount, feel great. Thibaut
More funny quotes
Deep Depression Quotes
Some may be seen as hard truths but please remember that the goal is still to try to help.
Some lessons can’t be taught, they simply have to be learned. Jodi Picoult (Vanishing Acts)
Take your life in your own hands, and what happens? A terrible thing: no one to blame. Erica Jong
I am always with myself, and it is I who am my tormentor. Leo Tolstoy
Stop looking for happiness in the same place you lost it. Paulo Coelho (Hippie)
Being depressed is an opportunity to make a new beginning and to take a new direction. Once you accept the fact that for now, you’re stalled and lost, then you can take the first step. Maxime Lagacé
You can’t control what happens to you but you can control how you react and the direction you’ll take. Maxime Lagacé
We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our Great War’s a spiritual war… our Great Depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised on television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars. But we won’t. And we’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off. Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club)
Every thought a person dwells upon, whether he expresses it or not, either damages or improves his life. Lucy Mallory
Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun. Alan Watts
Much misery comes from our current self not wanting to betray our past self. Luca Dellanna
Suffering is an indication of ignorance, but in seeking an escape from suffering you are only nourishing ignorance. Jiddu Krishnamurti
We are always trying to build a bridge between ‘what is’ and ‘what should be’. And in that there is contradiction and conflict. Jiddu Krishnamurti
We are downtrodden by society, by culture, by religions, by priests, by leaders, by saints, and unless you understand this you will never understand fear. Jiddu Krishnamurti
When you’re ready to wake up, you’re going to wake up. And if you’re not ready, you’re going to stay pretending you’re just “poor little me”. Alan Watts
Most symptoms of depression and anxiety are due to: GMO food, no exercise, sitting all day, disconnect with nature, gossiping, no ambition, lack of sunlight, toxic relationships, victimhood mentality, pleasure seeking. There’s no medication to cure this. Ralph Napolitano
Why people are miserable: lack of purpose, lack of fulfilling relationships, poor self-image, sedentariness, no connection to nature, chasing dopamine highs, no discipline, trash diet, comparing oneself to others, lack of self-respect, scarcity mindset, toxic environment. Matt Stephens
There are real brain changes that can happen when you become depressed that can make it harder to get out. Johann Hari
Many depressed people can only see their pains, and their hurts, and their resentments, and their failures. They can’t see the blue sky and the yellow leaves, you know? Bill Richards
Depression is more than emotion it’s: trouble concentrating and making decisions, constant negative thoughts, fatigue and body aches, irritability and restlessness, feeling empty, loss of interest in everything. Mental Health Notes
Man is sometimes extraordinarily, passionately, in love with suffering. Fyodor Dostoevsky
Suffering is not holding you; you are holding suffering. Osho
Frustrations come because we impose our illusions on reality. Osho
More deep quotes
See also: This could be why you’re depressed or anxious (Ted Talk video with Johann Hari)
Wise Depression Quotes (Words Of Wisdom That Could Offer You Guidance)
In the flame of awareness all problems are finally resolved. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Despair can never be dissolved through escape, but by observing it. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Depression is a gift. The only inconvenient is that you need to wait a few weeks, and sometimes a few years, to appreciate it. Be patient. Maxime Lagacé
The faster you accept reality, the faster you find peace of mind. Maxime Lagacé
Ordinarily we do not discover the wisdom of our feelings because we do not let them complete their work. We try to suppress them or discharge them in premature action. Not realizing that they are a process of creation which, like birth, begins as a pain and turns into a child. Alan Watts
We must abandon completely the notion of blaming the past for any kind of situation we’re in. Alan Watts
The greatest wisdom lies on the other side, immediately on the other side, of the greatest despair. Alan Watts
Buddha’s doctrine: man suffers because of his craving to possess and keep forever things which are impermanent. Alan Watts
If you are depressed, you live in the past. If you are anxious, you live in the future. But if you are at peace, you live in the present. Lao Tzu
Life will give you whatever experience is the most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at this moment. Eckhart Tolle
Our wounds need nurturing care in order to heal. If we are to nurture and heal, we must admit that the wounds exist. Iyanla Vanzant
Meditation can and will order your thinking and therefore your mind. As we heal the wounded places in our minds, we grow. Iyanla Vanzant
Resistance to unwanted circumstances has the power to keep those circumstances alive and well for a very long time. Pema Chödrön
Difficult events occur for our spiritual growth. These aren’t meant to be punishment. Beautiful sunset awaits after heavy rain. Haemin Sunim
When you do not get to the root of the problem, you cannot solve it in any meaningful manner. Robert Greene
Not all storms come to disturb your life. Some come to clear your path. Unknown
More wisdom quotes
Part 3. Depression Quotes About…
Depression Quotes About Anxiety, Stress
If you look for perfection, you’ll never be content. Leo Tolstoy
Be willing to release those things stored in your heart and mind that are causing you discomfort. Iyanla Vanzant
If you’re constantly in the river you’ll drown. Learn to relax and pause on the shore. We are not evolved to swim 24/7. Maxime Lagacé
There is no end to ever-expanding desire. The mad desire for possessions ever leads to strife and misery. Jiddu Krishnamurti
We crave for things which create the illusion of security and comfort but which bring us only conflict, confusion and antagonism. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Your inward conflicts express themselves in outward disasters. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Busyness serves as an existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness. Thibaut
Exhaustion is the drug of choice for conscientious anxious people. The Stoic Emperor
Anxiety contaminates the present with the pains of all imaginable futures. We cannot experience the fullness of the moment if we are forever suffering from hypothetical hardships. The Stoic Emperor
A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So he loses touch with reality and lives in a world of illusion. Alan Watts
Don’t trust your thought when you are depressed. It is highly unlikely that it is true. Whatever you are depressed about won’t last forever. Haemin Sunim
There are two kinds of future concern: desire and fear. They together create a perfect hell. The Ancient Sage
Depression and anxiety are a symptom of too much consumption and too little creation. You were put on this earth to create. Bill Masur
Everyone needs a project. Something they’re building, a skill that raises their value, a mission that improves the world, even if only minutely. A lot of this modern anxiety, depression, and substance abuse could be remedied this way. Ed Latimore
Our epidemics of depression, anxiety and addiction are signals. They are telling us something is going terribly wrong with how we live. Johann Hari
The more you think life is about having stuff and superiority and showing it off, the more unhappy, and the more depressed and anxious, you will be. Johann Hari (Lost Connections)
You deserve to rest. Even if only for a moment. Put down the weight you’re carrying. Let go of the need to keep it all together. Take off your warrior mask. For this moment, now … just breathe. Jason Garner
You may have a million desires to be in other places, doing other things, but you are not there, you are here. Zen proverb
More stress quotes
See also: Meditation for anxiety (headspace.com)
Depression Quotes About Suffering, Pain
Pain is inevitable as long as you are identified with your mind. Eckhart Tolle
The pain I feel now is the happiness I had before. That’s the deal. C.S. Lewis
Don’t live your life avoiding pain, but don’t chase it either. Ed Latimore
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
I was doomed to fail and suffer. As a fool, I based my entire happiness on external factors. As a wise man, I should have found it on internal ones. Maxime Lagacé
Accept suffering and achieve atonement through it – that is what you must do. Fyodor Dostoyevsky
People fall so in love with their pain, they can’t leave it behind. The same as the stories they tell. We trap ourselves. Chuck Palahniuk
There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds. Laurell K. Hamilton
If you got out of bed today and chose to face the world, I’m proud of you. If you’re still struggling to, I’m rooting for you. Upile Chisala
Depression/anxiety requires a tremendously strong person to endure its pain. You are that person. It may not feel like it, but you are. The Anxiety Man (@RealAnxietyMan)
Strong and independent? I’m neither. I’m just being pushed along by reality, whether I like it or not. Haruki Murakami
Suffering usually relates to wanting things to be different from the way they are. Allan Lokos
There are two kinds of suffering. There is the suffering you run away from, which follows you everywhere. And there is the suffering you face directly, and so become free. Ajahn Chah
If the mind is attentive and does not move away from suffering, you will see that out of total attention comes not only energy but also that suffering comes to an end. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Pretending to not be depressed is more exhausting than the actual depression. Unknown
When you are in pain, you must take responsibility for the elimination of your own pain. Iyanla Vanzant
See also: failure quotes, patience quotes
Depression Quotes About Sadness, Crying
I’m confused. Really confused. And it’s a lot deeper than you think. Haruki Murakami
When sadness comes, accept it. Listen to its song. It has something to give to you. It has a gift which no happiness can give to you, only sadness can give it. Osho
I didn’t really cry, perhaps I was numb. I guess saying goodbye was my problem. Maxime Lagacé
It’s so difficult to describe depression to someone who’s never been there, because it’s not sadness. J.K. Rowling
Depression is melancholy minus its charms – the animation, the fits. Susan Sontag
The urge for the repetition of an experience however pleasant, beautiful, fruitful, is the soil in which sorrow grows. Jiddu Krishnamurti
I, too, remember that feeling. You are caught between all that was and all that must be. You feel lost. Haruki Murakami (Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World)
Have you ever had that feeling – that you’d like to go to a whole different place and become a whole different self? Haruki Murakami (The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)
There comes a point where you no longer care if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or not. You’re just sick of the tunnel. Ranata Suzuki
I cried hysterically when I was depressed. It was one of my main symptoms. It felt like the only way to rid the pain. My deeply rooted male ego doesn’t want me to say that right now. But I will. It’s the truth. Being vulnerable is strong. The Anxiety Man (@RealAnxietyMan)
Sometimes it takes sadness to know happiness, noise to appreciate silence and absence to value presence. Unknown
Remember always that whatsoever is happening around you is rooted in the mind. Mind is always the cause. It is the projector, and outside there are only screens – you project yourself. If you feel it is ugly then change the mind. Osho
I might think I can’t take it any more, that I can’t go on any more, but one way or another I get past that. Haruki Murakami
Autumn finally arrived. And when it did, I came to a decision. Something had to give: I couldn’t keep on living like this. Haruki Murakami
More sad quotes
Depression Quotes About Loneliness
Loneliness hangs over our culture today like a thick smog. Johann Hari (Lost Connections)
Loneliness isn’t just some inevitable human sadness, like death. It’s a product of the way we live now. Johann Hari (Lost Connections)
There is always something out there for you: a hand, a smile, beautiful eyes. Learn to stop, learn to listen, learn to see. Maxime Lagacé
Being alone all the time is not good for you. Your brain evolved to keep you with the tribe to ensure safety and survival. That’s why loneliness hurts – it’s your genes telling you that you’re at risk. @LifeMathMoney
Loneliness is not the physical absence of other people: you can be surrounded by people and be lonely. It is the feeling that you are not sharing anything meaningful with other people. Johann Hari
It’s been known for decades that depression has 3 kinds of cause: biological, psychological, and social. They are all real. Yet most people are told a heavily biological story, with a little side-dish of psychology, and virtually nothing about social causes. We need a correction. Johann Hari
At my book signings, I always ask people if they would like a hug. In Oxford this afternoon, a woman said yes, teared up, and said: “that’s the first hug I have had in ten years.” There’s so much isolation in our culture. Johann Hari
No matter how many people are supposedly experiencing depression/anxiety, we feel absolutely alone when we are the ones going through it. The Anxiety Man (@RealAnxietyMan)
Isolating yourself is one of the symptoms of depression no one talks about. You push everyone away, you don’t have the energy to make an effort and ultimately you end up alone because of it. Making things worse. Mental Health Notes
The person who tries to keep everyone happy often ends up feeling the loneliest. Unknown
See also: How to fight depression with social support | Johann Hari (YouTube video)
Depression Quotes About Mental Health, Mental Disorder
The one thing I don’t want to be is a burden to anyone. Haruki Murakami (Norwegian Wood)
I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion. Jack Kerouac
Mental illness is so much more complicated than any pill that any mortal could invent. Elizabeth Wurtzel
You are not defined by your mental illness. Unknown
Honor yourself by not criticizing, judging, or denying what you feel. Iyanla Vanzant
It’s horrifying that many mental health services turn away people with addiction problems, telling them to “sort out their addiction first” – as if addiction isn’t fuelled by problems like depression or psychosis. Johann Hari
Illness is the night side of life, a more onerous citizenship. Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship, in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick. Although we all prefer to use the good passport, sooner or later each of us is obliged, at least for a spell, to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place. Susan Sontag (Illness as Metaphor)
Just because a person is smiling today doesn’t mean they weren’t crying yesterday. Just because they made it to work doesn’t mean they didn’t have a panic attack that morning. Just because they say they’re fine doesn’t mean they are. It’s scary how easily mental illness is masked. Hattie Gladwell
If you feel depressed, it’s okay to talk about it. If you feel anxious, it’s okay to talk about it. If you feel lonely, it’s okay to talk about it. If you are struggling with any mental health problems, it’s okay to talk about it. Mental Health Notes
Your kids mental health is more important than their grades. Mental Health Notes
You can’t see people’s mental health. Be kind always. Mental Health Notes
See also: How to look after your mental health (mentalhealth.org.uk) or Building Better Mental Health (helpguide.org)
Depression Quotes About Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), Smartphones, News, Technology
Stop texting, start listening. Lisa Ling
Comparing yourself to others is a guaranteed prescription for misery. Shane Parrish
To anyone feeling depressed and anxious: Fastest way to feel better is to get offline. @orangebook_ (on twitter.com)
No amount of social media will replace a hug, an handshake and a real look in the eyes. Maxime Lagacé
Put down your phone. Talk to someone face to face. We are all kinder out here in the meat-world. Johann Hari
The scrutiny that young people face on social media can lead to anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. Lady Gaga
Why are depression and anxiety on the rise? Because modern society is designed to make you anxious and depressed. Garbage food, sedentary lifestyle, cubicle work, social media, toxic politics, hookup culture, loss of religion, decline of family, drugs, consumerism. Zuby
The Internet was born into a world where many people had already lost their sense of connection to each other. The collapse had already been taking place for decades by then. The web arrived offering them a kind of parody of what they were losing – Facebook friends in place of neighbors, video games in place of meaningful work, status updates in place of status in the world. Johann Hari (Lost Connections)
Facebook is virtual prison which keeps dead relationships alive forever. Thibaut
I am your addiction. Your time is mine. I control you. You need me. I define you. You belong to me. -Social Media. Thibaut
The rise of social media is proving problematic. Younger age groups of children and adults are now becoming heavily absorbed in it, unaware that social media presents rose-tinted versions of life as the truth, and it’s against this fiction that they’re comparing themselves. Thibaut
We have a whole range of devices and apps designed to be addictive. Build mental firewalls so that you can focus on what’s important. Learn to control environmental stimuli. Don’t lose the attention war. Thibaut
Since time began people: Got married, ate meat, raised families, spoke face to face, confronted issues. For 60 years people have: Had casual relationships, ate fried carbs, lived alone, spoke through screens, buried problems. A millennia of behaviours cant be wrong. Jack Peach
As kids become more depressed and anxious, limiting screen time is not enough. Kids need less homework and fewer tests, longer recesses and lunches, more socioemotional learning, more unstructured, unscheduled time to play. Adam Grant
Toxins consumed by people on a daily basis: sugar, vegetable oils, TV, excessive/indiscriminate social media, “socialization”, hurriedness, political and celebrity gossip, news, “friends”, social approval/validation. The Ancient Sage
One lesson from the success of podcasts and YouTube: there is an enormous market for digital companionship. We are profoundly social creatures. Modern life can be lonely. We miss the chatter of the ancestral campfire. We import voices to fill the silence and feel less isolated. The Stoic Emperor
When you access social media, email, or the news, you enable the voices of all of humanity to compete to set your agenda. These voices take up significant mental real estate. They make it hard to hear your own thinking. Be vigilant about guarding your own cognitive resources. The Stoic Emperor
Modern tech and media tempt us to spend our lives reacting to things we can’t change. Obsessing over far-off dramas, ignoring the decline close to home. Smartphones offer 24/7 access to on demand anxiety. Make your tools serve you. Don’t serve them. Act more. React less. The Stoic Emperor
People worry constantly about their place in their tribe. They find it hard enough to manage the opinions of a few friends and family. Managing the visible opinions of thousands? Impossible. Social media made everyone a micro celebrity and sent “social anxiety” through the roof. The Stoic Emperor
Part 1. Mobile phones should be called distraction machines. Checking your distraction machine first thing in the morning is not the ideal way to start your day. Muneeb
Part 2. Entertainment hubs masquerading as productivity devices – the perfect combo. Naval Ravikant
The comedian Marc Maron once wrote that “every status update is a just a variation on a single request: ‘Would someone please acknowledge me?” Johann Hari (Lost Connections)
When they talk among themselves, advertising people have been admitting since the 1920s that their job is to make people feel inadequate – and then offer their product as the solution to the sense of inadequacy they have created. Johann Hari (Lost Connections)
It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Jiddu Krishnamurti
See also: focus quotes
See also: 6 ways to protect your mental health from social media’s dangers (theconversation.com) or Does Social Media Cause Depression? (childmind.org)
Depression Quotes About Life, Hope, Happiness
Now I am beginning to live a little and feel less like a sick oyster at low tide. Louisa May Alcott
Hitting rock bottom once teaches you lessons that reaching the highest mountain top 1000 times never will. Ralph Napolitano
It’s easy to get depressed when you believe life should be easy, comfortable and without surprises. It’s easy to be happy when you accept life is hard, uncomfortable and surprising. Maxime Lagacé
So much of what holds us back in life are the long-held resentments stemming from childhood. Gabby Bernstein (Miracles Now)
If you usher in positive energy, you have no choice but to attract light energy. Justin Perry
The universe is not short on wake-up calls. We’re just quick to hit the snooze button. Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection)
And you’ll return to real life. You need to live it to the fullest. No matter how shallow and dull things might get, this life is worth living. I guarantee it. Haruki Murakami (Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage)
If you look for something to complain about, you will find it. If you look for something to be grateful for, you will find it. Most lives have their share of good and bad luck. Gratitude is a choice of emphasis. The Stoic Emperor
Because of your difficult experience, you will become stronger, wiser and more compassionate toward those having a hard time. Haemin Sunim
Don’t let your difficult past define who you are today. Bow respectfully to your past and proclaim, “From now on, I have decided to be a little happier!” Haemin Sunim
Let there be pain, let there be suffering. Go through the dark night, and you will reach to a beautiful sunrise. It is only in the womb of the dark night that the sun evolves. It is only through the dark night that the morning comes. Osho
Life needs both: thorns and roses, days and nights, happiness/unhappiness, birth/death. Be a witness to it all and you will know something that is beyond birth, beyond death; something that is beyond darkness and beyond light; something that is beyond happiness, beyond unhappiness. Osho
Attachment brings misery, unattachment brings blissfulness. So use things, but don’t be used by them. Live life but don’t be lived by it. Osho
Look at life with more playful eyes. Don’t be serious. Don’t pretend to be a thinker, a philosopher. Just simply be a human being. Osho
Life is an empty canvas; it becomes whatsoever you paint on it. You can paint misery, you can paint bliss. This freedom is your glory. Osho
Aim for happiness and you’ll get disappointment. Aim for contribution and you’ll get meaning. Maxime Lagacé
In those moments when our inner turmoil has really quietened, we find significance in things we wouldn’t expect to find significant at all. Alan Watts
Wherever the past is dropped away and safety abandoned, life is renewed. Alan Watts
See also: health quotes, nature quotes
Depression Quotes About Strength, Dealing With Depression, Taking Responsibility
In the midst of winter, I find within me the invisible summer. Leo Tolstoy (The Kingdom of God Is Within You)
The things ordained for you – teach yourself to be at one with those. Marcus Aurelius
You don’t control the rain, but you control how you respond to it. You don’t control what ignited your depression, but you control what you’ll do today and tomorrow. Maxime Lagacé
Man must be concerned with eliminating the cause of war within himself. Jiddu Krishnamurti
Humor is one of the most serious tools we have for dealing with impossible situations. Erica Jong
How to stop being miserable: don’t use the past as an excuse, stop watching the news, start telling the truth, drop toxic people, avoid outrage culture, meditate, take on new responsibilities, make everything around you better. You don’t have to be miserable. Carlos Del Valle
On the occasion of every accident (event) that befalls you, remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use. Epictetus (Enchiridion)
Throughout your life you will encounter tedious situations, and you must cultivate the ability to handle them with discipline. Robert Greene (Mastery)
Many things cause pain which would cause pleasure if you regarded their advantages. Baltasar Gracián
Amor fati is about loving what happens and making use of it. Unknown
Developing your character is the best defense against the suffering of existence. Carlos Del Valle
I began to understand that suffering and disappointments and melancholy are there not to vex us or cheapen us or deprive us of our dignity but to mature and transfigure us. Hermann Hesse (Peter Camenzind)
You feel good, you feel bad, and these feelings are bubbling from your own unconsciousness, from your own past. Nobody is responsible except you. Nobody can make you angry, and nobody can make you happy. Osho
Whatever you feel, you become. It is your responsibility. Osho
Ninety-nine percent of your problems are created by you because you take life seriously. Osho
How many things have to happen to you before something occurs to you? Robert Frost
The day a man becomes superior to pleasure, he will also be superior to pain. Seneca
See also: stoic quotes, responsibility quotes
Quotes About Depression, Meditation, Mindfulness
Meditation is the only answer to all the questions of man. It may be frustration, it may be depression, it may be sadness, it may be meaninglessness, it may be anguish: The problems may be many but the answer is one. Meditation is the answer. Osho
Mindfulness is not about what arises. It is about how we are when something arises — how much presence, balance, compassion are we bringing forth in relation to that anxiety or rage or whatever is causing us pain. Sharon Salzberg
The more you understand yourself, the more peaceful you’ll be. Maxime Lagacé
The notion that meditation always makes us feel peaceful is a falsehood – an attempt to suppress the authentic experience of being alive. Instead we can think of meditation as allowing, accepting, not arguing or finding fault with ourselves or our lives. Breathe. You are enough. Jason Garner
Sitting in meditation is an act of silent rebellion against a system built on convincing us that it isn’t safe to pause. That to be complete we must do this, or achieve that, or buy this, or wear that. The realization that “I’m okay just sitting here” is where freedom begins. Jason Garner
Meditation is a method of cultivating unconditional friendliness toward ourselves, and for parting the curtain of indifference that distances us from the suffering of others. It is our vehicle for learning to be a truly loving person. Pema Chödrön
If we can train ourselves through meditation to be more open and more accepting toward the wild arc of our experience, if we can lean into the difficulties of life and the ride of our minds, we can become more settled and relaxed amid whatever life brings us. Pema Chödrön
We know how to sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in the present moment, the only moment there is for us to be alive. Thich Nhat Hanh
More meditation quotes
See also: How meditation helps with depression (health.harvard.edu) or Mindfulness and Meditation for Anxiety (mindful.org)
Part 4. Here are a few tips I would say to my 22-year-old depressed self
- It will be fine, I promise. It just takes time, hope and work.
- Friends and support: express yourself more to the ones you love.
- Simplicity: take baby steps, do one thing at a time, don’t chew too much.
- Exercise and walking: move at least 2-3 times a week. You can’t have a healthy mind if you don’t have a healthy body.
- Nature, sun: spend more time in nature and get your Vitamin D (sun).
- Diet: more water, more quality food, more good fats (extra virgin olive oil), more Omega 3, less sugar, less junk, less alcohol, less caffeine.
- Sleep: get at least 7 hours, have a peaceful/quiet, cool and dark room, go to bed at the same time every day.
- Therapist: have you considered it?
- Relaxation: listen to soothing music, take hot baths/saunas/spas.
- Consume less junk: less social media, less news, less screens, less toxic relationships, less useless things to do, less things you hate to do.
- Create more: it feels good to create and build things.
- Stoic philosophy: read some Stoic quotes. Don’t try to control what you can’t (almost anything in life basically). Try to control what you can (how you react, what you do, your perception, your effort). Don’t dwell on the past: there’s nothing you can do about it. Don’t fear the future: it’s not here yet.
- Gratitude: there are still many things you can be grateful for. List them. Think about them before you go to bed and first thing in the morning.
- Again, overcoming depression takes time, be patient. There are no shortcuts, no overnight change. It will be fine in the end.
Some Helpful Resources On Depression
6 Life-Changing Tips From People Living With Depression (everydayhealth.com)
Depression: 7 Powerful Tips to Help You Overcome Bad Moods (psychologytoday.com)
Complete guide about depression and how to manage it (foundmyfitness.com)
6 Things to Know About How to Get Out of Funk Town (zenhabits.net)
These Women Treated Their Anxiety and Depression with Food. (healthline.com)
Drinking plain water is associated with decreased risk of depression and anxiety in adults. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Exercise can improve depressive symptoms (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Exercise and meditation together help beat depression (sciencedaily.com)
Part 5. Conclusion
This pain you are feeling is not a pathology. It’s not crazy. It is a signal that your natural psychological needs are not being met. It is a form of grief – for yourself, and for the culture you live in going so wrong. I know how much it hurts. I know how deeply it cuts you. But you need to listen to this signal. We all need to listen to the people around us sending out this signal. It is telling you what is going wrong. It is telling you that you need to be connected in so many deep and stirring ways that you aren’t yet – but you can be, one day. Johann Hari
The word ‘depressed’ can be spoken as DEEP REST. We can choose to view depression, not as a mental illness but as a state of Deep Rest, a spiritual exhaustion that we enter into when we are depressed (pressed down) by the weight of the false self, the mask, the mind-made story of “me”. We long to stop pretending, and express our raw truth! To give voice to our secret loneliness, our shame, our broken hearts, boredom, and brilliant rage! Depression’s call to truth needs to be listened to and understood, not analyzed or medicated away. There is no shame in your exhaustion. We are all exhausted, my love. Slow down today. Allow yourself to rest, deeply. And weep. And breathe. And begin again. Now. I say, our depression is holy. It contains the seeds of new life. Jeff Foster
Find meaning. Distinguish melancholy from sadness. Go out for a walk. It doesn’t have to be a romantic walk in the park, spring at its most spectacular moment, flowers and smells and outstanding poetical imagery smoothly transferring you into another world. It doesn’t have to be a walk during which you’ll have multiple life epiphanies and discover meanings no other brain ever managed to encounter. Do not be afraid of spending quality time by yourself. Find meaning or don’t find meaning but ‘steal’ some time and give it freely and exclusively to your own self. Opt for privacy and solitude. That doesn’t make you antisocial or cause you to reject the rest of the world. But you need to breathe. And you need to be. Albert Camus
Call to action: Read How to Fight Depression: 20 Things to Try (healthline.com)
Note: Any of the quotes here should be not taken as medical advice. If you struggle with sadness or depression, please consult your doctor or mental health professional.
Table Of Contents
Part 1
Top 15 Images
Best Depression Quotes
What Is Depression?
Part 2
Depression Quotes That ARE
Famous
Short
Inspirational
To Help A Friend
To Help Yourself
Funny
Deep
Wise
Part 3
Depression Quotes ABOUT
Anxiety
Suffering
Sadness
Loneliness
Mental Health
Social Media
Life, Hope
Dealing With Depression
Meditation
Part 4
Tips For My 22-Year-Old Depressed Self
Helpful Resources
Part 5
Conclusion