190 Depression Quotes That Will Help You Feel Better

Here’s a list of 190 the best depression quotes I could find. Whether you’re a kid, teenager or adult, 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. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Line at 1-800-273-8255 or the National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) to find help today. There is also the Drug Abuse & Addiction Hotline at 1-844-289-0879. Stay strong my friend.

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

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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

Related quote topics: hope, loneliness, health

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The Best Depression Quotes

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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)

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

All obstacles that are perceived with love can transform into the greatest life lessons. Gabby Bernstein

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

The wound is the place where the light enters you. Rumi

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 yesterday. It was beautiful, but it was yesterday. Osho

What Is Depression?

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Depression is a kind of constricted consciousness. Bill Richards

Depression isn’t a disease; depression is a normal response to abnormal life experiences. Johann Hari (Lost Connections)

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. Unknown

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. Depression Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Depression Quotes (J.K. Rowling, Jim Carrey, Paulo Coelho, etc.)

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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 don’t feel very much like Pooh today. Winnie the Pooh

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

See also: Joe Rogan and Johann Hari on Depression and Anxiety (YouTube video)

Short Depression Quotes

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One-liners, short depression quotes, sayings, thoughts and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds.

Nothing changes if nothing changes. Mel Robbins

Breathe. @DailyZen

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)

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

Admitting you need help with depression or any challenge is strength. Lance Allred

Inspirational Depression Quotes

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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

Related sayings: positive sayings, strength sayings, healing sayings

Helpful Depression Quotes (To help someone with depression)

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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

Offer whatever light you can. Unknown

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? Unknown

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. Unknown

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. Unknown

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

See also: Helping Someone with Depression (helpguide.org)

Helpful Depression Quotes (For people with depression)

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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. Take your time. 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, eventually. Maxime Lagacé

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

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 (Related quote topic: Zen)

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. Unknown

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. Unknown

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

Surprising Depression Sayings

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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 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

Deep Depression Sayings

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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

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

Stop looking for happiness in the same place you lost it. Paulo Coelho (Hippie)

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. Unknown

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

See also: This could be why you’re depressed or anxious (Ted Talk video with Johann Hari)

Wise Depression Sayings

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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

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

The faster you accept reality, the faster you find peace of mind. Maxime Lagacé

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

Related: Words of Wisdom From The Best Minds (Ever)

Part 3. Depression Quotes About…

Depression Quotes About Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), Smartphones, News, Technology

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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: 6 ways to protect your mental health from social media’s dangers (theconversation.com) or Does Social Media Cause Depression? (childmind.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 words. 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

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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.