We all know the word depression, but do we know what depression feels like? Some would say, “I’m depressed because of a circumstance.” But, real depression works backwards, exists in another dimension, in a world where depression doesn’t care if you have a great life or not, depression illness can’t make sense of the word sadness; depression can’t explain the “why” in your life; this is the hardest, most daunting part of the harrowing effects of many people and we are not alone in our own mental health journeys.

Our ultimate goal in life is to live happy and healthy. Now you ask, how would that look in someone who experiences depression, now that we know people with depression don’t feel happy or healthy?
Depression is not you; it’s a part of you. I know it’s cliché, but it’s true. The times you have a critical voice in your head, or negative thinking; that’s not you. It’s your depression talking. If you think about it, feelings aren’t facts; feelings are a subjective experience. So, how can you say depression isn’t you, if we have no way of measuring a subjective experience without facts?

Now that we have covered what depression feels like, how are we going to deal with what we have and heal ourselves? We begin to enjoy our lives, even if it’s for minutes in a day; that is still an improvement. We are looking for a positive change in experience, even when we know recovery is not a through line, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get through life.

You can’t live life without real pain, but no one wants to live in pain. Yet, that’s what we are always fighting, trying to run away from. The more we resist pain, the more pain we cause ourselves. You don’t have to make friends with pain, but be a best friend with yourself because if you aren’t depression, you can’t be friends with pain, right? It’s you that matters, so let’s work on caring about you, about everyone else going through something. Let us turn suffering, into living. Take the reins and be the change.