Here is what having depression means to me—and so much more—from my own experience.
* It means not being able to trust yourself because you cannot control how you feel;
* It means not being able to feel the slightest amount of joy;
* It means being afraid to accept who you are and open up to others for fear of judgment and rejection;
* It means asking yourself every day "is life worth living?";
* It means not being able to force a smile no matter how hard you try;
* It means having nothing to look forward to;
* It means giving up the things you once were able to do;
* It means empathizing with those who ended their lives;
* It means feeling totally isolated and alone, even in a room full of people;
* It means wishing that you could feel alive;
* It means people shying away from you from not knowing how to act towards you;
* It means being told you failed at your responsibilities and feeling worthless thereafter;
* It means being devastated by even a casual remark that upsets your ego;
* It means having people tell you "life is good", when you have no control over how you feel and blame yourself for this everyday;
* It means not knowing what it is like to feel normal;
* It means needing antidepressants to tolerate all these nameless feelings.