Hello. If you are reading this, chances are you have depression or know someone who does.
To start this, I'm not going to say beating depression is easy. Let's state some facts that might have brought you or your loved one to depression:
Life will end.
You will die.
Your loved ones will die.
Nothing lasts forever.
Nothing really matters if nothing lasts forever.
Some people do not change.
Sometimes taking pills doesn't ease the darkness.
Sometimes the people who you love will not change, even for you.
In December of 2024, I fell into depression. I don't know how it started. One day, I was rejoicing with the rest of my family, enjoying the season of Christmas. And one day, I didn't want to wake up. Every moment felt like I was dying, every moment my heart and soul were weighed down. Moving my body to get out of bed felt like trying to lift a thousand pounds. My room was piled with dirty clothes and my used tissues. None of which I wanted to clean. What was the point? It was just going to get dirty again. Depression isn't something that happens instantly, at least in most cases.
In my case, it was a slow decent. Every day it got just a little harder to get up. Every day it was just a little harder to be happy. The knowledge that I was going to die, my friends, my family, everyone was going to be gone was too much for me to bear. The knowledge that I couldn't make everyone happy forever, that no matter how hard I tried, everyone would just push me aside one day, it was enough to make me hate myself for trying. Why would I make people happy just for them to become sad again? Why would I give people hope so they can remember what they don't have? What horrible person would do that?
I wanted to die. I wanted to fall asleep forever. I stayed in my bed for days, I missed meals and only ate Ramen and only drank soda. I repeated what I knew over and over, questioning why this happened now. Why was I so happy before? What made me sad? How can I climb out of this pit? I couldn't forget what I knew. I couldn't just throw away these thoughts. And then I asked myself. Do I have to get rid of these thoughts, this knowledge? After all, it wasn't like I just learned these. I knew what would happen before, and yet I carried on.
In those next few days, I dug deeper. What if being happy wasn't based off of ignorance or the drive to change things? What if being happy was just... learning to live with the conditions you were forced to endure? It's true, I will die. It's true, my loved ones will die. It's true, even if I make people happy, they will be sad once more. But just because things will happen, it doesn't mean you have to focus on them. Being happy isn't about being ignorant or ignoring the things to come. Being happy? It's about coming to peace with what is going to happen.
The only permanent thing in this world is impermanence. Eventually the sands of times will erode what was made. There's no escaping that. But focusing on it, crying about it, mourning what would be loss? That wouldn't fix it either. There are millions of people in the world, each living their own lives, everyone with their own struggles. But what has gotten humanity so far is having the strength to carry on. For every boulder life throws onto you, the stronger you get lifting them off. Your life will always have hardships. Your life will never be perfect. And that's okay.
Carry on. Because life is worth it. It may not seem like it right now. But it is. For those little moments, those little pockets of bliss will carry you if you cannot keep walking. Maybe it's a hobby, maybe it's talking with a loved one. Maybe it's a sport, or a view in nature, or maybe it's doing nothing at all, just enjoying the breaths you take. Maybe it's just looking at things from a new perspective.
Whatever it is, whatever you enjoy, let that drive you to push through this darkness. And if you don't know what to do, try something new. If you hate it, then now you know. If you love it, you have another landmark to look to. Because one day, you will die. And when that time comes, it's best to leave this world without any regrets.