My personal struggle with depression. Share your story struggling with depression here! All welcome

My personal struggle with depression started when I was 8. It was the first time I had a teacher that made school as stressful as home. Whether it was genetic or my environment completely, I have been fighting for 14 years. But within the last two I've been happy with spells of depression rather than the other way around. I have hope now.

Freshman year of high school is when it got really bad, but I'm not really sure when it started. My dad was really abusive so I was always overwhelmed. I'm 26 now, and it's been more on and off the last few years than constant. Its bad when it's here though.

I never understood depression before my dad started dying 9 years ago, depression seemed like a foreign concept and I didn't understand those that had it. When I first got depressed, it was subtle and it wasn't until I reached that low, came out of it and reflected back did I realise how bad it as. Unfortunately, once my brain had learnt how to feel depressed, it became all too easy to slip back into it. Now, it's usually as a result of my anxiety and when that combination hits, it's a bastard. I'd like to think I'm getting better at dealing with it. or at least I am more aware of it and can 'try' to do stuff to lessen the blow.

Im a hard working sole provider for my family. I took on a relationship with a single mother but that never stopped me from trying to provide for my family..i accept that it would be tuff but that shouldn't stop me from trying too be happy. Shes a great person and i love baby. But i initially started the relationship high on drugs living a double life to myself and my family. I have kicked drugs since but i find myself that im constantly still apologizing. I realize we have trust issues because of that but she says she just doesnt trust me..i will pee in any cup you can watch. I won't ever go back. But then ive took on stress cause i got a short in pay and ive been looking for a new job and my wife says we have never been intimate and always says she regrets getting married and wants a divorce. Im afraid i will never see my kid.shes my step kid but ive been there since she was 3.shes now 6 almost 7..

when my mother started to physically abuse me when i was young. it went on for a while until i told a counselor at school.

the physical turned emotional and verbal, and i started smoking to calm down.

My personal struggle with depression started when I was 9 years old, when I wanted to commit suicide due to the relentless bullying that I got from my so-called friends. I'm 22 now, and honestly I can't say that life has gotten better because I still struggle from depression now due to a tremendously low self-esteem due to those years, my parents, and frankly life's constant rejections. The consistent feeling of failure and fear over my future has been killing me on the inside these last few months, and the isolation that I feel because the vast majority of the people I am surrounded by are not people I can easily confide to. This is probably due to the fact that most people have a false sense of who I am as a person, and that from the outside I have "nothing I should complain about" since "nothing really bad has ever happened to me". So it just cycles and cycles and cycles into an endless spiral of self-loathing and loneliness.

My personal struggle started when I was around 15 years old. I started to find it hard to make friends, my relationship with my parents became very distant and agitated, and then my relationship with myself became impossible. My brain allowed me to believe that pain was good, and that hating myself was the best way for others to like me. I realised something wasn't right in my head, so I anxiously went to a doctor. For the first 10 minutes of sitting with this stranger, the idea of telling her the issues in my head felt unbearable and abnormal. I wanted her to tell me that it was normal to feel that way, but at the same time I wanted her to tell me I needed help. I wanted to hear it from someone other than myself so I knew it was true. I started taking tablets and filling my spare time with friends, but it made things worse. I felt uncomfortable in large groups of people, the idea of getting out of bed made me physically cry. I tried to have relationship but that felt like I was adding more pressure onto myself. I started to feel like my friends didn't want me around, and that family members distanced them selfs on purpose. Which is when self harm became a daily fix. At the time you feel like your alive, your not numb anymore. But as soon as it's over, you feel pure guilt and discust in yourself. It starts a nasty ongoing cycle. 3 years on and I am slowly getting myself back together. There is a way out of the black hole. I promise

My depression started 3 years ago when my grandma passed away. It just went down from their never really has gotten better.

When I realized that I am depressed and I am not ok I have started to read more about my condition. I took up an online course and it helped me a lot.

I'd say my depression came about 6 years ago, mostly because of my family life. I've only been diagnosed with it for about 2 years now. It's something I wish I didn't have to live with but I have to and I'm trying my best to overcome it.