As well as living the first 20 years of my life under the spell of intense anxiety, I’ve also experienced depression on several different levels. The first time I experienced depression I was very young. However this wasn’t triggered by a specific event. Instead, it felt like a long drawn out sense of inner sadness from within. It’s only now I’m older that I realise I was depressed. Fast forward to recent years and I experienced a different kind of depression – the kind that makes you want to stay indoors and not interact with anyone, and even question life itself. Throughout my experience with depression, I’ve come to realise that whilst there is a common belief that depression is just ‘extreme sadness’, it can manifest in different ways. Because of this, there are a ton of different ways that you could explain depression to someone else who has never truly experienced it.

It’s not a light subject, but one that must be talked about openly. That way, when it does strike, people will feel as if it’s normal to talk about it, and thus, reach out for help. Here’s a list of metaphors for depression that you might resonate with. They’re designed to help you explain depression to others when you feel as if you might need to.

Eye-Opening Metaphors For Depression To Help You In Explaining To Others

1. Depression is like an eclipse that never seems to move from in front of the sun
2. Depression is like being trapped in a nightmare and never waking up
3. Depression is like reliving the worst day of your life over and over…
4. Depression is breaking your arm but the pain never eases
5. Depression is like watching a show that is supposed to be funny but you get no joy from it
6. Depression is like cleaning a stain but it doesn’t seem to get cleaner no matter how much you try
7. Depression is like a friend you can no longer stand who is always by your side
8. Depression is like sinking into your mind with a rock tied to your feet
9. Depression is a like feeling guilty for something you can’t remember if you even did
10. Depression is a feeling of all hope lost, like when the bomb goes live in the film ‘Armageddon’
11. Depression is like hearing an annoying so on repeat in your head and you can’t switch it off
12. Depression is like getting a menu where all  that is being served is guilt, sadness and self-loathing
13. Depression is like the eternal emptiness of the galaxy
14. Depression feels like being in The ‘Truman Show’ where everyone is in on the joke but you
15. Depression is like being stuck on a desert island, isolated and confused

If you can relate to these depression metaphors great, if not, that’s okay too. We all experience depression differently. For some of us it’s more of an underlining sadness, and for others it’s an intense feeling of helplessness.

Whatever which way you experience depression, just know that you’re not alone. As well as the fact a huge portion of people experience it at some point, there’s plenty of places you can reach out. Helplines below.

UK helpline: 116123

US helpline: 1-800-273-TALK