Poems For Describing Depression

Published: July 2017

Poems To Explain What Depression Feels Like

Depression and sadness are not the same. We all experience sadness from time to time, but those feelings go away within a short period of time. Depression is a diagnosable condition characterized by a prolonged feeling of sadness and loss of interest in things that were once enjoyable. It can also have lasting symptoms such as changes in sleep, energy level, and concentration. The United States has one of the highest depression rates in the world, and women are more likely to suffer from this than men.

For someone who has never experienced depression, it can be challenging to understand. These poems provide a glimpse of what depression feels like and what's it’s like to fight against depression. Depression becomes all-consuming and affects every aspect of a person’s life.

If you suspect you or someone you love is living with depression, please reach out to get help. Know that you are not alone. Hundreds of millions of people around the world are fighting depression every day.

For more poems check out:

18 Poems To Explain What Depression Feels Like

  1. Describing Imaginary Things

    • By Katie R.
    • Published by Family Friend Poems July 2017 with permission of the Author.

    Many people don't understand that depression isn't just feeling sad: it's a real disorder, and you can't cure it by saying, "Buck up, sweetie." In a way, this poem is meant to show how most people simply don't understand depression and how people with it feel. A friend of mine was diagnosed with depression, and one night she desperately tried to explain to me what it was like. I was shocked by what I didn't understand. The poem was born from that and told in her perspective.

    in Depression Poems

    "I'm tired," I say,
    "That's all."
    And in a way, I guess it's true.
    In every other way,

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  2. Behind The Mask

    • By Melisa Bernards
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2015 with permission of the Author.

    This poem is about the smile we let the world see while inside we are dying a little every day.

    in Depression Poems

    Hiding the hurt, hiding the pain,
    Hiding the tears that fall like rain.
    Saying I'm fine when I'm anything but.
    This ache in my soul rips at my gut.

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    Thank you so much! I'm so happy my experiences can have an affect on others. I always felt so alone, but it's time for all of us to realize we aren't alone, and we need to stand together and...

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  4. The Darkness

    • By Dallas E. Krystof
    • Published by Family Friend Poems July 2018 with permission of the Author.

    I've struggled with severe depression and anxiety for years. Most people tell you it will all be fine and you will be okay, but that doesn't make it better, and that is what this poem is expressing.

    in Depression Poems

    You would never know it,
    The constant pain I feel,
    Because in the light of day
    It almost isn't real.

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    This poem is so relatable. I grew up with a drug addict father who abused my mom. Now that I have gotten older and I understand what addiction is, all it does is break my heart. I always put...

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  5. From Oppression Comes Light

    • By Erik Whitehead
    • Published by Family Friend Poems August 2015 with permission of the Author.

    I started writing about my depression. I finished the poem quickly, but realized it had no resolve. I need a way for the depression to cease and then I found my answer... I opened my eyes. Truth sets us free and lies hold us down. In writing this poem, I realized that the beast or the depression is all a lie to myself from myself. I quickly thought of truth in my life and realized I have no reason to be down. Life is a blessing from God, and that is truth.

    in Depression Poems

    Depression is oppression.
    It's a deadly hidden message
    Defined by self-hate.
    It seals its prisoner's fate.

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    This poem is very well written and it gave me chills because of how amazing it is. I'm going through these poems in search of one to use for prose and poetry, an academic event, i take part...

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  7. I'm The One To Blame

    • By Rayne
    • Published by Family Friend Poems September 2016 with permission of the Author.

    Depression is really hurtful. Every time I try to explain the pain, I can never put it into words. I have been dealing with depression my entire childhood. I pretend to be a fun loving girl with all my friends, but all the pain is buried inside me. I know that I cannot blame anyone for the way my soul turned against me, but someday I'm going to find the reason why I turned out the way I did.

    in Depression Poems by Teens

    I smile and laugh wildly, having fun with my friends.
    They don't know what huge lie I have to pretend.
    To my friends, I'm the funny girl who's so full of life.
    They don't know how many times I'd held a bloody knife.

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    They say "be happy." Do you really think I want to be happy? I do, but the cruel people in the world hate me. I try and try and try. But I always just let go. All my friends are so happy...

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  8. Uninvited Guest

    • By Vicky
    • Published by Family Friend Poems October 2007 with permission of the Author.

    Anyone who has suffered from depression will understand this poem. I urge you to fight. There IS a light at the end of the tunnel.

    in Mental Illness Poems

    I'm feeling broken down, my body aches
    My heart, it bleeds from past mistakes
    Can't stop the tears; they fall like rain
    The words are spinning 'round my brain

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    The poet has penned down his pains in a truly pictorial ways that draws the picture of his mental condition of broken heart in the mind of the readers.

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  9. The Daily Battle

    • By Max S.
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2015 with permission of the Author.

    The inspiration behind this poem stems from a daily struggle with self-image in this day and age. Not feeling good enough for others as well as not feeling good enough about yourself also plays a part in this poem. It's the daily battle of trying to feel accepted and the struggle of learning to love yourself.

    in Depression Poems

    It is the darkest, deepest place one can travel to alone,
    A solo journey filled with struggles and groans.
    Every day is a new battle against the same foe,
    But the enemy fights back with psychological blows.

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    This is an awesome poem! This is how I feel most days.

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  10. Living A Lie

    • By Lee W. Barker
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2020 with permission of the Author.

    I wrote this poem when I was going through a really bad time with my depression. I was trying to explain to someone who has never suffered with depression how it makes you feel. I find writing poetry very therapeutic, and it helps me to express my inner feelings. I have written many poems, a lot of which are about different stages of my depression, as I see it.

    in Depression Poems

    Walking into a typhoon,
    Swimming against the tide,
    That's just how it feels,
    When my truth I have to hide.

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  11. Lost

    • By Thalia
    • Published by Family Friend Poems November 2008 with permission of the Author.

    I wrote this poem because it is exactly what I feel. Each line portrays the anguish of feeling alone, the struggle to find meaning in a world that seemed devoid of purpose

    in Depression Poems by Teens

    What do you call it when all you feel is pain?
    When your loved ones look at you and all you feel is shame?
    When you're tired of living and playing this game?
    When you know your life is meaningless and you're the only one to blame?

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    Sadly, nowadays that's how a good bit of the world's population describes how they feel and the thoughts on their emotional state about their life in general. It's sad. It's NOT you it's...

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  12. Depression Blues

    • By Tina M. Casalvera
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2020 with permission of the Author.

    I am bipolar manic depressive. It helps writing rhymes when I am in my low state. Sometimes this mental illness gets the best of me. I would like to share these in hopes of helping others to know they are not alone.

    in Depression Poems

    My head is not right today.
    I have no idea why it's this way.

    It switches from one thought to another.

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  13. Darkness

    • By Erin L. Kampen
    • Published by Family Friend Poems October 2021 with permission of the Author.

    I've long battled depression. In this moment I was at a low point.

    in Depression Poems

    No words for a state that I cannot express
    Like gravity just holds me here in this mess
    An invisible force stealing my air
    A looming dark cloud and no one's aware

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  14. Behind This Face

    • By Lee W. Barker
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2019 with permission of the Author.

    This poem is written from a very personal view during my battle with depression. This talks about the fact that you have to hide your true feelings and the constant act that you put on to the people around you.

    in Depression Poems

    Behind this calm face there is a raging storm,
    Like a war in my head since the day I was born.

    Behind this smile there is a lonely sad frown,

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  15. Tidal Wave

    • By Brian L. Barrett
    • Published by Family Friend Poems February 2018 with permission of the Author.

    While battling with depression and anxiety, I have found that writing poetry is one of the only ways I can get out my stress and relieve some of my angst. I have many friends and family members who deal with depression, and I'm hoping other people can find some comfort in my words knowing they're not alone.

    in Depression Poems

    In our darkest nights and our brightest days,
    emotions fill us like tidal waves.

    They can drag us down and pull us in,

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  16. Chasing Sunsets

    • By Natalie Grace
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2016 with permission of the Author.

    I lived with undiagnosed depression and anxiety for four years. After treatment, I am having many more good days, but people assume that bad days don't come anymore. People assume that one bad day means I'm relapsing. Bad days come. They will always come. Yet it's different now. Yes, thoughts of vanishing and escaping this life come to mind, but Hope is stronger. There are moments of tomorrow that are worth living for.

    in Depression Poems by Teens

    Having depression and anxiety is like being thrown into a raging, surging ocean
    When you don't know how to swim.
    Meanwhile, the whole world expects you to keep swimming forward,
    To keep excelling and moving onward in this thing called life.

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    I am 17 years old and have been struggling with depression and anxiety for six years. The people who notice don't care enough to help me get help. I would love just for a day to get a...

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  17. The Darkness

    • By BGW
    • Published by Family Friend Poems April 2022 with permission of the Author.

    This is an example of a repetition poem. To have suffered and languished silently is something owned by many - to endure without recourse, faith or aspiration, reduced to a mere shadow of one's former self. This poem looks at how staying too long somewhere, or with someone where darkness resides, can have a profound effect.

    in Depression Poems

    I had sight, but the darkness offers me no light.
    I had visions, but the darkness suppresses them.
    I had self-belief, but the darkness overshadows my confidence.
    I had freedom, but the darkness shackles me.

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  18. Indescribable

    • By Mack
    • Published by Family Friend Poems October 2015 with permission of the Author.

    I'm fine now. This is just what I remember.

    in Hate Poems

    The burning hate,
    so severe, everlasting,
    the hate you take every day,
    that you absorb,

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    I am very touched by this poem . I have favored it and I will show it to others if asked about depression. Thank you!

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  19. Demons Inside

    • By Aimee Jones
    • Published by Family Friend Poems March 2017 with permission of the Author.

    I've suffered with depression for 4 years, and recently I have found that writing is my way of release. I don't always write about mental health, but I feel my pieces on that subject are my best because I understand my mind better than anything else. I want to help people who are struggling, because even though I don't know what you're going through, I know what it's like to feel scared, trapped and alone.

    in Depression Poems

    It's hard to explain those
    demons inside,
    the daily struggle,
    the daily ride.

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    This poem really catches something in me. I'm 17 and have struggled with depression since I was around 12. Diagnosed when I was 15 and hospitalized twice for trying to end my life. Depression...

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  20. Darkness

    • By Cassie
    • Published by Family Friend Poems June 2007 with permission of the Author.

    How depression takes over

    in Depression Poems

    It's like a plague that never goes away,
    Or an animal and its prey.
    It waits...
    And waits...

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    Yes .very true..and other people think that you're weak minded..its been 2 years since my divorce. I was with my wife over 16 years ..I gave everything for her and my kids..but she said...

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