58 Depression Quotes for When You Feel Broken and Need to Cry

At some point in our lives, we all have gone through a rough patch, felt great sadness and brokenness, and needed to cry. However, if the feeling is persistent and affects your daily life, you might be dealing with depression, and these quotes might lift you for a moment.

Depression is a common but serious illness, and most who suffer from it need treatment to get better. In the worst case, depression can last for years and even irreversibly affect the person.

Depression is characterized by a low mood and sadness associated with changes in behavior, level of activity, and thinking. It can cause anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite, and a lack of interest or pleasure in participating in different activities including work, school, and family activities.

Commonly, even people with the best intentions try to dismiss the feelings of the one experiencing depression. There is no quick fix to end this problem, but techniques like staying positive might help reduce the emotional paralysis and worries that generally accompany this disorder.

Ayobami Adebayo's quote: "If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking and sometimes does break. But when it's in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn't mean it's no longer love." | Image: AmoDays

Depression Quotes That Define the Condition

"All alone! Whether you like it or not, alone is something you'll be quite a lot!" ― Dr. Seuss

"And then something invisible snapped insider her, and that which had come together commenced to fall apart." ― John Green

"Most people go through their whole lives, without ever really feeling that close with anyone." ― Sally Rooney

"She had loved him for such a long time, she thought. How was it that she did now know him at all?" ― Cassandra Clare

"Now, the standard cure for one who is sunk is to consider those in actual destitution or physical suffering—this is an all-weather beatitude for gloom in general and fairly salutary day-time advice for everyone. But at three o'clock in the morning, a forgotten package has the same tragic importance as a death sentence, and the cure doesn't work—and in a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day." ― F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sally Rooney's quote: "Most people go through their whole lives, without ever really feeling that close with anyone." | Image: AmoDays

"...and there you have it, another body on the floor surrounded by things that don't mean much to anyone except to the one who can't take any of them along." ― Mark Z. Danielewski

"People aren't born sad; we make them that way." ― Nikita Gill

"The pretty ones are usually unhappy. They expect everyone to be enamored of their beauty. How can a person be content when their happiness lies in someone else's hands, ready to be crushed at any moment? Ordinary-looking people are far superior, because they are forced to actually work hard to achieve their goals, instead of expecting people to fall all over themselves to help them." ― J. Cornell Michel

"And the snow that fell onto the roof in winter... it fell softly... softly... and it covered the house, the armchair, the books, the children's voices. It covered Anna and Abel, covered their parallel world, and everything was finally, very, very quiet." ― Antonia Michaelis

"I can't think of anything more disheartening than living a life without a clear purpose." ― Daniel Willey

Nikita Gill's quote: "People aren't born sad; we make them that way." | Image: AmoDays

"...whether the people are happy or not in their lives, they have learned to keep steadily moving, moving all the time." ― Chang Rae Lee

"It's a wonderful life if you can find it." ― Nick Cave

"Hasn't it been a long time since you had a flying dream?" ― Douglas Coupland

"You say you're 'depressed' – all I see is resilience. You are allowed to feel messed up and inside out. It doesn't mean you're defective – it just means you're human." ― David Mitchell

"Mental pain is less dramatic than physical pain, but it is more common and also more hard to bear. The frequent attempt to conceal mental pain increases the burden: it is easier to say, 'My tooth is aching' than to say, 'My heart is broken.'" ― C.S. Lewis

Chang Rae Lee's quote: "...whether the people are happy or not in their lives, they have learned to keep steadily moving, moving all the time." | Image: AmoDays

"That's the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end." ― Elizabeth Wurtzel

"Depression is being colorblind and constantly told how colorful the world is." — Atticus

"Mental illness is so much more complicated than any pill that any mortal could invent." ― Elizabeth Wurtzel

"Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not, and often times, we call a man cold when he is only sad." ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

"There are wounds that never show on the body that are deeper and more hurtful than anything that bleeds." ― Laurell K. Hamilton

Elizabeth Wurtzel's quote: "Mental illness is so much more complicated than any pill that any mortal could invent." | Image: AmoDays

"Depression presents itself as a realism regarding the rottenness of the world in general and the rottenness of your life in particular. But the realism is merely a mask for depression's actual essence, which is an overwhelming estrangement from humanity. The more persuaded you are of your unique access to the rottenness, the more afraid you become of engaging with the world; and the less you engage with the world, the more perfidiously happy-faced the rest of humanity seems for continuing to engage with it." ― Jonathan Franzen

"When people don't know exactly what depression is, they can be judgmental." ― Marion Cotillard

"It is important not to suppress your feelings altogether when you are depressed. It is equally important to avoid terrible arguments or expressions of outrage. You should steer clear of emotionally damaging behavior. People forgive, but it is best not to stir things up to the point at which forgiveness is required. When you are depressed, you need the love of other people, and yet depression fosters actions that destroy that love. Depressed people often stick pins into their own life rafts. The conscious mind can intervene. One is not helpless."― Andrew Solomon

"Maybe we all have darkness inside of us and some of us are better at dealing with it than others." ― Jasmine Warga

"Listen to the people who love you. Believe that they are worth living for even when you don't believe it. Seek out the memories depression takes away and project them into the future. Be brave; be strong; take your pills. Exercise because it's good for you even if every step weighs a thousand pounds. Eat when food itself disgusts you. Reason with yourself when you have lost your reason." ― Andrew Solomon

Marion Cotillard's quote: "When people don't know exactly what depression is, they can be judgmental." | Image: AmoDays

"It's not all bad. Heightened self-consciousness, apartness, an inability to join in, physical shame, and self-loathing—they are not all bad. Those devils have been my angels. Without them I would never have disappeared into language, literature, the mind, laughter and all the mad intensities that made and unmade me." ― Stephen Fry

Depression Quotes from People Sharing Their Own Experience

"Quite frankly, every single day that I do something creative, and show it to people, I'm nervous. Even this video, I'm like, 'You're too earnest, it's not funny enough, nobody likes you.' Um, well, I gotta do it, because unless I say something about the world I don't know if it's worth gettin' up in the morning. ...Was that depressing, or inspirational?" ― Felicia Day

"But I didn't understand then. That I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover. That a person can, just by living, damage another human being beyond repair." ― Haruki Murakami

"Black is not sad. Bright colors are what depresses me. They're so… empty. Black is poetic. How do you imagine a poet? In a bright yellow jacket? Probably not." ― Ann Demeulemeester

Haruki Murakami's quote: "But I didn't understand then. That I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover. That a person can, just by living, damage another human being beyond repair." | Image: AmoDays

"Maybe I'd always been broken and dark inside." ― Sarah J. Maas

"I found that with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you're not alone." — Dwayne Johnson

"Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they're going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It's hard to be a friend to someone who's depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do." ― Stephen Fry

"I go through a lot of depression, and I know other people do, too, but I have an outlet that so many people don't. If you have that inside of you and can't get it out, what do you do?" ― Billie Eilish

Sarah J. Maas' quote: "Maybe I'd always been broken and dark inside." | Image: AmoDays

"When you're surrounded by all these people, it can be lonelier than when you're by yourself. You can be in a huge crowd, but if you don't feel like you can trust anyone or talk to anybody, you feel like you're really alone." ― Fiona Apple

"A big part of depression is feeling really lonely, even if you're in a room full of a million people." — Lilly Singh

"Depression, for me, has been a couple of different things - but the first time I felt it, I felt helpless, hopeless, and things I had never felt before. I lost myself and my will to live." — Ginger Zee

"I'll never forget how the depression and loneliness felt good and bad at the same time. Still does."― Henry Rollins

"I couldn't be with people and I didn't want to be alone. Suddenly my perspective whooshed and I was far out in space, watching the world. I could see millions and millions of people, all slotted into their lives; then I could see me—I'd lost my place in the universe. It had closed up and there was nowhere for me to be. I was more lost than I had known it was possible for any human being to be." ― Marian Keyes

Lilly Singh's quote: "A big part of depression is feeling really lonely, even if you're in a room full of a million people." | Image: AmoDays

"I didn't want my picture taken because I was going to cry. I didn't know why I was going to cry, but I knew that if anybody spoke to me or looked at me too closely the tears would fly out of my eyes and the sobs would fly out of my throat and I'd cry for a week. I could feel the tears brimming and sloshing in me like water in a glass that is unsteady and too full." ― Sylvia Plath

"Depression on my left. Loneliness on my right. They don't need to show me their badges. I know these guys very well." ― Elizabeth Gilbert

"That is all I want in life: for this pain to seem purposeful." ― Elizabeth Wurtzel

"Watching the hole in the ever-fading light. It's the size of a baby now, closing all the time. Narrower and narrower, until there's barely room to fit an arm through. I'm thinking about quenching the light before the hole shuts—this is just torture—when a face suddenly appears. It's Bran. The spell has passed and he's come back. He wants to get through, to be with me. But the hole's too small. He punches it, pulls at it, slips his fingers into the gap and strains with all his might—but it's no good. The rock continues to grind together. The hole gets smaller, the width of a finger now. At the last moment, Bran presses his mouth up to the hole and roars with raw pain and loss, at the top of his voice, "Bec!" It's the only time he's ever uttered my name. Anyone's name. His anguished cry stabs at my heart and tears spring to my eyes. I open my mouth to shout his own name back, to offer whatever small shred of comfort I can… but then the rock closes all the way and a fierce rumbling drowns out the echoes of Bran's cry. I stare at the solid rock. My mouth closes. The light fades. Darkness." ― Darren Shan

"I got an A on the third quiz in American history, an A, dammit. Last time I got a B, up from a C, and my father said, "if you can get a C, you can get a B, if you can get a B, you can get an A."- I got an A, and my father said, "grades don't mean anything." ― Thalia Chaltas

Elizabeth Gilbert's quote: "Depression on my left. Loneliness on my right. They don't need to show me their badges. I know these guys very well." | Image: AmoDays

Depression Quotes from the Brokenhearted

"But even so, every now and then, I would feel a violent stab of loneliness. The very water I drink, the very air I breathe, would feel like long, sharp needles. The pages of a book in my hands would take on the threatening metallic gleam of razor blades. I could hear the roots of loneliness creeping through me when the world was hushed at four o'clock in the morning." — Haruki Murakami

"Baby, it's so weird to me now that it's over. The space where you used to be. Your head on my shoulder. All of the plans we made that never happened. Now your scent on my pillow's faded. At least you left me with something" — Robyn

"Do you think I am an automaton?—a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you—and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you." — Charlotte Brontë

"No apologies, he'll never see you cry, Pretends he doesn't know that he's the reason why. You're drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning. Now I heard you moved on from whispers on the street. A new notch in your belt is all I'll ever be" — Taylor Swift

Haruki Murakami's quote: "But even so, every now and then, I would feel a violent stab of loneliness. The very water I drink, the very air I breathe, would feel like long, sharp needles. The pages of a book in my hands would take on the threatening metallic gleam of razor blades. I could hear the roots of loneliness creeping through me when the world was hushed at four o'clock in the morning." | Image: AmoDays

"How can I be reasonable? To me, our love was everything and you were my whole life. It is not very pleasant to realize that to you it was only an episode." — W. Somerset Maugham

"This is what it felt like to have a broken heart. It felt less like a cracking down the middle and more like she had swallowed it whole and it sat bruised and bleeding in the pit of her stomach." — Wendy Wunder

"Nothing else ever seems to hurt like the smile on your face. When it's only in my memory, it don't hit me quite the same." — Beyoncé

"Clipped wings, I was a broken thing. Had a voice, had a voice but I could not sing. You would wind me down. I struggled on the ground. So lost, the line had been crossed. Had a voice, had a voice but I could not talk. You held me down. I struggle to fly now" — Sia

"In the middle of the block, she opened the door of a coffee shop, but they were playing one of the songs she had heard with Carol everywhere, and she let the door close and walked on. The music lived, but the world was dead. And the song would die one day, she thought, but how would the world come back to life?" — Patricia Highsmith

Beyoncé's quote: "Nothing else ever seems to hurt like the smile on your face. When it's only in my memory, it don't hit me quite the same." | Image: AmoDays

"If the burden is too much and stays too long, even love bends, cracks, comes close to breaking, and sometimes does break. But when it's in a thousand pieces around your feet, that doesn't mean it's no longer love." — Ayobami Adebayo

"I have not broken your heart–you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine." — Emily Brontë

"Take these old used memories from the past. And these broken dreams and plans that didn't last. I'll trade them for a future, I can't use them anymore. I've wasted love, but I still have some more." — Dolly Parton

"What kind of man loves like this? To let me dangle at a cruel angle. Oh, my feet don't touch the floor. Sometimes you're half in, and then you're half out. But you never close the door" — Florence + The Machine

"Painted a picture; I thought I knew you well. I got a habit of seeing what isn't there. Caught in the moment, tangled up in your sheets. When you broke my heart; I said you only wanted half of me." — Ariana Grande

Emily Brontë's quote: "I have not broken your heart–you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine." | Image: AmoDays

Depression can affect anyone of any socioeconomic level and age. If you are going through depression, you should talk to a therapist. However, to get the most out of therapy, you can also do things that help you and remember you are not alone.

If you still feel sad and broken, maybe it is time to put yourself together and mend the broken pieces of your heart with these golden Kintsugi quotes.