81 Interviews With People Struggling With Depression

We have interviewed 81 people who have struggled with depression. These stories are full of tips on how to overcome depression.

Most recent stories of people struggling with depression

How I’m Seeking Moments of Happiness Despite Struggling With Depression

How I’m Seeking Moments of Happiness Despite Struggling With Depression

April 25, 2024
Helped by: Medication, Therapy
How Boxing and Therapy Help Me Recover My Identity After Extreme Weight Loss

How Boxing and Therapy Help Me Recover My Identity After Extreme Weight Loss

April 24, 2024
Helped by: Exercise, Self-improvement, Therapy
How Therapy, Medication and Baking Help Me Navigate Depression and OCD

How Therapy, Medication and Baking Help Me Navigate Depression and OCD

April 18, 2024
Helped by: Medication, Self-improvement, Therapy, Treatment

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Are you struggling with depression?

I’ve interviewed 81 people struggling with depression, and here are the top 5 most mentioned tips that helped these people overcome it:

  1. Therapy (49 people helped)
  2. Self-improvement (41 people helped)
  3. Social support (30 people helped)
  4. Self-Care (29 people helped)
  5. Medication (23 people helped)

In our many years of publishing helpful mental health content, we always received questions from our readers about specific situations. While we have a lot of helpful tips to share on how to be happier, we simply can’t offer advice for every situation.

That’s why I’ve set out to interview folks with every type of mental health struggle. My job as an interviewer is to categorize these interviews and present them in a way that is most helpful to our readers.

Read all the case studies

Zane Landin Featured Image

Case studies

How I’m Seeking Moments of Happiness Despite Struggling With Depression

“The diagnosis I longed for finally arrived, but it didn’t bring the expected empowerment. While it sheds light on my struggles, it also serves as a reminder that this is a part of me that won’t simply vanish. Though mental health can be managed, I know it will always leave its mark. The most challenging part is not always pinpointing why I feel the way I do.”

Struggled with:
Depression
Negative body image

Helped by:
Medication
Therapy

Nicole Miller Featured Image

Case studies

How a Mindset Change Helped Me Break Free From Childhood Trauma and Toxicity

“My mother said she wanted to end it in bloodshed and she waited for him to come home from his late-night meeting. She thought better of it when he was late arriving home. She was overwhelmed with thoughts of her in prison and me in foster care. To say that she made the right decision in achieving the goal of a good life is an answer I struggled to answer for many years.”

Struggled with:
Abuse
Anxiety
Childhood
CPTSD
Depression

Helped by:
Mindfulness
Reinventing yourself
Self-improvement
Therapy

Aaron Burros Featured Image

Case studies

Surviving a Workplace Shooting and Navigating PTSD, Insomnia With Marathons and Prayers

“My symptoms began immediately following a workplace shooting on Saturday, November 28, 2015, and were exasperated due to the activity of the company, the criminals, and the cops. The company treated me as if I were a criminal, the criminals attempted to kill me three additional times, and the cops (Houston Police Department Organized Crime Unit) treated me as if I was a thorn in their flesh.”

Struggled with:
Depression
Insomnia
PTSD
Stress

Helped by:
Exercise
Religion
Treatment
Volunteering

Stacey Powells Featured Image

Case studies

How The Support of Others Helped Me Heal After a Mental Breakdown

“I do not recommend having a breakdown when trying to raise boys. I would cry, eat all the time, and feel like my brain was full of fuzz. I could barely function. There was that day when I got home from taking the kids to school, and thought to myself that if there was a gun in the house, someone else would have had to pick them up from school that day.”

Struggled with:
Depression
Divorce
Stress

Helped by:
Journaling

Therapy

Maggie Winzeler Featured Image

Case studies

Journaling and Therapy Helped Me After Surviving a Car Accident and a Late Pregnancy Loss

“I vividly remember one day a few months after getting hit by the car when I wondered if my life would ever feel peaceful, pain-free, or joyful again. I was simply getting in and out of the passenger seat of a vehicle, my whole body gripped with pain and stiffness when I experienced a flash of fear that my health would never improve.”

Struggled with:
Chronic pain
Depression
Grief
PTSD

Helped by:
Journaling
Therapy

Scott Lipinoga Featured Image

Case studies

From the C-Suites to the Streets and Back – Overcoming Addiction, Anxiety, Depression and PTSD

“Over the past decade, I have struggled with substance abuse immensely leading to anxiety, depression, and PTSD. After losing thirteen corporate jobs and ending up homeless, beaten up, and absolutely broken on the streets I have finally come to terms with my situation and am finding a path towards long-term sobriety and happiness.”

Struggled with:
Addiction
Anxiety
Depression
PTSD

Helped by:
Mindfulness
Rehab
Religion
Self-improvement

Marina Featured Image

Case studies

My Journey to Self-Compassion Amidst Depression, Anxiety and Suicidal Thoughts

“This suicidal edge coupled with stress, anxiety, and loneliness made me stop working as a human being. In just two months I had spiraled down into the darkest hole which has ever existed for me. There didn’t exist Marina anymore, merely a depressive and neurotic copy of her, who was unable to laugh and sleep.”

Struggled with:
Anxiety
Depression
Panic attacks
Stress
Suicidal

Helped by:
Self-acceptance
Self-improvement
Therapy