50 Best Motivational Quotes For Depression

Discovering motivational quotes for depression can be a gentle first step toward reclaiming your emotional well-being. This carefully curated collection offers words of wisdom that acknowledge your struggles while illuminating paths forward. 


From renowned thinkers who've faced their own mental health challenges to timeless wisdom that provides comfort during dark times, these uplifting messages remind you that healing is possible and you're never alone in your journey through depressive episodes.

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Quotes About Hope and Resilience

1. "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."

  • Nelson Mandela - Former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid revolutionary 🌟
  • This powerful reminder about resilience speaks directly to those experiencing depression emphasizing that setbacks don't define us.

2. "Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it."

  • Helen Keller - Author and political activist who was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree 🌻
  • Keller's own triumph over immense challenges offers hope for those struggling with depression showing that suffering can be overcome.

3. "Ring the bells that still can ring. Forget your perfect offering. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."

  • Leonard Cohen - Legendary singer-songwriter and poet 🎵
  • Cohen's lyrics resonate deeply with those facing depression suggesting that our brokenness can become the pathway to healing.

4. "You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

  • A.A. Milne - Creator of Winnie-the-Pooh 📚
  • This quote reminds those battling depression that they possess inner strength and capabilities beyond what their current mindset might suggest.

5. "There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn't."

  • John Green - Award-winning author known for exploring mental health in his novels 📝
  • Green speaks from personal experience with depression offering a simple yet profound truth that counters depression's most dangerous lie.

6. "Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise."

  • Victor Hugo - Influential French poet novelist and dramatist 🌅
  • Hugo's metaphor provides comfort for those in depression's grip reminding them that no emotional state however intense is permanent.

7. "If you're going through hell, keep going."

  • Winston Churchill - British Prime Minister who led the UK through World War II 🔥
  • Churchill's straightforward advice encourages persistence during life's darkest moments including the journey through depression.

8. "The only way out is through."

  • Robert Frost - Four-time Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet 🌲
  • Frost's concise wisdom acknowledges that facing depression rather than avoiding it is ultimately the path to recovery.

9. "In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer."

  • Albert Camus - Nobel Prize-winning author and philosopher 🌞
  • Camus beautifully captures how inner strength can persist even during the darkest periods of depression.

10. "What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly."

  • Richard Bach - Bestselling author of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" 🦋
  • This metaphorical quote offers perspective transformation for those with depression suggesting that what feels like an ending may be transformation.
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Motivational Quotes Curated For You

Try our free AI Motivation Coach to find the best motivational quotes for your circumstances. Based on your challenges, goals and success.

Quotes About Self-Compassion and Acceptance

1. "Be gentle with yourself. You're doing the best you can."

  • Anonymous 💗
  • This compassionate reminder is essential for those experiencing depression who often struggle with harsh self-judgment.

2. "You don't have to be positive all the time. It's perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, annoyed, frustrated, scared, or anxious. Having feelings doesn't make you a negative person. It makes you human."

  • Lori Deschene - Founder of Tiny Buddha 🧘‍♀️
  • Deschene's words normalize the emotional spectrum offering relief from the pressure to "just be happy" that often compounds depression.

3. "Self-compassion is simply giving the same kindness to ourselves that we would give to others."

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  • Germer's insight provides a practical approach to self-care during depression framing it in terms of the kindness we readily offer others.

4. "You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection."

  • Buddha - Spiritual teacher and founder of Buddhism ☸️
  • This ancient wisdom counters the self-loathing often experienced during depression affirming every person's inherent worthiness.

5. "Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love."

  • Brené Brown - Research professor and bestselling author on vulnerability and courage 💬
  • Brown's advice offers a practical strategy for shifting negative self-talk patterns common in depression.

6. "You are not your illness. You have an individual story to tell. You have a name, a history, a personality. Staying yourself is part of the battle."

  • Julian Seifter - Harvard Medical School professor and physician 🌱
  • Seifter helps those with depression maintain their identity beyond their diagnosis which is crucial for recovery.

7. "Depression is a prison where you are both the suffering prisoner and the cruel jailer."

  • Dorothy Rowe - Psychologist and author specializing in depression 🔑
  • Rowe's metaphor validates the complex experience of depression while subtly suggesting the possibility of liberation.

8. "Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start."

  • Nido Qubein - President of High Point University and successful entrepreneur 🚀
  • For those feeling trapped by depression this perspective offers hope by separating current feelings from future possibilities.

9. "Sometimes you climb out of bed in the morning and you think, I'm not going to make it, but you laugh inside remembering all the times you've felt that way."

  • Charles Bukowski - Influential poet and novelist 🌄
  • Bukowski's raw honesty about the cyclical nature of depression reminds sufferers that they've survived difficult mornings before.

10. "The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

  • Dolly Parton - Country music icon and philanthropist 🌧️
  • Parton's folksy wisdom acknowledges that working through depression though difficult can lead to brighter experiences ahead.

Quotes About Small Steps and Progress

1. "Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can."

  • Arthur Ashe - First Black man to win the US Open and Wimbledon 🎾
  • Ashe's practical approach offers an accessible starting point for those whose depression makes even small actions seem overwhelming.

2. "When you're in a dark place, you sometimes tend to think you've been buried. Perhaps you've been planted. Bloom."

  • Christine Caine - Author speaker and activist 🌱
  • Caine reframes depression as potentially fertile ground for growth encouraging small movements toward recovery.

3. "Do what you can, with what you've got, where you are."

  • Theodore Roosevelt - 26th President of the United States and conservationist 🦅
  • Roosevelt's pragmatic advice provides permission to take modest steps forward during depression without waiting for perfect circumstances.

4. "The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

  • Mark Twain - Celebrated American author and humorist 📜
  • Twain's words cut through the paralysis of depression focusing on the power of simple beginnings rather than overwhelming end goals.

5. "You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

  • Martin Luther King Jr. - Civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner 👣
  • King's metaphor is particularly relevant for those with depression who may struggle to envision recovery but can manage one step.

6. "Little by little, one travels far."

  • J.R.R. Tolkien - Author of "The Lord of the Rings" and Oxford professor 🧙‍♂️
  • Tolkien's gentle encouragement reflects how seemingly small actions can accumulate to create significant distance from depression.

7. "The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones."

  • Confucius - Ancient Chinese philosopher whose teachings have influenced generations 🏔️
  • This ancient wisdom counteracts depression's tendency to magnify problems breaking them down into manageable pieces.

8. "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.'"

  • Mary Anne Radmacher - Writer artist and professional speaker 🌙
  • Radmacher redefines courage for those with depression as simple persistence not grand gestures.

9. "Every day begins with an act of courage and hope: getting out of bed."

  • Mason Cooley - American aphorist and professor 🛌
  • Cooley validates how challenging basic functions can be during depression honoring small victories.

10. "Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward."

  • Victor Kiam - Entrepreneur and former owner of Remington Products 🏃‍♂️
  • Kiam's humorous take reminds those battling depression that imperfect progress is still progress.
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Motivational Quotes Curated For You

Try our free AI Motivation Coach to find the best motivational quotes for your circumstances. Based on your challenges, goals and success.

Quotes About Finding Meaning and Purpose

1. "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."

  • Ralph Waldo Emerson - Essayist lecturer and poet who led the transcendentalist movement 🕊️
  • Emerson's perspective offers an alternative to happiness-seeking that may resonate with those experiencing depression.

2. "What if I told you that 10 years from now, your life would be exactly the same? I doubt you'd be happy. So, why are you so afraid of change?"

  • Karen Salmansohn - Bestselling author and happiness researcher 🦋
  • This question challenges the inertia that often accompanies depression suggesting that change though frightening may be necessary.

3. "Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how'."

  • Friedrich Nietzsche - Influential philosopher whose ideas continue to shape modern thought 🧠
  • Nietzsche's insight speaks to how finding meaning can provide strength during depression's darkest moments.

4. "The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern."

  • Elisabeth Kübler-Ross - Psychiatrist and pioneer in near-death studies 💫
  • Kübler-Ross offers a profound reframing of suffering with depression as potentially transformative leading to deeper human qualities.

5. "Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose."

  • Viktor Frankl - Neurologist psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor 🔍
  • Drawing from extreme suffering Frankl's perspective offers hope that finding meaning can sustain us through depression.

6. "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

  • Viktor Frankl - Founder of logotherapy and bestselling author of "Man's Search for Meaning" 🌟
  • Frankl's wisdom provides a path forward when depression seems unchangeable focusing on inner transformation.

7. "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."

  • Pablo Picasso - Revolutionary artist who co-founded the Cubist movement 🎨
  • Picasso suggests that discovering and sharing one's unique contributions can be an antidote to the meaninglessness often felt in depression.

8. "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

  • Howard Thurman - Civil rights leader theologian and spiritual adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. ✨
  • Thurman's words offer permission to pursue personal passion as a way through depression toward greater contribution.

9. "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."

  • Mark Twain - One of America's greatest writers and humorists 🎭
  • Twain highlights how discovering purpose can be life-defining particularly relevant for those seeking meaning amid depression.

10. "When you can't look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark."

  • Alice in Wonderland (often attributed to Lewis Carroll) 🕯️
  • This quote acknowledges that finding meaning sometimes begins with simply being present with our pain and allowing others to join us there.

Quotes About Connection and Support

1. "Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow."

  • Swedish Proverb 🤝
  • This proverb captures the healing power of connection for those with depression encouraging the sharing of both positive and negative emotions.

2. "The human connection is the key to personal and career success."

  • Paul J. Meyer - Pioneer in the self-improvement industry 🔑
  • Meyer reminds those struggling with depression that reaching out isn't just emotionally beneficial—it's essential for all aspects of life.

3. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

  • Maya Angelou - Poet memoirist and civil rights activist 💖
  • Angelou's wisdom encourages authentic connection which can be healing for both the person with depression and those they encounter.

4. "Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone's hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours."

  • Vera Nazarian - Award-winning Armenian-Russian-American novelist 🌉
  • Nazarian beautifully captures the reciprocal nature of support important for those whose depression makes them reluctant to seek help.

5. "One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone."

  • Shannon L. Alder - Author and therapist 🌍
  • Alder highlights how connection combats the isolation that often accompanies depression benefiting both the giver and receiver.

6. "The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved."

  • Mother Teresa - Catholic nun who founded the Missionaries of Charity and received the Nobel Peace Prize 🕊️
  • Mother Teresa's insight speaks to how emotional connection can address the spiritual poverty often experienced in depression.

7. "We don't heal in isolation, but in community."

  • S. Kelley Harrell - Author and shamanic practitioner 🌿
  • Harrell succinctly captures a fundamental truth about recovery from depression—it typically requires the support of others.

8. "There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We are made up of thousands of others."

  • George Matthew Adams - Newspaper columnist and founder of the George Matthew Adams Newspaper Service ⚙️
  • Adams' perspective counters the isolation of depression by emphasizing our fundamental interconnectedness.

9. "A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

  • Unknown 🎵
  • This beautiful metaphor captures how supportive relationships can help us reconnect with our authentic selves during depression.

10. "Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person's life."

  • Jackie Chan - Martial artist actor and philanthropist 🙏
  • Chan reminds us that even small gestures of connection can have profound impacts for someone struggling with depression.
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Motivational Quotes Curated For You

Try our free AI Motivation Coach to find the best motivational quotes for your circumstances. Based on your challenges, goals and success.

WHEN LIFE BREAKS YOU - Powerful Motivational Speech

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