If you are feeling sad, fatigued, worried and unhappy most of the time and these feelings are lasting for more than a few days, you might be suffering from depression. About 19 million Americans are inflicted with depression which can range from mild to strong. It can happen to anyone at any point of time in life irrespective of your age, gender, caste or religion. Many a times, it affects your ability to respond to others and hampers your capability at professional, social and personal levels.

There might be depressive phases when you feel like everything is over and that this is the end but don’t lose hope. You are not the only one who is going through a painful time in life. There are millions of individuals suffering from depression and you can go through their personal stories to see how they6 cope up with their depression and fight it at every step.

True personal stories about depression:

Story of Rebecca Shaw

I hated every single passing day. I did not want to get out of bed, see the light or do anything I liked. I just wanted to stay locked up in my room or under the covers, didn’t’ want to meet anyone or even talk to my friends or family. Nothing seemed good anymore. I didn’t feel like eating much and lost a lot of weight. T times I wanted to give up on everything and myself but my kids kept me going on.

After Joe’s death in a car crash, my life seemed hopeless. We were happily married for about 8 years and had two kids. Jeremy was 4 years old and Joey was 6. I also had a job to take care of. My sister was over to take care of the kids while I was sunk in doom. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to tell me that I needed to get over my grief.

Then, one day Agatha Wakefield, a clinical social worker came to see me. She was a cousin of one of my colleagues and friend Marie. She talked to me and started engaging me in various activities like taking me for walks or asking me to help cook dinner. Agatha soon, convinced me to join a self support group for combating depression. There, I met men and women who had also lost their loved ones and were encountering various difficulties in their life. I soon became engaged in a number of activities and made new friends. I began to pray and developed a deeper insight into things. I stopped blaming God and overcame my misery.

Today, I am a new person who is full of joy and the spirit to face every hurdle that lies in the way of my responsibilities and happiness. I take care of my kids all by myself and am very successful in office.