DEPRESSION 

Depression can make it tough to enjoy life, especially when feelings of despair and hopelessness always persist. Blogs can put you in touch with health professionals, associations, and individuals who are sharing a similar experience. We have selected the best depression blogs.

Depression is fairly common, affecting more than 15 million adults in the United States. Depression is also the leading cause of disability among U.S. individuals aged 15 to 44 years.

With treatment and support, most individuals with depression can fully recover. Eating a healthful diet and partaking in physical activity can make a significant difference to your recovery time, as well as improving your general health.

Many organizations offer support groups, counseling, and other resources that may help with depression. It is important that you try to participate in social activities to avoid becoming isolated.

Medical News Today have located the 10 best depression blogs that help to connect you with others that are sharing their experiences while facing similar challenges, educate you on the most effective ways to relax and manage your stress, and provide useful tips and information on how to cope with depression.

Depression is a very common mood disorder affecting nearly 17 million adults in the U.S. as of 2017.¹ As the mental health conversation slowly gets better, more people are talking, and writing, about their experiences with depression. We pulled together some of the best depression blogs we could find, whether you’re looking for advice or just to know you’re not alone.

For our audience’s convenience, we’ve included links to these blogs and articles. Choosing Therapy earns no money from the promotion of these websites. Read more about our high editorial standards here.

1. Healthy Place

Healthy Place offers comprehensive information on psychological disorders, medications, and other mental health treatments. Their articles are a combination of information from mental health experts as well stories from everyday readers. Articles are written by mental health journalists but reviewed by a doctor.

Their “Coping With Depression” blog tackles bullying, oversleeping, and ways to support someone with depression. They also have blogs tailored to men and women with depression separately.

2. Postpartum Progress

Postpartum depression (PPD), or depression affecting mothers after giving birth, affects 15-20% of new mothers per year.(FN2) Blog author Katherine Stone created Postpartum Progress after dealing with PPD herself. The blog has now grown into a kind, welcoming community widely recognized in mental health circles.

Blogs tackle topics like understanding that you don’t have to do everything and accepting where you’re at at the moment.

3. Talkspace Blog

Talkspace is one of the leading online therapy platforms available, and their blog is here to help. Get access to resources, information, and more from their blog. Recent topics include dealing with the mental health fallout of losing your taste and smell to COVID and what you need to know about self-harm.

4. Lawyers With Depression

If you feel like it’s impossible to live your life the way you want with your depression, or you bemoan the fact that “normal” people never feel the way you do, then you should know about this organization. Lawyers With Depression offers community, guidance, and resources to help lawyers with mental health issues. Whether you’re a lawyer or not, you’ll likely relate to some of these stories, like this lawyer who feared his bipolar diagnosis would ruin his career.

“I was able to construct an alter-ego, the ‘happy warrior.’ I had a smile on my face and a sardonic remark ready on cue. But I went about my daily business feeling like a secret agent in a Cold War spy movie. If my cover was ever blown, I was certain that my career would be at an end,” he writes.

5. Dr. Deb

Dr. Deb is a psychologist and author writing on depression, mental health, and more. She shares books, mindfulness practices, and many other topics. If you’re looking for advice from an actual psychologist, this is a good place to start.

6. National Alliance for Mental Health

NAMI’s mental health content continues to educate and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues like depression. Their grassroots organization is dedicated to ensuring those with mental health issues live a fully supported life where their needs are met in healthy ways. They are also an excellent resource for services available in local communities.

Their blogs on depression include how to deal with loved ones who don’t support your depression and overcoming low self-worth.

7. Therapy for Black Girls

Atlanta-based Dr. Joy Harden Bradford started this blog and therapy resource to aid women in Black communities find the support they need and to fight back against mental health stigma. Get started with this blog on determining what kind of mental health language you should use or why the “strong Black woman” stereotype isn’t helping anyone.

8. Heads Up Guys

There’s too much stigma about men seeking mental health help, and this resource guide and blog wants to change that. Society says that it’s weak for men to ask for help, or that “real men” can just snap out of it. But that’s not the truth. Heads Up Guys is here for men struggling with depression as well as family members and loved ones of those dealing with depression. Learn important facts and mythbusters about depression in men or hear from others to know you’re not alone.

9. Redefine Enough

Licensed therapist Davia Roberts incorporates mental health and wellbeing into all aspects of life, not just in a therapist’s office. She’s most well known for her speaking engagements and wellbeing programs, but her blog is a resource for finding therapists, speaking on her own burnout, and more.

10. Patrice Foster

Foster is a registered nurse who specializes in depression in teens and young adults. She’s been practicing for 32 years, and young adults are her passion. “It’s always rewarding to see my children smile. That tells me they are getting better one day at a time,” she says.

Her blog focuses on advice and resources for teenagers and their caregivers, like how to spot it, how to support them, and what it means to be a parent of a teen with mental illness.

11. Blurt

Blurt is a social enterprise built on the knowledge that not enough people are talking about their mental health. Sometimes, you just have to blurt it out. “We really understand how devastating depression can be. Jobs come to an end, relationships break down and lives can be lost, all through the effect of depression,” they share.

Their “Living with Depression” column is full of advice on dealing with bad mental health days when you live alone, answering “How are you?” when you don’t know, and more.

12. HopeToCope Blog

If you want to know you’re not alone in your depression, then this curated collection of bloggers from all over the world is a good place to start. Each blog comes from personal experience, ranging across anxiety, depression, and how they both affect each other. Start with how shame can affect your depression and learn about why self-kindness is so critical.

13. The Guardian

It may seem odd to include a UK-focused news site here, but the Guardian’s coverage of global mental health news and collection of editorial columns can grant some context to mental health in general. This column on what we get wrong about mental health is a good place to start, as well as how acknowledging mental health is just the first step.

14. Anxiety & Depression Association of America

The ADAA works to prevent and treat anxiety and depression disorders through a variety of means, including their blog. They work in outreach and education to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and work toward mentally healthy lives for all.

Consider whether you should share your mental health concerns with your primary care doctor or read on how to cope with traumatic world events.

15. A Splintered Mind

If reading about depression can feel, well, a little depressing, you’ll appreciate Douglas Cootey’s tongue-in-cheek approach to mental health blogging. A writer with ADHD and depression, he’s been a mainstay in the mental health blogging world for years with his witty content. That’s not to say he makes light of everything; his most recent blog tackles his depression head-on (as well as a possible coping mechanism). But his humor and snark can be a welcome reprieve if you’re just looking for someone to take your mental health seriously, but not every other little thing about it.

When to See a Therapist for Depression

Like any mental illness, if you’re struggling to deal with your depression in work, life, or relationships, consider seeing a therapist. Depression is incredibly common, and there are many treatment plans available. 

By anish mahawar