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.
You don’t have to face depression alone.
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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. To learn all about their subscriptions, cost, and extra features, you can read our detailed Talkspace review.
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.
Help For Depression
Talk Therapy – Get help from a licensed therapist. Betterhelp offers online therapy starting at $60 per week. Free Assessment
Psychiatry for Depression – Looking for depression treatment that prioritizes you? Talkiatry can help. Find an in-network psychiatrist you can see online. Get started with our short assessment. Visit Talkiatry
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.
16. Wing of Madness
Wing of Madness is a blog about major depressive disorder, which affects about one in five people. Many depressed people struggle with concentration, memory, cognitive processing, and an array of related physical symptoms. This blog helps them identify their underlying depression and seek the most appropriate form of treatment. The creator has successfully managed their own clinical depression, and although they are not a doctor, they have plenty of personal experience they are willing to share without any hard-to-understand, medical mumbo-jumbo.
17. Depressed While Black
Creator of Depressed While Black, Imadé Nibokun Borha, a Black writer and social justice advocate, made this blog to provide mental health information that is specifically relevant to the Black community. As someone with clinical depression and borderline personality disorder, Borha writes with authority and experience. While Depressed While Black started as a thesis project, it has developed into a full blown community and 501(c)3 where primarily young Black people can find open, honest advice and get connected to Black therapists.
18. Erika’s Lighthouse
After losing their daughter to depression, Ginny and Tom Neuckranz created Erika’s Lighthouse, a depression blog to support a community of young people and their families. Because depression is a disease of silence, this blog aims to give a voice to the issue, break social stigma, and educate the public on teen depression. It promotes inclusive school cultures, identifying four essential pillars: classroom education, teen empowerment, family engagement, and school policy & staff. Schools, teachers, and parents can leverage these pillars in integrated initiative efforts or for standalone school programs.
19. Lighting Up the Sky
Lighting Up the Sky was made specifically for those who have been affected or touched by suicide. It shares information on depression, suicide prevention, and other resources. One regular series, “Our Voices Matter,” shares people’s personal stories. Another segment, “The Beauty of Grief,” shares some of the beautiful ways people memorialize and remember their loved ones. The blog also shares essays from writer Chelise Stroud, a two-time suicide attempt survivor.
20. Depression Warrior
The creator of Depression Warrior is diagnosed with treatment-resistant depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and borderline personality disorder (BPD). Early on, they were misdiagnosed as Bipolar II as well. When they were at their lowest point, they decided to try and change their perspective by writing Depression Warrior, a blog about the highs and lows of life with mental illness. They also cover the life-saving help they have received with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT).
21. Chipur
Bill White, the founder and creator of Chipur, wants anyone struggling with depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder to know that they are not alone. This blog aims to provide insight into your moods and experiences, helping you gain more perspective, relief, and ultimately, peace. White says, “We don’t do cures here;” because he believes there is not a simple solution to mental health issues. However, there are ways to mindfully and intentionally discuss a variety of inventions, medications, supplements, devices, and more.
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. Find a therapist today.
Additional Resources
To help our readers take the next step in their mental health journey, Choosing Therapy has partnered with leaders in mental health and wellness. Choosing Therapy is compensated for marketing by the companies included below.
Talk Therapy
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A free newsletter from Choosing Therapy for those impacted by depression. Get helpful tips and the latest information. Sign Up
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Self-punishment: a sign of depression, trauma, or OCD?
Self-punishment is a term that refers to behaviors or actions people engage in to inflict pain or harm upon themselves. These actions can show up in all kinds of ways and can include self-harm, negative self-talk, or engaging in risky behaviors. Understanding the underlying causes of self-punishment is crucial for identifying and providing appropriate support to people caught up in these damaging habits.
Depression and OCD: How Are They Related?
Both obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) are common mental health disorders, affecting millions of Americans each year. Studies have shown that people who have OCD are more likely to develop other forms of mental illness, and depression is no exception. According to the International OCD Foundation, around 25% to 50% of people with OCD also meet the diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode.
