Depression can make you feel like you’re walking through life in slow motion – heavy, disconnected, and unseen. It can strip away your motivation, your energy, and even your sense of self. Living with major depressive disorder isn’t just sadness- it’s about fighting every second of every day to stay present when everything inside you wants to disappear. It’s about carrying a weight that others can’t see and searching for strength when even brushing your teeth in the morning feels impossible.
Most days I struggle with the most basic of functions. Therapy and self-care routines help, but they haven’t erased the pain. The memories of military sexual trauma (MST) still echo in unexpected moments. The depression and physical pain that follows – heavy and relentless- often times feels like it’s winning.
But one of the most powerful ways to heal is also one of the simplest: building and nurturing healthy relationships. While self-care routines, therapy, and nutrition all play a vital role with healing, genuine human connection often becomes the bridge back to home.
1. Connection is the Bridge Back to Hope.
When your struggling with depression, isolation can feel easier. But true healing begins when we let compassion, conversation, and understanding reconnect us to life.
For me, that connection came through an unexpected friendship with my neighbor. We bonded over something personal and deeply meaningful: our children both have ADHD. That shared experience – the exhaustion, the worry, and the fierce love – built instant understanding. What started as casual chats became a source of strength, laughter, and healing.
She doesn’t judge the days I can’t get out of bed. She doesn’t minimize the trauma or depression. She just listens- and somehow, that helps me feel like surviving is possible.
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2. My Children Are My Anchor in the Storm
Depression can make it hard to find purpose – but my children give me a reason to keep going. Even when I feel broken, their laughter and personalities remind me of life’s beauty. There are moments when I hide my tears in empty rooms and quietly cry myself to sleep, so that they can’t hear or see my despair, but deep down knowing that they need me gives me profound strength to take small steps forward. They continuously remind me that despite everything, I am still capable of love, patience, and strength.
Love – whether it’s from a child, a friend, or even a neighbor – can be the most powerful medicine.
3. Connection Doesn’t Cure Trauma- But it Helps You Endure it.
Depression lies!!! It tells you that you’re a burden and forces you to become invisible. PTSD and depression feed off of isolation and tell you that you are better off alone- that no one could ever understand. But when people consistently show up for you, that narrative begins to change. All it takes is one step and one person to breathe hope into us.
Connections don’t erase the pain, but it softens the edges of the pain. It gives you a safe place to breathe again.
The friendship with my neighbor reminds me that I am seen, heard, and valued. My children are a constant reminder that love and laughter are possible. My neighbor’s kindness, along with my children’s unconditional love, create’s a safety net that continues to carry me through some of my darkest moments.
4. Healing Happens in Safe Spaces
While connection is powerful, not every relationship is healing. Living with PTSD and depression means I have to be intentional about who I let into my space. Having someone you can be honest with – without fear of judgment – is essential. Whether that person is a friend, therapist, or a loved one, safe relationships make space for honesty.
Some people drain my energy or minimize what I’ve been through, including past doctor’s. Other’s though, offer quiet understanding- the kind that doesn’t judge or demand explanations.
5. Still Fighting, Still Healing
Reach out. Talk to someone. Even one connection – a neighbor, a loved one, a therapist, or a fellow survivor – can be the beginnings of finding light again.
Depression thrives in silence, but connection can bring light and hope. Healing does not happen overnight- it grows through consistency, compassion, and shared understanding. I’m not on the other side of recovery, I’m still in it. I still have days when I can’t get out of bed, when the past feels too close, and when hope feels like a stranger. But from the words of my therapist, “healing isn’t a finish line- its a process”.
Setting boundaries isn’t selfish; it’s survival. It allows me to continue healing at my own pace, protecting my peace as I navigate a life that still feels heavy but is no longer completely hopeless.
For me, it was my children and my neighbor who reminded me that love still exists, even when I cannot feel it myself. They give me the strength to believe in tomorrow and that better days are possible.
We all deserve help, hope, love, and healing. I am still Fighting. I am still here. And that- in itself- is something to be proud of.
Final Thoughts
If your living with depression, PTSD, or the aftermath of military sexual trauma, please know: that you are not alone and you don’t have to face this alone. Healing begins with small steps and small stepping blocks- a text, a conversation, a shared moment, anything. You never know which connection may change your life. You are worthy of love, support, and understanding – exactly as you are.
You deserve to heal. You deserve peace. Even if you’re still fighting, you’re not fighting alone.
You can explore the tools I have created for my own personal healing journey here:
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Healing, Glowing, and Growing - One Act of Self-Care At a Time 
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