What You Deserve When Depression Makes You Feel Unlovable

Weary and numb, you may push them away, worried they’ll do the same in return. You may want to run to them, to let them comfort you as you cry, but you linger in your pain instead of drawing them into your world. You may be deep in the throes of your depression, and you might fear that your sadness and apathy makes you unworthy of the very love you seek. But no matter how dark your world might feel, you are always worthy of love, and the right person will effortlessly love you through your depression.

When your depression strikes, you deserve love and care. You deserve someone who will listen as you pour out your pain, never judging you for your innermost feelings. You deserve someone who will gradually let themselves in as they watch you isolate, slowly unlocking your world until you give them the key. You deserve someone who will understand when you slog through each day numb and fatigued, who will help you with the everyday tasks that seem mountainous as you fight your depression.

When your depression bears down on you, you deserve empathy. You deserve someone who believes the struggles they cannot see, who validates every piece of your experience as if it is theirs. You deserve someone who acknowledges that they will never fully understand your life but tries their best to grasp your struggles. You deserve someone who meets you where you are, someone who fully sees you, hears you and loves you both when your mind is clear and when your depression creeps in.

When your depression infiltrates your mind, you deserve loyalty. You deserve someone who won’t run in the darkest moments, someone who will stay by your side and help you see the light again. You deserve someone who constantly makes you feel like you belong, even when reaching out may feel like too much. You deserve someone who sees the best in you even as your heart grows tired of fighting, someone who reminds you that you are strong, capable and worthy of love with your depression.

As your mind may grow darker and darker, your depression may sway you to believe that you are unworthy of love, care and empathy. But even as you battle your depression, you deserve for someone to shower you with kindness and affection. No matter whether that someone is yourself or someone else, you deserve a reminder that even in your depression, you are worthy of love because you are human.

A version of this story was previously published on Thought Catalog.