11 Uplifting Poems For Depression

In this blog, we will be talking about what depression is, 10 uplifting poems to help you through depressive times, and also answer some frequently asked questions. 

What Are Some Uplifting Poems For Depression? (10 Poems compilation)

A list of 10 uplifting poems for depression:

  • Nobody but you
  • Hope
  • After the rain
  • Hope is the thing
  • Scars
  • Resume
  • Oh Me! Oh Life!
  • One star
  • Depression
  • Don’t quit

We will discuss these poems in brief with their excerpts in the later part of the blog. 

What is Depression?

Depression has been defined by the APA as “a negative affective state, ranging from unhappiness and discontent to an extreme feeling of sadness, pessimism, and despondency, that interferes with daily life.” 

The next links provide some more technicalities and heavy words that your already tired brain can’t comprehend. Nothing seems to resonate with your feelings, your mindset, the lethargy you feel, or the void in your heart.

 Sometimes we are not looking for facts, we are looking for hope. And that’s when poetry comes to play. It can help you find comfort, solace, and to better understand your own experiences. All people who experience depression cannot be put in a single box. Everyone’s experience with the disorder varies. 

Collection Of Uplifting Poems for depression

We provide this collection with the hope that it will help you through your dark times.

  1. Nobody but you by Charles Bukowski

Nobody can save you but yourself

you will be put again and again

into nearly impossible situations.

they will attempt again and again

through subterfuge, guise and force

to make you submit, quit and /or die quietly inside.

nobody can save you but yourself

and it will be easy enough to fail so very easily

but don’t, don’t, don’t.

just watch them.

listen to them.

do you want to be like that?

a faceless, mindless, heartless being?

do you want to experience

death before death?

nobody can save you but yourself

and you’re worth saving.

it’s a war not easily won

but if anything is worth winning then this is it.

think about it.

think about saving yourself.

your spiritual self.

your gut self.

your singing magical self and

your beautiful self.

save it.

don’t join the dead-in-spirit.

maintain yourself

with humour and grace

and finally if necessary

wager yourself as you struggle,

damn the odds, damn the price.

only you can save yourself.

do it! do it!

then you’ll know exactly what

I am talking about.

The poem tries to motivate you by telling that only you have the power to save yourself. There’s a difference between existing and truly being alive. No matter what your depression tells you, you are worthy of being saved.

  1. Hope by Kate Winford

You have to believe, that all will be right

In the longest of days and the coldest of nights

You may feel scared, tired and alone

But there’s always someone to carry you home

Someone who knows the pain that you feel

The raw and relentless, cruel and real

It comes like a cloud covering the sky

There are no answers, just why? why? why?

But we are strong together, and a day will come

When the clouds part and welcome the sun

So take hold of that sunbeam, don’t let it leave

Clasp it tightly, but let yourself grieve

Then slowly but surely  release your grasp

Let the light enter  and swallow the past

And then for a second, your heart will feel light

And strength will replace it, to continue the fight

Just like the sunbeam, you cannot hide

But weather the storm with  hope on your side

The first thing that depression kills is our hope. It feels like this phase will never end and there is such a deep sense of hopelessness that it seems too difficult to be able to ever come out of it. Kate emphasizes that no matter how scared you feel, you are not alone. Just hang in there and things will get better.

  1. After the rain by anonymous

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain

There will always be sunshine after the rain

Perhaps you may stumble, perhaps even fall

But God’s always ready to answer your call

He knows every heartache, sees every tear

A word from his lips can calm every fear

Your sorrows may linger throughout the night

But suddenly vanish at dawn’s early light

The Savior is waiting somewhere above

To give you His grace and send you His love

Whatever your cross, whatever your pain

God always sends rainbows after the rain

Professor Dumbledore from Harry Potter said “Hope can be found in the darkest of moments only if one knows how to turn on the light”. Just keep faith and keep moving forward till you see the sunshine.

  1. Hope is the thing with feathers by Emily Dickinson

Hope” is the thing with feathers –

That perches in the soul –

And sings the tune without the words –

And never stops – at all –

And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –

And sore must be the storm –

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm –

I’ve heard it in the chillest land –

And on the strangest Sea –

Yet – never – in Extremity,

It asked a crumb – of me.

  1. Scars by Laura R

Here on my arm lies a mark that I made.

When I was so low, I cut with a blade

To punish my body for being a mess,

Though here is my testament, I must confess…

That seeing these scars left on my arms, legs, and chest

Makes me realize I was in a place of no rest;

I feel guilty inside for leaving this token.

Now I will see and remember that I was so broken.

But seeing these scars helps me see

That I survived so much trauma and now I am free.

So I ask you now to stand with me and fight,

To show all these demons what they’re doing is not right.

You won the battle of good versus bad.

You are still alive and are no longer sad.

Here on my arm lies a mark of survival.

I got through my hate and beat my self-rival.

Sometimes depression gets the best of us and can cause us to inflict self harm. You feel guilty for your actions but you are not able to stop yourself. Remember you don’t want your life to end, you just want the pain to end. See your scars as marks of your survival and remind yourself that you are a fighter.

 

  1. Resume by Dorothy Parker

Razors pain you;

Rivers are damp;

Acids stain you;

And drugs cause cramp.

Guns aren’t lawful;

Nooses give;

Gas smells awful;

You might as well live.

  1. Oh me! Oh Life! by Walt Whitman

Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,

Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,

Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)

Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,

Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,

Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,

The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?

                                    Answer.

That you are here—that life exists and identity,

That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.

Questioning the very meaning of life and existence is something that we all do. There are moments when nothing feels worth living for. In those moments, remind yourself that you’re worthy enough to fight for, you are worthy enough to live for. Even if your life has no purpose right now, you always have the power to turn it around and to shape it the way you want.

  1. One star by Kate Hanford

On these turbulent waters I steer

not knowing what is next from here

and every time I try to breathe

make the grief and sadness leave

the hammer looms and I retreat

to a world where loved ones meet

and all is quiet, tranquil, calm

healthy, fed, sheltered, warm

one star is all to make things well

a little light to calm the swell

a speck, a glimmer, a flicker, a beam

enough to allow the soul to dream

and a message slowly comes to light

“don’t always try to make things right”

Rise above the waves and fly

Life is hard don’t even try

to fix the shattered window pain

It’s all part of life’s game

because  the window does reveal

that sadness is part of life’s deal.

  1. Depression by Alisson Pick

I come by it honestly,

an heirloom passed

from my father

and grandmother before me.

In the bed by the window

she stares at the ceiling,

pills untouched on the dresser.

Cancer uncurls in her brain.

She says she feels nothing,

the heavy deadness

which also weighs me down.

Don’t worry, love, depression comes

and then goes. Soon

it will be over.

She says this to me.

And to herself.

  1. Don’t Quit by Edgar A. Guest

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,

As everyone of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When they might have won, had they stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victors cup;

And he learned too late when the night came down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,

It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit!

In life everything can’t go as planned. Some turmoils of life throw us straight into the deep ocean, and finding a shore seems an impossible task. However, giving up is not an option. 

You can rest and try again tomorrow but remember to keep going, even if it means taking baby steps. You never know at what moment you can achieve success. S

o even if right now you feel that you will never amount to anything in life, just keep going. Because fighting in the hardest moments in life is what makes a person a warrior.

Conclusion

We hope these poems made you feel a little positive about life and yourself. With motivation, we also need medication to fight the battle against depression. If you are someone experiencing a clinical depressive disorder, we advise you to seek help from a mental health professional to start your recovery journey. Happy healing!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): What Are Some Uplifting Poems For Depression? (10 Poems compilation)

Is poetry helpful in depression?

Yes, poetry helps with depression. Both reading and writing poetry provide you with an escape, helps to understand yourself and others in a better way, and it also provide an outlet for your feelings and emotions that seems to help at times. 

How does writing poetry help the brain?

Poetry can help your brain with the improvement in memory and enhances self-reflection as well. 

What emotions do poems have?

Poems can help us to convey a range of emotions. Anger, frustration, sadness, happiness, excitement, joy, etc. all can be expressed through poetry.

Is poetry good for depression?

Poetry has been a rather favored way that people use to work through their depression. Poems can be an amazing tool to help you express your feelings, understand your and other people’s feelings, and work towards your mental health. 

How does poetry heal emotional pain?

Poetry can help you heal emotional pain by helping you to process your emotions, become more aware of your emotions, get a deeper insight into your emotions and pain. Poetry is often written by people when they are feeling intense emotions and those emotions often move the readers. 

What are some uplifting poems?

  • Song of Myself
  • Hope
  • Invictus
  • Desiderata
  • Depression
  • Dreams
  • Coming

References

30 Depression Poems https://bookriot.com/depression-poems/

Inspiring poems to soothe the pain of depression https://waggytalesblog.com/2018/05/18/mental-health-awareness-poetry/

Inspirational poems on Depression https://optimistminds.com/inspirational-poems-on-depression/

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