I had depression for five years, it wasn't major, psychotic depression but it was enough to make living not really worth it. I withdrew from my friendship groups, wouldn't leave the house for weeks at a time, ended up getting into fights and put into an isolation unit (which was essentially a cupboard without windows with a desk in it, where I'd sit from 9am until 3pm to do schoolwork alone) broke down into tears a lot during lessons and at work, got sent home, got referred to specialist educational centres for maladjusted children, my attendance dropped by half, scraped through A levels with few good memories, parents tried to persuade me into counselling which I finally went to at university but then ended up dropping out due to hopelessness about future.
blah blah
Anyway, one night I was laying in my bed thinking about how dull the prospect of spending the next 60 years of my life in this state of pointlessness because I'd never have the guts to commit suicide. (I'm sure many of you will know the feeling)
I woke up the next morning and it was just gone. It's like.... have you ever had a moment of epiphany where you suddenly realise you're completely over an ex? I literally woke up and that emptiness had just evaporated and I smiled and felt relaxed and contented in my nice warm bed with the sun spilling in through the window.
And so I've been feeling really great for the last five or six months.
Last week I got a terrible result in a mock exam (it wasn't even a passing grade). I cried when I got home for a good hour, then set out with a new revision plan straight away, put my all into it and saw myself improving immediately. Two days later and I had completely gotten over it, just felt like "Yeah it was a shock, but I'm doing this extra work and it'll pay off and I'm not scared about taking the test" That would have never been the case last year. I'm genuinely astounded how well I coped with it, if that had happened a year ago, it would have totally sapped all my motivation away.
They say we only use 10% of our conscious brainpower, so I believe the human mind does have the potential to pull itself out of depression, just it's a latent ability that we're unable to tap into intentionally. But the possibility is there, if anyone is feeling like they're in for a miserable 80 years on this planet and there's no happiness in the world, I urge you to carry on with the best of your ability and one day you might just wake up feeling like a complete human being again. It could happen to you next week.