8 Self-Affirming Quotes to Help You Fight Depression

You’ve probably heard the phrase “You are what you eat,” but “You are what you think” is a far more truthful statement. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves can shape our lives in unexpectedly powerful ways.

Depression can turn our beautiful, self-spun stories into nightmarish tales of weakness, failure, and guilt. Those who suffer from depression often see their lives through a dim and distorted lens, making it difficult to see themselves as the valuable human beings they truly are.

Self-affirmation is a great psychological tool to use in the fight against depression, and when paired with quality counseling, can help you fight your way back to your best self.

So what does this look like? Self-affirmation is simply the act of re-framing. Rather than focusing on negativity, you actively focus on your strengths. When you tell yourself you can’t, you do.

Getting back on the path to positive thinking isn’t easy, but if you take a moment each day to identify the good things in you life, you’ll take a big step toward happiness. Sometimes, however, we need a little prompting in order to do this, and so to help you rediscover your positive story, let’s take a look at 8 self-affirming quotes that will help you fight depression.

“I forgive everyone in my past for all perceived wrongs. I release them with love.”

This quote comes from bestselling motivational author, Louise Hay, and it will set you free.

It can be easy to feed depression with feelings of anger and resentment toward those who you perceived to have wronged you, but when you do so, you give those people total control over life. Your anger will direct your actions, your demeanor, and your thoughts. You’ll waste precious time feeling upset while they blithely go about their lives.

But you can end this through the power of forgiveness.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you allow people to keep hurting you. It doesn’t mean forgetting the bad behavior of dangerous people. It simply means letting go of the idea of revenge and moving on with your life. Stop thinking about it. Stop giving it power.

Tell yourself that you forgive these people. When you release your negative feelings toward other people, you release yourself from bondage and give yourself a better chance to rise up out of the fog of depression.

“I will always find a way, and a way will always find me.”

Charles F. Glassman, medical doctor and total wellness advocate gives us this quote, and it’s a great one.

Depression can make it feel like we’ll never get out of the rut of inaction. In severe cases, it’s all someone who suffers from depression can do just to make it out of bed in the morning.

You can give yourself the best chance of successfully living your life, though, though the power of positive thinking. When you feel those thoughts creeping up that tell you that “There’s no way forward,” you need to focus on this quote.

You will find a way, and a way will always find you—in fact, the first part of this statement leads to the latter. When you make this your mindset, and then translate that mindset in to action, getting out there and going after what you want, good things will come to you. Opportunities will arise.

And if you internalize this quote, you’ll be ready to jump on them.

“Momentum builds success.”

Brought to you by Sizy Kassem, a writer, a poet, and philosopher, this quote is just what you need to keep going after you get out of the cage of inaction.

Momentum is one of the keys to success. Sometimes, it may feel like you’re just on a treadmill, and that the forward motion of your life is just an illusion that will never amount to anything. This mindset worsens depression by taking away any hope for achieving your goals, and by rendering your work, up to this point, meaningless.

You need to replace these thoughts. Rather than focusing on what you don’t have, dwell on the present. If you’re working toward your goals, no matter how slowly, that’s forward motion, and forward motion builds momentum.

Few achieve their dreams instantly. For most, it takes years of work. Don’t let the daily grind get you down—remember that what you’re doing right now is building momentum, and that momentum will carry you to success.

“It's a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”

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Print and television journalist and author, Germany Kent, brings us this quote on gratefulness, one of the most powerful concepts in the realm of self-affirming, positive thinking.

Gratefulness is a funny thing. Most of the time, we don’t think about it. In fact, we tend to shy away from it, especially when we’re not at our happiest. But when we start paying attention to it, it grows and grows within us, transforming the way we think about our lives.

The transformative power of gratefulness is a powerful weapon against depression. Depression will tell you what you lack. It will make lists and lists of all the things you do not have.

Gratitude does just the opposite.

Actively take note of what you’re grateful for. Grab a notebook and pen and start a gratefulness journal, writing down all of the things you’re thankful for on a daily basis, no matter how small. Before long, you’ll start paying attention to the things that make you glad rather than the things you think you lack.

If you want to beat depression, gratefulness is one of the best places to start. You’ve got a lot of good things going on in your life,and this quote contains the key to discovering it all.

“I'm proud of myself for doing my best. That's all anyone can ask of me.”

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Stefanie Weisman, author of “The Secrets of Top Students,” knows the value of being proud of yourself, and has given us this quote to help us realize the same.

Everybody has limits. We’re human beings with different strengths and weaknesses. Where one person might be great at throwing a baseball, they might be terrible at writing poetry. Where one person may be a terrific computer programmer, that same person may be awful at singing.

But no matter how good or bad you are at a given task, if you do your best, you’ve got something to be proud of—no one can ever ask anything more of you. Depression can sometimes tell you that you’ve failed if you didn’t perform to a certain standard.

Remember this, instead: the only standard that applies to you is your own. If you did your best, you did great. Tell yourself that. Pat yourself on the back. Because you succeeded.

“I am too big a gift to the world to waste my time on self-pity and sadness.”

This great quote, hailing from Prolificliving.com, is just the prompt you need to realize your own self-worth.

Your inherent human value is often the first thing depression steals when it creeps into your life. When this happens, it’s easy to fall into the habit of spending lots of time disparaging, beating up, and even hating yourself.

Don’t waste your time on a lie—you’re a unique, beautiful, and valuable human being, and you’re not going to let yourself stay in a negative mindset. Instead, focus on this quote. You’re a gift to the world. You bring to it all of your unique talents, lovable weirdness, and valuable input. You, like everyone, have the potential for good.

Don’t let depression tell you that you aren’t valuable. Repeat this self-affirming quote to yourself to replace those disparaging thoughts, and you’ll soon find that your focus begins to change. And when you realize your own worth, anything is possible.

“I have permission to rest.”

We may not know who said this first, but that makes this terrific quote that reminds us of something most people have long-forgotten.

When you’re a kid, it’s no big deal to just decide to sleep in, or to flop on the couch for a round of cartoons, video games, or reading. But as adults, we often feel guilt and stress when we take leisure time, as if rest is some terrible transgression.

If this is your mindset, you may be feeding your depression.

The benefits of rest are enormous and well-documented, and range from a happier mood to a longer attention span to a healthier body.

It’s time to give yourself permission to chill. Live out this quote by setting aside a little time each day that’s devoted to something that simultaneously relaxes you and makes you happy. Enjoy, cherish, and defend this time—don’t let work emails, demanding friends, or your own thoughts intrude.

You have permission to rest. Remember that, and you’ll have taken a big step away from burned-out depression, and toward eventual happiness.

“Enduring means accepting. Accepting things as they are and not as you would wish them to be, and then looking ahead, not behind.”

Professional tennis player Rafael Nadal gives us this quote, and it’s the most important one you’ll read today.

One of the central tenets of Buddhism is the importance of being able to “let go.” This doesn’t mean that you stop striving toward your goals, or that you give up on life, but rather that you learn to accept that which you cannot change.

The tension that arises when life doesn’t go the way we’d like can often contribute to depression. When we rail against the circumstances we can’t change, it’s like beating our fists against a brick wall—it’s tiring, hurtful, and above all, futile. But the ability to accept reality as it is, rather than how we would like it to be, can relieve this tension.

With this skill, we can more effectively focus our efforts on the things we can change, instead. If you’re struggling with depression that is linked to your life’s circumstances, this might be just the quote you need to help you begin your journey to joy.