[Don't] Call Me Crazy: 33 Voices Start the Conversation about Mental Health

by Kelly Jensen

Depression is a thing I carry with me. It is a shadow that lurks inside me.

I define “depression,” but depression does not define me because you cannot define a person. Not with a single word, not with an entire book. Human beings defy definition.

And the most fucked-up part is that once someone has defined you by your mental illness enough times, you begin to define yourself by it.

Define words, not people. Define “depression,” but don’t define others by it. Because we are people and we defy definition.