Life Life Strategies Inspiration & Motivation 14 Self-Care Quotes to Help With Depression and Anxiety By Lauren Phillips Lauren Phillips Lauren is a former SEO Editor at Real Simple. She began her career at Coastal Living and joined Real Simple in 2018, where she was an Assistant Editor, an Associate Editor, and eventually an SEO Editor. With more than five years of digital media experience, she's an accomplished editor, writer, and digital media strategist focusing on lifestyle content, including home decor, cleaning and organizing, home improvement, personal finance, and other lifestyle topics. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on April 10, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: PM Images/Getty Images On darker days, it's helpful to have mantras (or meditation apps) that can bring you up from a spell of low mood. Fortunately, the following editor-approved depression and anxiety quotes might ease just a little bit of the burden you're facing. But, trust us, we (and the writers on the slides to follow) know it's hard. Learning how to deal with anxiety or fight depression takes daily effort, particularly if outside factors exacerbate your anxiety or depression (or both). However, with a slight change of perspective, these sayings could quiet your mind or remind you that what you're feeling is normal and not permanent. These quotes can be used for yourself, shared on social media, sent to a friend, or used on a letterboard as a more permanent reminder that managing your thoughts can help manage your mood. So pick your favorites and keep them handy the next time you need a little mental boost. Remember, if your anxiety or depression feels unmanageable, it's important to first turn to family, friends, or professionals for help: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's National Helpline—1-800-662-HELP (4357)—is available 24/7, 365 days a year for treatment referral and information, if you need it. 01 of 14 "Worrying is carrying tomorrow's load with today's strength—carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn't empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength." – Corrie Ten Boom Eric Jeon 02 of 14 "You're like a grey sky. You're beautiful, even though you don't want to be." – Jasmine Warga, My Heart and Other Black Holes Eric Jeon 03 of 14 "Even for me life had its gleams of sunshine." – Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre Eric Jeon 04 of 14 "You must hold your quiet center, where you do what only you can do." – Ha Jin, "A Center" Eric Jeon 05 of 14 "Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad." – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Eric Jeon 06 of 14 "Anxiety's like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn't get you very far." – Jodi Picoult, Sing You Home Eric Jeon 07 of 14 "You are allowed to feel messed up and inside out. It doesn't mean you're defective—it just means you're human." – David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas Eric Jeon 08 of 14 "Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness, to put a hand on its brow of the flower and retell it in words and in touch it is lovely until it flowers again from within." – Galway Kinnell, "Saint Francis and the Sow" Eric Jeon 09 of 14 "'Hope' is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all - " – Emily Dickinson, "'Hope' is the thing with feathers – (314)" Eric Jeon 10 of 14 "Dance until your bones clatter. What a prize you are. What a lucky sack of stars." – Gabrielle Calvocoressi, "At Last the New Arriving" Eric Jeon 11 of 14 "Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems." – Epictetus Eric Jeon 12 of 14 "If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath." – Amit Ray, Om Chanting and Meditation Eric Jeon 13 of 14 "Life is 10 percent what you experience and 90 percent how you respond to it." – Dorothy M. Neddermeyer Eric Jeon 14 of 14 "Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom." – Søren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Anxiety: A Simple Psychologically Orienting Deliberation on the Dogmatic Issue of Hereditary Sin Eric Jeon Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit