Living With Depression: How Therapy, Gratitude, and Hope Helped Me Recover

What does it feel like to find light after years of depression?

In this episode, Cara from Belfast, Northern Ireland shares her lived experience with depression, trauma, and recovery. From her teenage years of sadness and hopelessness, through moments of suicidal despair, to the life-changing decision to seek therapy, Cara describes what it’s really like to live in both the darkest lows and the euphoric highs.

She opens up about how therapy helped her process trauma, how journaling and gratitude became tools for survival, and why the small “flashes of light” — like savoring a coffee or witnessing kindness — gave her strength to hold on.

Cara’s story is a powerful reminder that recovery isn’t a straight line, but that hope, healing, and happiness are possible — even after the darkest nights.

Primary Topics Covered:

• What depression really feels like beyond sadness
• Cara’s teenage years of undiagnosed depression
• The dangerous silence around mental illness in families
• Therapy as both painful and healing
• Naming and validating trauma in recovery
• How “flashes of light” help people hold on through depression
• The importance of journaling good days, not just bad ones
• Peer support and the power of hearing “me too”
• Daily goals as survival strategies in dark times
• Why everyone deserves to live a happy life

Timestamps:

00:00 Introduction to the episode
 01:11 Podcast recognized as #1 Depression Podcast
 01:44 Introducing Cara’s story from Belfast
 02:43 Experiencing happiness more intensely after darkness
 04:00 The numbness and emptiness of depression
 05:14 Understanding depression as an illness, not just sadness
 05:40 Cara’s teenage years and undiagnosed depression
 07:05 Early struggles, suicidal thoughts, and crisis moments
 07:51 Returning to therapy and confronting trauma
 09:37 How validating trauma changed Cara’s recovery
 10:11 The night that pushed her to reach out for help
 12:25 Taking the first step: finding a counselor online
 13:07 The bumpy reality of recovery — ups and downs
 14:53 “Flashes of light” — moments of happiness and hope
 15:48 Journaling and photographing happy moments
 16:50 Cara’s message of hope: hold on one day at a time
 18:53 Reflections from the co-hosts on staying present
 22:39 Closing thoughts: You deserve to live a happy life

Explore mental health and addiction treatment options at recovery.com
Facebook Community: https://www.facebook.com/GivingVoiceToDepression/
Terry's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/givingvoicetodepression/