Teenage Depression Poems

Updated March 12, 2019
Depressed teenage girl in bed

Teenage depression poems capture the feelings adolescents experience when they are depressed. Through poetry teens can explain their feelings to friends and family members or get the sense they aren't alone. While poetry is no substitute for professional help when it comes to depression, it can offer hope to teens.

Short Poems About Teenage Depression

Short poems about teenage depression quickly and vividly capture the experiences of loneliness and distress that often accompany depression. Poetic forms like Haiku and spoken word poems about depression are great for sending an impactful message in a few words. If you have a depressed girlfriend, depressed boyfriend, or depressed friend of any kind, a short poem about overcoming depression can show them your support.

Loneliness is Me

By Michele Meleen

Loneliness is me,
distressed, distraught, solo.
Separate from all.

A Depression

By Michele Meleen

This depression weighs down
on my soul like a ton.
So heavy and painful
that depression has won,
leaving a physical mark
on my heart,
a depression.

High School Is Depressing

By Michele Meleen

No perfect A's.
No proper clothes.
No group of friends
who laughs and grows.
High school without these
is the most depressing place to be.

Your Depression Is My Depression

Girl consoling friend

By Michele Meleen

This is supposed to be your depression. Filling your mind with endless question.

Your sadness.

Lights fading as the theater closes, no time to stop and smell the roses.

Your sadness.

I watch and wait, wait and watch, smile and talk. Nothing.

Your sadness.

You believe the movie's over, your life's over.
But only you can see the ending.

This is my depression. Filling my mind with endless question.

Your sadness.

Long Depression Poems for Teenagers

When your subject is more in-depth such as when writing a depression poem about love, a poem about depression and anxiety, a poem about suicide, or an inspirational poem about depression you'll want to take more time and create a longer poem.

It's Not You, It's Me

By Michele Meleen

It's not you,
it's me.
I know that's the truth
because there's nothing
wrong with you.
But, there's something
wrong with me.

No matter how hard
or how much I love
the sadness and loathing
lives inside my head.
Sometimes it escapes
and latches onto you,
so loving you isn't
something I can do.

How to Explain Depression and Anxiety

By Michele Meleen

Round and round they go,
Where they'll stop,
I never know.

Which came first,
depression or anxiety?
Either way I'm cursed.

My worry, wonder,
fret and fright
collide into
a deep, dark thunder.

My loneliness, sadness,
and daunting despair
swirl into a pit
of anxious madness.

Suicide: This Life Is Mine

Posing pensive male teenager

By Michele Meleen

This life is mine to fake.
I smile and laugh,
I do and see,
but you can't see the signs.

This life is mine to break.
I can't live with it,
can't live with me,
but how to cross the line?

This life is mine to take.
I did not choose it,
did not make it,
but you said it's mine.

This life is mine to break.
I must live with it,
must live with me,
no more "buts" this time.

This life is mine to fake.
I'll smile and laugh,
do and see,
until my stars align.

This life is mine to make.
I can choose it,
I can make it,
and find my own Cloud 9.

Like Day and Night

By Michele Meleen

The cycle it goes,
my despair
like a day.
It starts with full sun
that slowly fades away.

Just as the sun sets
so does my hope,
leaving darkness to cover me
like a thick wool cloak.

But, just when I fear
what's lurking in the dark
a ray of light breaks free
showing me hope is always here.

Finding and Writing Depression Poems for Teenagers

You can find poems for teenagers about depression in books and online. If you can't find a poem that says what you need to hear, try writing your own.

Poems About Teenage Life and Sadness

Depression incorporates a lot of different feelings from sadness to fear. No matter the subject or the specific feelings you're having, you can find poems that relate.

  • Poems about teenage life and poems about being a teenager can include topics such as teen angst about daily struggles like school or family.
  • If your depression leads you to self-medicating, poems about teenage drug abuse might be relatable.
  • Teen break up poems capture the feelings of depression that can come after losing a boyfriend or girlfriend while sad poems about love speak on issues like unrequited love.
  • When you're feeling down, poems for a sad teen can help you express what you're sad about and why.

Famous Poems About Depression

  • Sonnet 29 by William Shakespeare describes feelings of depression lightened when the author thinks about the person he loves.
  • John Keats' poem Ode on Melancholy gives readers tips and ideas on how to deal with depression spells and how not to deal with them.
  • Emily Dickinson compares the feelings of depression to being like death, but not being death in It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up.

Writing Your Own Poems

Use your own feelings or situation as the basis for a poem that you can read whenever you need it.

  • Let the words flow for an authentic piece, no rhyming necessary.
  • Highlight the bad and the good; write poems about how depression feels and how you overcome it.
  • Write from the perspective of someone else to see how your depression might affect others around you.
  • Keep your poems in a private journal and share only when you want to with people you trust.

Dealing With Teenage Depression

All teenagers deal with sadness, but only some will experience true depression. If you think you are depressed, it's important to get treatment from a professional and be active in helping yourself. Reading or writing poetry is one tool that can help you, but overcoming depression takes a lot more care and work. Talk to a parent, friend, or counselor about your depression and use the poems to help express your feelings if you're having trouble saying what you mean.

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Teenage Depression Poems