What is Depression?

It is different for each indiviudal, I am sure. But for me, it is a battle I cannot win, but only hope to not lose. It is stumbling in the fog and the darkness, shouting at shadows and laughing at my own. It is lying in a swamp hoping that suddenly all the dark water and the stench and the sticking heat will simply go away. It is standing on the edge of a precipice wondering it is death or salvation that awaits my hesitant step. Depression is a blanket of sadness. It envelopes and overwhelms with a subtle and benevolent warmth until it hold me captive in its embrace. It squeezes tighter, more intricately when you struggle.