Because they have redirected their anger inward, depressed people feel guilty and worthless. While we all suffer blows to our self-esteem from time to time, depressed people have allowed their guilt to erode the very foundations of their goodness at all and have difficulty finding any meaning in life. The Range of Depressive Feelings Depression ranges from being sullen to moody, gloomy, defeated, woeful, melancholic, suffering, afflicted, miserable, tormented, tortured, hopeless, or despondent, to feeling despairing and condemned and suicidal. A person is hurt but internalizes the hurt instead of expressing it. The hurt turns into anger.
Anger unexpressed is directed inward as guilt.
The energy used in rerouting the anger inward and confining it in emotional debt uses up emotional reserves. This depletion of energy is called depression. The more firmly established this pattern of concealing emotions becomes, the deeper and longer-lasting the depression. Setting the Stage For Depression Usually acute depressions are the product of emotional overload from one or a series of distinct losses. It's important to realize that it is a rare person who goes through life without accumulating feelings in emotional debt that can lead to depression.