And so we came forth, and once again beheld the stars

I had just read William Styron's Darkness Visible, a short but remarkable essay of his descent into the depths of depression and madness. The last part chapter especially, struck me deeply and answered my question.

If you have depression, whether now or earlier, a nagging thought which never goes away would be: why? Why me? Why should depression happen to me and what is it's purpose in my already miserable life?

I have often fantasized that it will make me empathise the sufferings of fellow human beings. Styron, having seen more things in life, summed it up into 2 factors.

One, depression teaches you that it will pass; the storm is conquerable.

Two, I quote.

"For those who have dwelt in depression's dark woes, and known its inexplicable agony, their return from the abyss is not unlike the ascent of the poet [Dante], trudging upward and upward out of hell's black depths and at last emerging into what he saw as "the shining world." There, whoever has been restored to health has almost always been restored to the capacity for serenity and joy, and this may be indemnity enough for having endured the despair beyond despair."