I believe that what the author is trying to say is that some of the feelings and ideas of a depressed person are disconnected from reality. Not all. This is par

I believe that what the author is trying to say is that some of the feelings and ideas of a depressed person are disconnected from reality. Not all. This is part of the definition of depression: if all that you believe is rational and based in reality, then you are not depressed. If a person truly believes that they are worthless and have no hope of ever doing something good, then that is a delusional belief -- unless you suggest that some people really are worthless and can never change. Everybody will feel like shit sometimes. It's normal. Bad things happen. But when feeling like shit becomes totally disconnected from the reality of your situation, when guilt over the way you feel itself becomes the reason for continuing to feel worthless, that's depression. Once that feedback loop is connected it can be VERY HARD to escape. Some people come to believe that death is the only escape. Even though a depressed person will get angry at people who tell them they are not worthless, will say that they don't understand, I think it's still something that he needs to hear. Source: have lived through a major depressive episode, and will likely live through more.