I was diagnosed with a "mild" long term depression about 2 years ago; I would consider myself in remission.
When I was depressed I spent my time in front of people not feeling anything, totally detached from everything around me, and not caring about anything that happened. I spent my time alone crying. But there was also the waking up each morning not feeling any more rested than the night before, the force it took me to pull myself through the drudgery that is life, the memory loss, the sense of impending doom, hopelessness, etc.
Btw if I was in a depressed state there's no way I'd write something like the OP; it'd be more like, "my life is so shit someone help me, this is fucked waa waa waa". Seriously, don't label yourself as depressed if you're not, don't get it mixed up with low mood (EB gave a good description of true depression in the Depression Club thread), because something I've learnt about depression: it grows if you feed it.
Banana - When I was depressed, the hopelessness I felt lead me to believe that there was no one that could help. The forgetfulness, I still can't remember most of my life, left me with nothing to compare it to. In short, I would not be asking for help, or complaining about my condition. This is why it took me so long to get treatment. I would, instead, want to hear about someone else's condition, because having someone to reach out to would have helped me. But I like your note about not confusing depression with low mood. It doesn't help the person claiming depression, and I feel it belittles the years I spent in a dark and lonely place. I'm not one to tell others what to do, but I want to ask those who feel "depressed" to look up what depression really is, not just post here.
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In a reflective note, I think I have used to word "feel" more in this post then I ever intend to in the future.