[Living with depression: women's life histories]

This work aimed at understanding and describing the life stories of women suffering from depression. A qualitative approach was used in the research and data collection was carried out at Centro de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS - Psychosocial Attention Center) in Sao Paulo city by means of interviews using Oral Narratives as the methodological framework. Six collaborators participated in the study. It is observed that depression is a historically experienced disease. The past is reported as something distressful, painful and heavy. In the present, depression takes over and encompasses life, in a way that life itself becomes a mere background. The possibility of a possible future is foreseen by some collaborators. Thus, this study allowed for understanding that people's life stories, projects and needs are different, and the therapeutic project and the care provided by the nurse should meet those particular requirements.