Hi, YoMunchee, welcome to PC

I agree that you should only disclose what you're comfortable with, and only with the people you're most comfortable talking to. That being said, there are some people who would benefit from knowing about your depression (for example, I had to inform my academic departments when my depression started making me miss a lot of classes). Either way, whoever you're talking to and whatever your reasons, remember not to let them make you feel ashamed of your depression. That's the biggest thing, I think. Theotterone is right about the social stigmas behind mental illness. The general population just doesn't understand depression or mental health in general, and it can be really hard for them to wrap their heads around. Unless they've experienced mental health problems of their own, many people think depression is about "will power" or "positive thinking". But it's a real illness with real physical and psychological consequences and has to be treated as such. If someone refuses to accept your depression, or tells you that it doesn't really exist/is all about willpower/you're exaggerating, etc, then remember this: just because someone calls an apple an orange doesn't mean it's really an orange. You know it's an apple and that's all that matters.

I'm not sure where you are with your depression right now, whether you're in recovery/remission or whether you're still dealing with it quite a bit. I didn't tell the majority of the people who know (and even then, that's still only a handful of people) until after I was feeling better, partially out of shame while I was depressed (I have a feeling the depression was CAUSING me shame about that and other aspects of myself that I'm perfectly comfortable with). Now, I often say that I have been dealing with depression for the last few years but I'm feeling much better now. Adding a positive note to your explanation stops people from telling you you're being overly negative. If you're still feeling your depression to a great degree, try to think of something else that's positive. Maybe "I'm depressed but I'm in treatment" or "I have depression, but the good news is, it's highly treatable", something optimistic like that so you can't be accused of being a pessimist.

The other thing I would suggest is that you make sure you don't talk about it too much, in too much depth or detail, or too often, not right at the start. Give your friends and family time to process the news. If all you talk about is your depression, that's all they're going to associate you with, and depression is not a particularly pleasant subject for anyone to have to discuss on a regular basis. Remember that your friends and family are NOT your therapists, and you can't expect them to understand your depression in-depth or to a professional degree, just as you can't expect them to instinctively know what to do about it when you're having an episode. If someone asks, you can tell them what helps for you, like a big hug or hearing a funny joke. What you can also do to make them more comfortable is ASK what will make them more comfortable. I am very clear with the people who know about my depression that I don't expect anything from them but their friendship. I'm aware they're not my therapists and I'm not asking them to "fix" me when I have a bad bout. If they tell me it's something they're uncomfortable bringing up, then I respect that and try not to talk about it with them. If they have questions, they all know they're welcome to ask me whatever they want in order to understand my depression. When it comes to my mental health, I open up but I don't unload. Figure out how open you feel comfortable being, then find out how comfortable the people in your life are with that openness. Not everybody is going to understand and not everybody is going to be comfortable with it, but I sincerely believe that not everybody is going to see it as anything more than it is, an unfortunate illness, and I'm sure they'll be very supportive of you.

Hope this helps, and again, welcome.