how do you deal with depression?

whats the master plan?

im going through a rough patch, really very bad.

I have a doctors appointment later this week.

do you have any sage advice for this?

my lifes in ruins and im so sad its hard to describe or admit, is there some secret formula for happiness? please tell me.

I'm sorry I can't help you there mate as it's never effected me,but surely hanging out with family and friends can be a good thing?

I think it's realy hard for people to understand what depression is if they are never effected by it,I can understand to a certain degree from what people have said

Keep your mind on other things,of out and meet people ?

I'm hoping you pull through it fast and I'm sorry I can't realy help you but I'm there in thought like many more on this site

I am going through the works myself. let me know if you find a cure as i could also use it.
Hope your life get's better as well as i hope mine does too.

a reply to: Biigs

Firstly sorry to hear you are going through a bad time, at least you are seeking help.

I have suffered from depression in the past - here are things i have dealt with(then I will tell you what I did)

Been told by my doctor i might have cancer
Not been able to walk for months due to a back injury
Been divorced
Made redundant
Had huge unmanageable debts

I got through it all, it was tough. For me i would always think that things could be worse so I was lucky for what I had, I would try to focus on improving 1 part of my life. Try to be around happy people, they lift your mood. Cut out alcohol. Join a gym, getting fitter really helped me with depression, maybe it was chemicals etc that my body produced whilst exercising but it lifted me.
Always seek help, people will help, even on here people care enough to try to give advice.

Hang in there, things will improve

a reply to: Biigs

Ive been there. Medication made my situation worse over time. The only thing that gives me strength in life is studying the word of God.

My recommendation:

Believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for all our sins. Then you are saved.
From that point, use 1 John 1:9 to confess your known sins to God as needed, and ask for His guidance.
Find a good bible study program and start learning the basics.

Its the only thing that ever worked for me. Im not just content, but actually happy. I never thought I could actually be happy again, but God provides what you need if you are willing to listen to Him.

a reply to: Biigs

Can you find ANY positives to focus on? No matter how small they CAN grow to something bigger.

Do you have kids? A partner? Extended family around you? Most importantly, do you have anyone close to you to talk too?

Doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists etc all have their place but I've found that someone who knows me already can often give the best advice/help.

I refuse to give into it sitting around thinking does me no good , My way of dealing with it is to go walk the dog or do a bit of gardening anything to get out of the house and keep my brain engaged .

IT might not work for you but it does the trick for me for a few hours .

Good luck

a reply to: Biigs
FILMS

My mother has M.S and gets deeply depressed some days, so I bang couple of films on and she starts to stop thinking and starts to relax.

a reply to: Biigs

Finding new music to listen to, helps me out tons when I'm feeling depressed or getting over a breakup.

a reply to: Biigs

Taming strange?

a reply to: Biigs

I oddly get depressed despite some of the awful things that I have been through...I think my specific honest trick is that I have so many hobbies and things to do that it easily distracts me. So I bottle it all up then wait to let it out on some asshole!

a reply to: Biigs

Every day not behind bars

Is a good day?

# 267

a reply to: Biigs

How about not dwelling on the sadness? By that I mean if we think all the worst possibilities as an outcome thats not helping anything. Worry doesn't help.

Each of us is exactly where we are supposed to be on lifes journey. These no need to fret it. I don't mean deny it, just don't "pre disaster" it.

If that makes any sense…

Change of enviorinment and people . That cant be how its spelled.

a reply to: Biigs

Hi there.

Sorry to hear you have been visited by the blues. It's a tricky one.

I have suffered with depression all my life. I am diagnosed as bi polar. I treat it like a weather forecast. Sometimes it is sunny and sometimes horribly gloomy and grey. I have had depressions that last a few hours. I have had depressions that last for months. It is not possible to determine how long these moods of feeling will last. I have in the past had all the comforts of life; money and a beautiful partner, but these comforts make no difference in any way. For me it is just like the weather.

I tried medication before, but as another member mentioned they only offer a very short term fix and after time they can cause some chemical imbalances in the brain. As I have got older I can see that depression is a temporary mood. I know that the highs will come.

Yes, it is a painful experience emotionally. I step outside myself and call it a mood. I manage the bad times with a kind of routine of making sure I do all the things that are healthy as much as possible; walking in fresh air (exercise), eating a very healthy diet and meeting all my personal daily needs even if I really do not want to.

As another member said spirituality and faith are very helpful, too. I can also vouch that Jesus has helped me to struggle on through the worst times. It works for sure. Christ called the Holy Spirit "The Comforter". He was very correct about that.

Sometimes one can go through a stage of depression in this life that only lasts a while. These moods are usually a response to something very real; so many triggers. A coping mechanism needs to be acquired when faced with this emotional state. Health professionals can help to find a coping mechanism or may be you can find your own.

Take good care and know that it is a very common phenomenon with us human beings. Just be a fighter, a survivor and challenge this life that you are going to see the whole thing through and not be brought down by what life throws at you.

a reply to: Biigs

Best Wishes.

For me medication has never worked, self or medico perscribed, and over time makes it worse.

That said I do agree that depression affects neuro-transmitters in the brain, but believe that other non-drug approaches are better for making lasting results both in brain chemistry and subjective experience.

The big one is exercise, consistant regular exercise has been repeatedly shown to improve mood.

Diet is also a factor.

Both of the above are difficult to change when 'you don't care'.

Various 'energy-psychology' methods work as does neuro-feedback. Both do offer some quick relief as well as long term improvement.

Then there are the cognitive approaches which with time and consistant practise will replace 'poor thinking pattern' habits with 'productive thinking pattern' habit.

I include with this group not only traditional cognitive therapy (which I found almost useless - but many swear by), meditation (of any type to begin), mind-fullness practise (a bit different then meditiaion and more important in daily life) and self-awareness.

We tell ourselves stories, in our minds. Stories about what things 'should be', 'could have been' how others 'ought to behave', etc all the time. Then there are the stories we tell ourselves to justify our behavoir whether it needs jusitifing or not. Also are stories we make up about who we are or should be or ought to be.... Lots and lots of stories with little or no bearing on reality or truth.

I find my stories are what makes me depressed. Telling them to a therapist, family member or friend just reinforces the story line in my head and it veers further from the truth.

I had to learn to recognise the difference between FACTS and the fiction I told myself about them. It didn't come easy. I still get caught up in these cycles of story-telling delusion for quite a while before I catch on to the fact that none of it is true. While I'm caught in the trap - I get depressed about the past, axnious about the future and catch in a whirlwind of fear so that I can't act on anything nor hear anything from anyone.

Not a nice place.

There is no easy fix. Any meds you take will require constant monitoring and adjustment. It's your choice, I know people that meds have helped tremendously.

A great book is "Taking the Leap" by Pema Chodron. It's from a buddist point of view but is applicable to any world-view; as is "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle (I find him a bit obtuse - but he has many You Tube videos on the subject that are a good start).

Learning to be 'comfortable' with 'un-comfortable' things is helpful.

It's tough --- but doable.

It's all going to depend on how willing you are to try new things and stick with the ones that work. I have found myself repeatedly running away from the very things that do work - LOL because I love my 'victumhood' and 'self-pity' so much.

But, I am making progress.

a reply to: Biigs

I can only say what worked for me :

I figured out for me it was not having contact with my inner-feelings (found inside your heart).

Problem with most people they have no contact with it, because they are full of fears, and they are afraid of them. So getting to your inner-feelings means you have to deal with your fears first...and that`s actually what life is about, conquering fears to turn your life around for the better.

Not listening to your heart and what it says you should do makes a person really angry and depressed.

Every normal person has fears, it`s just are you willing to be honest with yourself...and I mean really honest...bull#ting yourself is so incredible easy (not willing to recognize your true fears)...

Big change that`s your problem...there are different kinds of therapy which can help you with dealing with your fears so you can come in contact with your inner-feelings again (and start listening to it again), but it differs from person to person what suits him best...it can be a bit of a search sometimes to figure out which is the best for you, or you might get lucky the first time.

originally posted by: BELIEVERpriest
a reply to: Biigs

Ive been there. Medication made my situation worse over time. The only thing that gives me strength in life is studying the word of God.

My recommendation:

Believe that Jesus died to pay the penalty for all our sins. Then you are saved.
From that point, use 1 John 1:9 to confess your known sins to God as needed, and ask for His guidance.
Find a good bible study program and start learning the basics.

Its the only thing that ever worked for me. Im not just content, but actually happy. I never thought I could actually be happy again, but God provides what you need if you are willing to listen to Him.

That's advice I can second for sure.

a reply to: lonesomerimbaud

Yeah, I really felt like I was uniqely screwed up until I read Ecclesiastes, and saw that Solomon was in the same boat. That in itself was real a comforter.

originally posted by: Biigs
whats the master plan?

im going through a rough patch, really very bad.

I have a doctors appointment later this week.

do you have any sage advice for this?

my lifes in ruins and im so sad its hard to describe or admit, is there some secret formula for happiness? please tell me.

It's hard to give sound advice to a stranger when you don't fully understand their current situation and the reasons that are causing you pain and depression.

First, let me say that I'm sorry that you are going through this. I've had my moments of depressions too, I believe all humans go through varying degrees of depression, depending on circumstances, so the good thing is that you are not alone here. Whenever I've struggled with depression in the past, I would find myself going through an early stage of denial, where I would begin to believe I was depressed, but I would quickly deny it and tell myself to "suck it up"... Obviously, this way is the wrong way to deal with it, haha... From there I usually begin to deal with the situation that is causing me pain, breakups, debt, health, etc. and I look deep inside myself to find the things that truly make me happy, ie. family, friends, hobbies, and sometimes my work... Once I locate something that is known to cheer me up I throw myself at it until I get myself right (or get over whatever it is that's bothering me).

My father suffers from depression and bipolar disease and I've seen what medications have done to him over the years. Many doctors just throw different meds at you trying to find that right "cocktail" of pills that mask your depression. This way of treatment can be highly volatile, especially when you are working through a batch of meds that aren't helping/working, but are adding to your depression.

Find something that makes you happy. Put yourself around positive people and positive environments. Don't hit the bottle to hide the pain, because that's never the solution. And if all that fails come back on here to ATS and talk to us (like you are doing now) because believe or not, we are a solid community here, even though we don't always see eye to eye.

When I found out my gf of 8 years cheated on me, I was devastated and was pretty depressed, I came here, I wrote up my situation and before you know it, loads of sound advice came in helping me through this challenging time. ATS is great for this... So many wise people with such great insight. Much cheaper than the therapist too! haha

Get well my friend!