How do you handle depression?...

Basically, how do you handle your depression? Do have days and weeks and sometimes, even months stuck in a depression? Or sometimes feel like you could just be dead for awhile because you're just tired of being alive? Maybe you have a few ailments that cause you constant pain to some degree and you just get sick of it? How do you cope with it?...

I have one of those full spectrum lights. I'm not sure if it really works or if I am just convincing myself that it does, but it doesn't really matter as long as the job gets done.

As I get older, I find myself taking more comfort in food. Luckily I still have a decent metapolism.

They say excorsize helps, but I'm just too depressed to get off the couch and stop complaining about commercials.

To be honest, I would have to admit that my disposition fluctuates between blinding depression (for no specific reason) and utter, hysterical insanity. I've always been like this and you just get use to it after a while.

Cronic depression (if that is what you are refering too) really sucks though. When it comes on for no reason at all or when you wake up depressed and don't even see the point in getting out of bed. I am against taking medication so I wouldn't suggest that.

U2U me if you like. Misery loves company.

Not too well. I've been on chronic depression since about 3 years, more intensly over the last year. I've seen what people who took anti-depressant medication looks like, especially when they forget to their meds, and I don't wanna become that. So no meds for me. I do take, tho, some omega-3 acid pills, supposed to help greatly.

Anyway, as Jonna pointed out, one of the best tricks to get out of a depressive state (or just to become more mentally healthier) is to do exercise to be (or stay) physicly healthy. But like Jonna, I can't bring me back to working out regularly. Actually, lately I haven't even been able to simply bring me to just work out. So I know I'm not doing much to help me out of this right now, but hey.. I Just don't feel like it at the moment.

I feel like I'm just tired of being alive, but am just too lazy and too weak to kill my self. To answer your first question (kinda), it can last a REALLY LONG time... So one better do all he can to not let the depression last, else, the longer u wait, the tougher it is to get out of. Good luck.

When I feel depressed I turn to anger for guidance. Most people doing this would do it in a destructive way though. I use anger constructively. I see my life as a "deviation" from the norms of our society. Therefore, as long as I am alive I am challenging the rest of society to stop me from achieving my goals. Whether this is true or not from societies perspective is irrelevant. The thing that matters is that it is a thought that I believe is true; this thought drives me to hold on even when I am feeling my worst.

I witnessed my best friend become consumed with depression and panic attacks b/c of his parent's divorce as well as other issues that were butting heads at the moment...I was his support and helped him during times when neither his mother or father would...

Not too long before he began taking Paxil, which is his miracle drug, I hit rock bottom just b/c of all the # I went through with him...I was in my junior year in college and life was just sucking ass.... I tried paxil - didn't do anything...I tried Wellbutrin...didn't do anything....

Then I began to realize, that all this was in my mind, and it was spurred on by situations relating more to my friend's life than mine...It's not something that cleared itself up over night - It took a few months for me to pull out of it, but once you do pull out, you know you're out...

It's normal to feel depressed from time to time, or to have brief waves of depression strike you, but when it's a constant feeling, that's when you know you need as much positive support, friendship and love that you can get to draw it away from you...

But that's how it worked for me...different people have different problems/solutions - Some are simply born with low serotonin levels and try their whole lives to battle it...A doctor or therapist can best analyze that situation and determine the cause or give you their best guess...Then it's just trial and self-experimentation after that....

Zoloft. I know many people refuse to take meds, but I've dealt with chronic depression for almost 20 years, and SSRIs are the absolute *only* things that help. Without them, I just want to close myself off in a room by myself and have nothing to do with anyone.

Zoloft.

And you must force yourself to get out and walk, when you wake up, do stretching exercises, and exercise when you DON'T feel like it. That is the most difficult thing--to force yourself to feel the pain, and do it anyway.

Exercise boosts the brain's level of endorphins which are 'feel good' chemicals. The worst thing you can do is lay around the house and be sedentary.

Reaching out to others and focusing on others rather than yourself is a big help. People who are sick or depressed tend to be introspective and withdrawn. Force yourself, again, to make that call to a friend, to get involved with others, even if it's just an hour a day.

I find forcing myself to wear brighter, perkier colored clothing helps cheer up my mood, and forcing myself to spend extra time fixing my face and appearance up keeps my confidence up.

When you're sick or depressed, your self esteem can suffer and you need to nurture yourself and focus on healing.

Try to replace negative thoughts with positive ones. If you think "what a crappy day outside" then replace it with "Yeah, but at least I'm alive to see the dawn!" Positive self affirmations and encouraging self talk can lift your spirits. Sometimes I reach behind myself and pat myself on the back and praise myself aloud, like "hey, that was a great meal you cooked!".

Smile when you don't even feel like it. It is hard to feel down when you are smiling. Rent funny movies and avoid somber reading material and negative input like violent news media etc. Until you're healed and balanced again, you need to focus on the positive.

Avoid eating heavy meals and eat light ones throughout the day to maintain your energy level. Heavy meals make me just wanna lay down.

Get a lot of sunlight, it'll fend off S.A.D. (seasonal affective disorder).
Take your vitamins and meditate and/or pray.

Keeping a pet may help you deal with the blues as they are unconditionally loving and ever-affectionate.

Practice giving and asking for hugs. Hugs are very therapeutic!

Stay fairly busy and don't waste a lot of time. Refuse to feel sorry for yourself and to waste time in self pity. There are always millions of people much worse off than you. Reflect on what you have to be thankful for and appreciate the good things in your life.

Group therapy may help or a support group.

There are many internet support groups for depression.

hope these help!

I usually just tell myself to grow the # up. My depression, execpt for 2 days out of the month is all because I get depressed when I'm bord and thinking too much...when I could make myself go DO something...this is VERY much diffrent where people go depressed then decide to quit life. this is quiting life and getting depressed about it, lol... My family has depression bouts...but we litterally walk through them like they are not there...just too stubborn.

Originally posted by Thorfinn Skullsplitter
Basically, how do you handle your depression? Do have days and weeks and sometimes, even months stuck in a depression? Or sometimes feel like you could just be dead for awhile because you're just tired of being alive? Maybe you have a few ailments that cause you constant pain to some degree and you just get sick of it? How do you cope with it?...

I have to think of reasons to go on. Sometimes it comes down to picking a particular upcoming event. Then I move on to the next thing.

I won't take drugs. I have, but I don't like them. I see someone suggested Zoloft, but one of the possible not-talked-about side effects is suicidal depression. But that's not even the real reason for not taking them. Relying on drugs is like being told that you're sick - that you have no control over your life. I want that control.

Lately, I've been looking into a therapist/psychiatrist who is proactive. Most therapists listen to you and offer little of value. Sure, you can say more to them than people close to them, but you can do that with a wall. I want someone who can help me find solutions. I've got a phone number of someone who might be able to help me. If things work out, I'll let you know what worked for me. Maybe that will give you some direction.

This thread really struck a chord in me. I've been dealing with this for years myself. I'm ready to defeat it now though. Depression is a hard battle to fight. Because most people can't just flip the switch, and make it go away. There has been some great advice in this thread so far!! I just want to add my two cents. Sometimes, it just takes the right person, saying the right thing. To make the switch flip in your head. So I hope this helps someone out there reading it.

It really depends on where you are at in your depression. For me, it got to the point, where I would have panic attacks. Your body can only take so much. If you are at this point, you need to get in control of your mind. I am not a huge fan of man made medications. I don't want to be stable, by depending on medications. I believe in getting back to normal, the way I was before the depression. Not being forced to be normal, by depending on medications. Medications treat the symptoms, not the cause.

I came to the realization over the years. That the root cause of my depression, was due to not being able to accept the world the way it is. I think alot of people that suffer from depression are highly sensitive people. So anything that happens, that we can't understand. (I.E. why someone treated us the way they did etc..) It tends to drive us nuts. Because it just doesn't compute. We can't comprehend it. Because we would never even consider, the course of action the other person chose ourselves.

Any time you get mad, frustrated, etc., in these situations. You need to come to the realization, that it is due to you not being able to understand something about the situation. It's like a computer, that goes mad because something doesn't compute. If you think about it long enough, I think you will be able to see what I mean by this. What makes it worse, is the majority of the time, there is no way to come to an understanding as to why it happened. Or why that course of action was taken in the first place. Either because the person won't talk about it. or it's something that we witness happening to someone else, where we can't ask for answers etc..

I've found trying to talk to other people about it, helps very little as well. They haven't lived your life, so it is very hard for others to relate. Therapists, as mentioned previously, are worthless IMO. I don't mean to burst anyones bubble here. But I've been there, and done that numerous times. I tell them about how my "minister" dad, told me "I don't love you anymore". Or how I was treated like a foster kid by my parents growing up, while my adopted brother was the golden child. I tell them about the company I worked for, firing me because I was "a threat to the company". And how they said, I had threatened to bomb the building I worked in. Or the teacher in college, that accused me of making a death threat against him.

Or how my Army recruiter, lied to me about how to get into the Army's band. How I had to count down three years, in what was an equivelant to minimum security prison. Then being held in past my enlistment date, due to the first Persian Gulf Crisis. How I was being forced to go kill innocent Iraqi's, that were in turn being forced to fight me. How the military refused to let me file for contientious objector status, when I never joined to kill anyone. I just wanted to serve my country, by playing in the band. Or how I finally ended up having to go AWOL, to avoid being forced to kill other human beings. Etc. etc.etc.. I've have literally brought therapists to tears, with my life story. When it comes time to give me advice, they are dumbfounded. Or like I said, useless. The funny part is, it's not their fault. I wouldn't have known what to tell me either!

I am not telling any of this to you all, for sympathy. I don't like dwelling on the negative. But when I see other people suffering from depression, it breaks my heart. Trust me, I know your pain. The only reason, I am telling you all of this, is so that you can see. That if I can climb out of all of this, you can too!!!! As the song says, "everybody hurts sometimes". The key, is getting past it. You may go on a journey for years, trying to figure out why it happened. I know from experience, that you may never be able to get to those answers. You may never be able to understand, the why's of things that happened in your life. Some people simply won't tell you. Others may have past on, to the next life etc.. So what then? Do you just give up, and live in misery the rest of your life, because you can't get the questions answered?

I don't know about all of you, but I AM NOT a quitter. I am a fighter at heart. Never give up, and never give in. Because the bottom line here is that if you do, who is living your life? Who is carrying that negative energy, that was passed on to you? Life is about free will. If you let these negative things rule your life, you are not the winner. Which is evidenced by your depression. Winners aren't depressed. They are happy, because they persevered. They fought the adversity in their lives, and they won.

So the best advice I can give anyone here, was best said by Michael Jordan. JUST DO IT. Life isn't easy, and there is ALWAYS, going to be an excuse to not try harder. There is always going to be an excuse, to give up. Or to feel sorry for yourself, because of what you have been through. The key is getting past it, whatever it takes. I love the advice given here by Daniel191159! He hit the nail on the head. Use this negative energy, that you have stored inside of you. And turn it into a positive. Use it to motivate you. View life as a challenge, that you have to fight to overcome. In order to do this, you have to be realistic about this life.

The reality is, there are alot of people in this world that are angry. They are angry, because they have been hurt as well. The reason these people do these things to you, is because they have lost the will to care about what they are doing to you. They don't care about anyone but themselves, because they are in self preservation mode. In order to care, you have to feel. If you feel, then you have to feel the pain of your experiences. Some poeple don't want to do that. They would rather shut off their feelings completely, and have the attitude of being out for number one. Rather than having to feel, and care about their actions. Or how they affect others. So any time these people do these negative things to you, don't let it change you!!!!! If you let it change you, they win. Not only that, but if you let all of these things affect you. Who exactly is in charge of your life? I'll give you all a hint, it's not you. If you were in charge of you, you wouldn't let other people dictate how you feel. Which is exactly what you are doing, when you allow yourself to be depressed.

Please take note, of how I phrased that last thought. You are allowing yourself to be depressed. I am not saying your feelings are invalid. I'm not saying, that you have no right to feel sorry for yourself. I am saying that you are allowing yourself to stay there, in those feelings for days, months, or even years. To quote U2, "you are stuck in a moment, and can't get out of it".

So let me sum up this book, by making one last point. You can stay in your depression, as long as you allow yourself to. We all ultimately, want to be happy in this life. So what makes more sense? To continue to stay in the depression, until you are forced to take action. I.E. get to the point, where you are a step away from being homeless etc.. Because you didn't have the will to fight. Continue to feel the stress, and have physical ailments due to the stress etc.. Or to put it all behind you, and face the adversity head on?

Either way you are going to face the adversity, sooner or later. So what sense does it make, to continue on the same path? If you want to be happy in this life. The bottom line, is that it is going to take effort on your part to get to where you want to be. So it all boils down, to when you are going to reach that happiness. Sooner, or later. Unless of course, you are content in being homeless etc.. I.E. don't care about yourself, and your own well being. In which case, I don't know how to reach you. Just as all of the therapists in the world, didn't know how to reach me.

But if you do care, and you still want to ultimately reach your happiness. When I was faced with this ultimatum. I decided, I would rather reach my happiness. Sooner, rather then later. If I'm going to face adversity either way. I would rather do it, because I want to. Rather then when I have to. Especailly if it means getting out of the depression sooner, rather then later. For myself, it just makes good sense.

Peace, Love, and Happiness!
Tom Sawyer