What helped you with depression?

[Siúil a Rúin]

More simply - I go in search of jokes, watch comedies, and eat vitamins.

 

[Kanra Jest]

More simply - I go in search of jokes, watch comedies, and eat vitamins.

Do you eat your vitamins and say your prayers?

 

[neko 4]

Mainly meds

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

Do you eat your vitamins and say your prayers?

Yes, but I pray to Satan, so that might be part of my problem.

 

[Kanra Jest]

Yes, but I pray to Satan, so that might be part of my problem.

That's the word on the street

 

[Kanra Jest]

What helps me is pretty evident here ~ jokes, verbal play, distractions

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

That's the word on the street

Do you get your vitamins from the same guy? He lives on the street and I don't always recognize the names of the vitamins, one starts with an L, but includes vitamin D, I think there's an X one, but he says they're all pretty good.

Also, they help me have visions when I pray to Satan, and that cheers me up.

 

[Kanra Jest]

Do you get your vitamins from the same guy? He lives on the street and I don't always recognize the names of the vitamins, one starts with an L, but includes vitamin D, I think there's an X one, but he says they're all pretty good.

Also, they help me have visions when I pray to Satan, and that cheers me up.

Yeah. That guy. Who lives on the Street. And hands out LDX vitamins. For my hyper attention disorder or whatever.

Wow you even have the same satanic acid trips! Do you also hear the Spooky Scary Skeletons song and some weird gregorian chanty shit in the background?

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

Yeah. That guy. Who lives on the Street. And hands out LDX vitamins. For my hyper attention disorder or whatever.

Wow you even have the same satanic acid trips! Do you also hear the Spooky Scary Skeletons song and some weird gregorian chanty shit in the background?

hmmmmm Are we neighbors? Is that you blasting the Gregorian chanty shit?

 

[Kanra Jest]

hmmmmm Are we neighbors? Is that you blasting the Gregorian chanty shit?

*hides cult gregorians in basement*

 

[Luminous]

*hides cult gregorians in basement*

I love this post. Especially out of context.

 

[I Tonya]

Crawling my way out of my comfort zone. Making that decision for myself, and not waiting for others to do it for me.

 

[Warrior]

Entertaining and educational youtube videos.

 

[The Cat]

I need a booster @_@ Have to hang in there.

 

[Indigo Rodent]

Getting out of schedules.

Getting decent amount of sleep, going to sleep whenever I feel like.

Not getting enough sleep and constant pressure to be at various times were the worst when I was going to school. Worsened my state drastically.

Internet access, social media, mp3 player, meditation, vitamin D3, nutrition, etc. help a lot too.

 

[Sacrophagus]

These are some steps that helped me go through the depression that took over me after the death of my parents :


-Introspection, looking at the true feelings underneath deep in the eye.
-Acknowledging and accepting my powerlessness.
-Detachment from the outcome. "Whatever happens shall happen."
-Amor fati. To love and accept your fate.
-Knowing that I will overcome regardless of the outside cues.
-Self-care.
-A change of environment.
-Healthy nutrition.
-Enjoying my own company once again.
-A good healthy company.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

 

[Peter Deadpan]

I should probably get a new job and just go back on financial assistance. It's not worth slaughtering my body and spirit.

 

[Mind Maverick]

I've struggled with depression for years, and years, and years. I didn't know it until the more recent years, but now in hindsight, I can tell that I at least already had something wrong with me when I was 11 years old. I'm an incredibly fiery and strong-willed person myself. I don't back down from jack shit and if you push me I push right back, except I'll do it even harder. That's how I've almost always been except during a comparatively brief time period in my life where I was unassertive. Prior to that brief time period, I wouldn't hesitate to put someone in their place with violence if necessary. I stood up to anyone no matter what size without batting an eye. I've just almost always been a firecracker and no matter how much something hurt, my attitude was "do or do not, there is no try, failure is not an option." It was ingrained in me too deeply by an Enneagram 8, which only amplified what was already in me since at least age 3. I've almost always been fiery except for a couple of bad years in my adulthood, although there were religious root causes.

Despite this, no amount of willpower, attempts to change my perspectives, distractions, or anything else would help me with my depression. I didn't experience normalcy until I got on medication, particularly Effexor. When you truly have something wrong with your brain, willpower and your situations in life don't make that go away. It's a medical problem. It'd be like trying to willpower away your handicap. Like, just because you want to get out of your wheelchair and walk across the parking lot with no problem at all doesn't necessarily always mean you can. A fiery spirit doesn't fix the body. Depression is no different when it's a neurological disorder. It's not a character flaw, thus it is not something you can overcome through character development.

This is not a character issue. It's not a need to go have more fun. It's not something you can just move on from. It's a physical problem going on in the brain for some people and neurology proves this, and some people have it rather severely.

Deciding that you're going to just get over it doesn't make you get over it when this is wrong with you. Wanting it to stop doesn't make it stop, no matter how much willpower you have, which btw you usually don't have when you have severe depression problems like this, as your brain is not producing the chemicals involved in that. It robs you of your willpower even if in general you are a strong-willed and fiery person normally because there are brain chemicals involved in that, that's why a depressive episode symptom in bipolar and major depression is hopelessness.​

For me personally, nothing else was needed besides medication. As soon as I got on the right drugs I was just simply happy in a way I don't ever remember being since I was a very young child, younger than age 11. Prior to that I tried, and tried, and tried, and tried, and tried, and tried like hell, but nothing would prevail. All was empty, life was meaningless, everything was nought. It made no difference what my life was like. It made no difference when I analyzed myself or my thoughts and tried to change myself or the way I saw things. It made no difference when I tried to have fun, I often wasn't even truly able to, even playing games was just something I couldn't enjoy. It didn't matter what interests I tried to have. It didn't matter whether I exercised, in fact there were many times I simply couldn't because I didn't even have the energy to stand up and wash myself in the shower because of the fatigue it caused. It didn't matter how many things I rattled off that I was grateful for. It didn't matter how many good things I reflected upon. It didn't matter what kind of bright future I invisioned for myself. Nothing worked when I was like this. Nothing. That's why I knew it was probably a chemical problem.

Now...on medication...it doesn't matter what I'm going through. It doesn't matter how bad things get. Literally was living in my car and still smiling and being happy and looking forward to the future, I was acting like I was just on some road trip. It doesn't matter when I get a bit down, overall I'm still happy. I'm discovering that I have interests I never really knew I had, like...apparently, I'm super into building PCs and I nerd out over that shit. I didn't know that back when I was depressed, I only discovered that about myself after I got on meds and became able to take interest in things more. I don't ever doubt my ability to get through anything...I get discouranged or disheartened a bit briefly and then bounce back, sure...but I don't ever actually believe I can't/won't be able to do or get through something. Things don't knock me down the way they get to most people. I'm not a weak person, but when you break your leg you can't look at it and get a can do attitude and expect that shit to just miraculously be perfectly fine to walk on. It's simply an expectation to be inhuman. Human beings cannot be completely invulnerable regardless of how hard they may try to be. Vulnerability is truth, vulnerability is a reality to cope with. Denial of it doesn't change that fact, it just makes you more vulnerable, in part because you then overestimate yourself and don't take sufficient precautions or countermeasures.

Don't let anyone make you feel guilty for being depressed, don't let anyone look at you and tell you "stop being depressed." It's not necessarily your fault and that shit is unrealistic as fuck when you truly have brain problems. It comes from a place of absolute ignorance when someone does that bullshit and it's fucking offensive.

 

[Mind Maverick]

People who say "just stop being depressed" be like

Man, I really, really wanted to be depressed until you said that...damn...thanks for snapping me out of it...should've thought of wanting to stop earlier on...


I hate the victim mindset just as much as your stereotypical E8, but accepting that you are genuinely a victim to things sometimes and other approaches besides willpower are necessary is just part of facing reality. It doesn't go the other way, you just start to see it as though it does. It isn't reality.