Soooooo...depression.

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I'm currently having a bout. Anybody else like to chip in with experiences/coping strategies. Depression is literally the worst thing ever. I've never tried to get any treatment as it only creeps up on me now and then, usually for a day or two and then floats off.

I did have a period when I was 16 of about 3-4 months where I was depressed. I'd come home from school and lie in my room with the light off listening to music and cry. Was pretty bad. Repugnant teenage years. I'm at my most poetic when I'm depressed, though. The strength of emotion helps inform my artistry.

I'm currently struggling to sleep because I keep thinking of things and it's all bad and distracting me from relaxing enough to shut down. Yeah.

 

[lowandmighty]

Get a girlfriend. Then when you're not sleeping its not because you're depressed its because you're expending a lot of energy if you know what I mean.

 

[nightmare]

Take some melatonin, it will help shut off your brain long enough to get some sleep. Other than that, find something that makes you feel better & dive into it. Only thing that helps sometimes is taking your mind off what is keeping you down. Crack a book or start something you have been putting off. That usually works for me.

 

[FlexAmerican Dynamite]

I deal with depression on a daily basis. Mostly about my inability to attract the opposite sex. But there's other stuff sprinkled in there too. I think you have to realize that they'll never just be nothing but happiness. You must take the good with the bad, and learn to look at the glass half full.

It's still something I struggle with myself but I'm trying to be happier. Take tonight for instance where a friend and I were hit on by two girls. Made me feel like I wasn't the unattractive, unapproachable, loser past rejection made me feel like. Albeit I had to inform the ladies I wasn't legal and that would be statutory rape but we had a good laugh about it and I felt very flattered.

Don't know why I felt the need to share that but the gist of what I'm saying is that you shouldn't just ponder on the bad things happening to you, you shouldn't just isolate yourself, and do the things you know will bring you joy as much as possible. But be prepared to deal with the bad stuff as well. Hope that helps man.

 

[JGlass]

I'm currently having a bout. Anybody else like to chip in with experiences/coping strategies. Depression is literally the worst thing ever. I've never tried to get any treatment as it only creeps up on me now and then, usually for a day or two and then floats off.

I did have a period when I was 16 of about 3-4 months where I was depressed. I'd come home from school and lie in my room with the light off listening to music and cry. Was pretty bad. Repugnant teenage years. I'm at my most poetic when I'm depressed, though. The strength of emotion helps inform my artistry.

I'm currently struggling to sleep because I keep thinking of things and it's all bad and distracting me from relaxing enough to shut down. Yeah.

There's you're problem right there. It doesn't matter if you have depression once in a while or everyday: if you have it, you have it, and there are ways to cure it. Depression is a disease just like any other, and there are therapies that can be utilized to help you with it. Not seeking treatment is irresponsible to your own wellbeing.

 

[Bernkastel]

I'm manic depressive so I deal with depression almost every day. I have a counselor whom I talk to/vent to/yell at on a weekly basis. It helps.

 

[Dirk]

Get some exercise, even if it's just walking to the shops. Sun and fresh air will help too.

Go see your friends. You don't have to talk about your mood, just hang out a bit.

Eat. Sleep. The area in the brain affected by depression is very close to the areas responsible for eating and sleeping. It's normal that you'll overeat or not eat at all, or have a bit of insomnia or hypersomnia. Just make sure you eat, even if it's just a piece of toast once in a while. And avoid fast foods, which can be very tempting if you're out of energy.

Depression is a disease of the brain. There's no shame in getting insulin if you're a diabetic, so why not see a doctor if your brain is acting up? Any old doctor will do, they can prescribe medicine and recommend other therapists. Letting an episode go without help makes it worse and damages the brain further. I know from personal experience that even the smallest new thing can take a shit-ton of effort, but this is very important.

Be kind to yourself. Be patient. This isn't a personal weakness or a flawed personality thing, it's just a normal medical issue.

 

[Slash-LN]

Therapy didn't work for me but it could work for you. If you aren't comfortable with one on one therapy see if there is group therapy where you live. You may need to be referred there by a doctor. That's what happened in my case anyway. Either way it's definitely worth looking into.

The fact that you're writing poetry is a really good thing because you're using a positive outlet to let some emotions out.

Do you have a daily routine? If not I'd look into trying to start one. While it doesn't seem like a big deal it does actually help with stability. When my daily routine gets thrown of due to unexpected situations I have to work to get myself back on track for that day.

If people in your life are one of the triggers of your depression then write them a letter of all the things you want to tell them but don't give it to them. Basically it's a way to release negative emotions.

Try journal writing. You don't even have to do it every day but it can be really helpful. Don't worry about how long or short the entries are. I've done it off and on. Usually I do it in the form of a letter to one of my friends who passed away a few years ago. After a while I end up throwing them away but you don't have to.

Write a letter to yourself. In group therapy they suggested making them positive. After you write it read it back to yourself for affirmation of the things you are doing well or have done well in life. I don't have mine next to me but I put things in there like being a good uncle, always being there for my friends and having artistic ability. It can be small stuff like that. One of the people put in hers about graduating at the top of her class in college and being a mother and that sort of stuff. Basically things about yourself that you're proud of. They said don't think of it as bragging or anything. It's your letter so whatever you're proud of you can put in there.

Set goals for yourself. There were daily goals, medium range goals that could be like something you wanted to do that week and then long term goals. It could be a month, six months or a year or any in between. Just stuff you want to accomplish and help give you motivation. One of the ones a few people had was to quit smoking. One of mine was when I play open mic and someone comes up and compliments me to accept it and say "thank you" rather than point out my mistakes which I have a bad habit of doing.

Don't be ashamed to talk to people about what you're feeling. If you have people in your every day life that you can talk to about stuff then do it. Holding stuff in is about the worst thing you can do. Don't let pride get in the way. That's from personal experience.

There's some really good suggestions already in this thread as well.

Also while it may seem strange a friend of mine told me that she listens to meditation music when she's trying to go to sleep. It helps relax her and takes her mind off of racing thoughts. It couldn't hurt to try that.

 

[The Butcher]

Marijuana is an effective mood elevator, if you're into that kinda thing.

 

[JGlass]

Marijuana is an effective mood elevator, if you're into that kinda thing.

Terrible advice, and I'm a big fan of marijuana. When you're depressed your brain is functioning differently from a non-depressed brain, and there's no telling if weed is going to have the same effect on a depressed brain as it does on a non-depressed brain. It could have a similar effect, or it could make them paranoid, manic, or even more depressed.

Self-medicating is a dangerous road. See a doctor.

 

[The Butcher]

Well fuck me.

Anecdotally, I can suggest that marijuana may help elevate your mood, stimulate your creative/poetic side, and help you get some sleep and overall relaxation.

 

[Tastycles]

I had depression almost non-stop from the age of about 16 till I was 24. It cost me a lot in terms of my life. In the end, the only thing you can do is get counselling. But you have to go because you want to, not because anyone else does.

 

[Danger Burger]

Well fuck me.

This is why you had your medical licence revoked, Butch.


JGlass and everyone who's said it since is right. Get some councelling/therapy or a group. It's tough and terrifying to think about, and for some reason society has labelled getting help as a bad thing, but it can do the world of good.

Not only will they listen to you, but they will often teach you thought exercises that bring you out of negative thought patterns and a whole manner of things that make depression worse. It will help.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

Once you accept that your life is going to awful the majority of the time, it gets a lot easier to deal with.

 

[Blade]

Solutions differ from person to person. For some people, counselling works, while other people just need anti-depressants to get on with their lives. Some people manage to feel better just from improving their diet and getting more exercise. You have to explore your options.

 

[Alex]

Once you accept that your life is going to awful the majority of the time, it gets a lot easier to deal with.

What's ******ed is this is actually true. Once I realised in comparison to other people my life seemed like shit it was easier to handle. I stopped caring about what other people thought of me, did my own thing and felt better. My creativity has had a resurgence and I just feel better.

 

[The Butcher]

This is why you had your medical licence revoked, Butch.

I don't know the OP's medical history, never claimed to be a psychiatrist, psychologist, etc., and I'd be wary of the doctor who could make a diagnosis based off of what the OP said. Just because he used the word "depression" doesn't mean he's suffering from clinical depression. Everyone gets down from time to time, but not everyone or every bout requires a visit to the doctor. So, in an attempt to be level-headed and look at this as a case of the blues, I was just chipping in with a coping strategy.

So sorry to interrupt your conference, doctors. I'll go get the horse I rode in on; he's all yours.

 

[Loveless]

Disconnect yourself from it emotionally. Once you realise your feelings are twisted or don't represent how you actually feel, it's much easier to just stand back and let it pass.

 

[Danger Burger]

So sorry to interrupt your conference, doctors. I'll go get the horse I rode in on; he's all yours.

Hey, I was mostly mocking your name change and the slap on the wrist from J. The rest was for the OP. Still though, if he sees a therapist he'll know one way or the other and not have to rely on the WZ confidence men.

 

[The Butcher]

Hey, I was mostly mocking your name change and the slap on the wrist from J. The rest was for the OP. Still though, if he sees a therapist he'll know one way or the other and not have to rely on the WZ confidence men.

No harm done. I set myself up for a future full of references to my old nom de guerre, so have at it.

Frankly I don't know whether to be encouraged or worried by the fact that no one has pointed out that my advice could be lead to the OP doing something illegal. Nobody makes the blues worse than the boys in blue. It certainly would have been easier and more reasonable than just saying it's terrible and hanging a medical degree from Nowhere State University out there for everyone to see.

The art-guy: you didn't really make it seem as if your problem was persistent enough to warrant seeing a doctor. Don't hesitate to see one because of any stigmas or anything. There are a lot of good tips in here, and mine isn't the only one you should proceed with caution on. Get well.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

If there is an option to go therapy, take it. Swallow your ego coz it will be difficult to step in that first time. Talk to a friend and just open up man. Usually, having an outlet and getting it all off your chest helps.

 

[nightmare]

I would recommend meds for certain situations only. They dont always work & switching to find the desired effect can lead to some issues. I was put on Zoloft for a while. Now it helped with anxiety but not so much the depression. You cannot just quit the meds, you have to taper off & that gives your brain time to adjust without shocking it into further problems on both ends of the high\low.


The best advice anyone can give you is to just talk. Knowing people understand your situation & getting things off your chest help greatly. If you must take some meds then it is best to do some research because not all meds work the same.


Keep writing & go outside a bit more, that will change the way you feel & give you time to figure out things. If you ever need to chat, there are a few folks here who will chat with you. Just send me a PM if you need to, im always willing to chat & have been through some of what you are. Whatever you do, dont just sit there in the dark & mope.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

Thankfully, I'm alright now, not that it makes a difference. I think doing more exercise could help because I do next to none at the moment.

I'm reluctant to try any anti-depressants because my problem isn't a constant sort of clinical depression so I'd be overdosing in a sense.

I'm not sure I have any friends that I could talk to or feel comfortable enough talking to, and I definitely think therapy is the way to go, and the first time is definitely going to be the hardest but I'd be more comfortable talking with a non-committed stranger to someone that knew me and might ask why I'd never told them before or try to treat me differently if they found out.

First I'll be needing some money though, so a job is what I require. If anyone would give me a hand out here. Job market is awful where I am, I feel like Yozza Hughes.

And the question of whether it is depression is one I often ask of other people if they say similar things. It's like the first time I tried weed and only had one drag and then thought I was high, but all it was was the buzz off the nicotine. But when you've gotten high, you know what getting high feels like. When you're depressed, you KNOW it's depression and not just feeling low. It's often not caused by anything and totally out of the blue and totally distorts reality so that everything external becomes bad and dire and it makes me want to not speak to anyone or do anything. It's a different kind of animal to just feeling down because things aren't going your way.

Thanks for the advice from everyone.

 

[Milkyway!]

The best thing I have ever done in my entire life was go to therapy. It was 100$ per visit for 1 hour of just sitting and talking. I haven't been in over a year, but some of the things he said/taught me on how to cope with depression have all still worked to this day.

1 out of 4 people have depression. It's the most common disease in the world. Take it from a guy who was too prideful to seek help, decided to eat a bottle of pills, and had to be forced into help over the course of the following two years. Best thing to ever happen to me. Seek help.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

Terrible advice, and I'm a big fan of marijuana. When you're depressed your brain is functioning differently from a non-depressed brain, and there's no telling if weed is going to have the same effect on a depressed brain as it does on a non-depressed brain. It could have a similar effect, or it could make them paranoid, manic, or even more depressed.

Self-medicating is a dangerous road. See a doctor.

This. I have clinical depression. I'm better off than most people with it, but I can tell you that sometimes it works like a charm, but other times, it puts me in a worse place than I've ever been, and it's fucking scary.