How do YOU deal with depression?

[MC Hammered]

Originally posted by diva


I think your opinion about depression is a pretty uneducated one. It's all in the mind? I dare you to try telling that to one of the millions of North Americans who suffer from depression. Before I go any further, I think it's important to distinguish clinical depression from the feelings of sadness that most people call depression.

Sorry if I was being very vague in my statement, I was referring to the feelings of sadness and not the depression where people have to go into therapy and medication.

I know many people that suffer from clincal depression and are on medication to keep it under control and do understand that this is a real issue not to be joked about.

[KStar]

blah i have the same problem and i can feel it creeping up already .. try to hang out with your friends as much as possible go out and do things whenever you can .. work out go for walks... eat lots of chocolate and fruit.. and yeah have lots of sex or just cuddle!

[diva]

Originally posted by MC Hammered


Sorry if I was being very vague in my statement, I was referring to the feelings of sadness and not the depression where people have to go into therapy and medication.

I know many people that suffer from clincal depression and are on medication to keep it under control and do understand that this is a real issue not to be joked about.

In that case, sorry for the rant.

:c-tard:

[galaxie]

I try to keep an even routine, which is fairly easy considering my life pretty much consists of work, work and more work. I'm definitely a fan of tanning in the fall - the whole issue of getting pasty and sick-looking in the fall/winter definitely doesn't help with my already difficult depression issues. I'm also probably going to buy a gym pass and work out 2-3 times per week. I figure that it will be a good release plus it will help me avoid putting on the holiday pounds I'm always wary of.

Basically, IMO, in the fall/winter I concentrate on doing things that are good for me. This can range from simply writing or listening to some good music in my downtime to going on a mad shopping spree - looking good tends to help me feel good.

[junglequeen]

i dont deal
i cry
wait for it to go away
eat some chocolate
and cuddle my puppy

some things you just cant fight

[Sue Bitch]

my doc just uped my dosage of my anit-depresent cause it is getting to that time and i feel pretty good

but it is all about being ocupied if anyone is ever bored and wants to hang out smoke pot watch tv call me and i will be up for it or bring u out to where i am cause it is not fun to be alone

[Flip]

Originally posted by Sue Bitch
cause it is not fun to be alone

Aawww Pumpkin, you know I have nothing better to do with my time, you can come over anytime you want. And if we get bored we can abuse Nugget or pee on Fatty or something. All joking aside (for once) you know I'm always up late so you can always call or come by. Flip gets lonely too sometimes....

[Sammy Skillz]

people who know me really well know how depressed i can get for no reason. for the past few years, i get waves of depression. sometimes it gets so bad that i won't even go out during the day. it sucks but when it happens, i try to redirect all those feelings towards my art and photography. as fucked up as this sounds, i find comfort in my depression at times.

this is going to sound really dumb but i've made 2 "Scrapbooks" that i keep adding to daily. i call them my books of sources. i have a "happy" book of sources and a "sad" book of sources. whenever i'm depressed and i want to make myself feel better, i look through my happy book of sources...in the book, there's pictures of friends, my family...my dog...little peices of paper that relate back to specific good days i've had...

on the other hand, whenever i'm trying to plan out my photography and i can't get into that dark mindset, i look through my other book of sources...which include poems, song lyrics, photos i've taken in the past, pieces of paper that remind me of the hardest days i've ever had. and then i sit on my bed and listen to really deep trip hop and before i know it, i'm in this really depressed state and all of a sudden ideas start flowing really naturally.

-s.

[PHUNK]

i paint, i film something funny, i go shooting, or i go shopping.

hmmmmm.

for some reason, that seems to be all i do all the time.

[Joanne]

Originally posted by diva

When someone has a broken leg, don't they need medical intervention to fix it and prevent any complications? A better analogy would be this one: Some diabetics can manage their illness through a carefully controlled diet, but others can need multiple insulin injections a day. I don't understand the whole anti anti-depressant movement at all.

I think a lot of the misconceptions regarding the use of pharmaceuticals to treat depression stem from miss education and ignorance. If someone can manage their depression through alternate means, that's great, but choosing to take medication for it shouldn't be looked down upon. A lot of the times it's actually harder to go the medication route. You have to deal with shitty side effects for the first few weeks (maybe longer), you have to decide if those side effects are better than the actual depression, and if the medication you've been prescribed doesn't work, you have to start the process all over again with a new med. It's a shitty process. I cannot stress this enough. It's even shittier when you're not getting the support you need from friends and loved ones who constantly undermine your feelings by telling you that, "It's all in your head."

I think this anti anti-depressants stems from the idea that these pills are simply "masking" the depression and not really getting to the root of the problem. but a lot of misperceptions about pharmaceutal drugs in treatin depression also rise from the fact that no one knows EXACTLY what causes depression. a biological paradigm may see it as a disease, where as the cognitive behavioral therapist may believe that it is caused by erroneous thinking. to some people, if you're depressed, you need to alter this maladaptive pattern of thinking and change your opinion about yourself and your environment.

personally, if I were depressed, I would prefer not to go on medication because of the possibility of becoming reliant on it and also because of the possibility of a bad relapse when getting off it, which I also think is another reason why some people may look down upon taking medication.

--Joanne :P

PS. HI ESI! how is school?

[crackjoy]

I usually watch fight club or go for a drive in my car. find some really curvy not-so-busy road and let loose. seems to help a bit.

failing that, i tend to latch onto it. kinda like sammy skillz, but for different reasons. i'd rather be depressed than numb. cuz more often than not i feel nothing instead of something...

[Deaner]

4 things that make this little sarahanne slip out of anxiety and depression
1. www.lowbrow.com
This site has everyones lowest moments....if you don't laugh you'll feel better you're not alot of these people
2. Car car rides
3. Music....fuckin ska gets me through it all
4. Find someone who will argue with me about anything and everything for the hell of it and go at it.
Masterbation would help...but then I get more depressed that I don't have someone to do it for me :255:

[starkisses]

the only way anti depressents work is if you have a chemical inbalance in your brain. if it's just about the weather change the best advice i can give you is stay busy if you don't already have one get a job trust me it helps. I was depressed too, diffrent kind of depression but just talking to people when i feel down ( never let it all build up always try and vent ) and working has helped me a lot so just try and keep yourself as busy as possable

[Erica]

Originally posted by Sammy Skillz
people who know me really well know how depressed i can get for no reason. for the past few years, i get waves of depression. sometimes it gets so bad that i won't even go out during the day. it sucks but when it happens, i try to redirect all those feelings towards my art and photography. as fucked up as this sounds, i find comfort in my depression at times.

this is going to sound really dumb but i've made 2 "Scrapbooks" that i keep adding to daily. i call them my books of sources. i have a "happy" book of sources and a "sad" book of sources. whenever i'm depressed and i want to make myself feel better, i look through my happy book of sources...in the book, there's pictures of friends, my family...my dog...little peices of paper that relate back to specific good days i've had...

on the other hand, whenever i'm trying to plan out my photography and i can't get into that dark mindset, i look through my other book of sources...which include poems, song lyrics, photos i've taken in the past, pieces of paper that remind me of the hardest days i've ever had. and then i sit on my bed and listen to really deep trip hop and before i know it, i'm in this really depressed state and all of a sudden ideas start flowing really naturally.

-s.

i totally understand what you mean about finding comfort in your depression. it DOES sound weird, but i know that many people can relate to you in that sense including myself.

i'm on antidepressants right now because i've been clinically depressed for as long as i can remember. went through years of therapy, trying to help myself in an exhaustive list of ways, and finally resorted to medication in recent months. it's helped me a lot, but one of the definite downsides is that it has curbed my artistic/creative side a bit. buuut, in the end, the payoff has been worth it because even though i had many ideas and inspirations while i was in that dark/depressed mindset, i was depressed to the point where i wouldn't even do anything at all, let alone channel my emotions towards art. so now, i'm a lot more productive, and i definitely go through dry periods where i feel completely and utterly uninspired, but i am producing a lot more than i was before.

[NeVeRLooKBacK]

the funny thing is
raving is my way of keepin out of depression
it seems that even if I have a problem I always for get bout it when I get into a rave
then after having an AMAZING night my problems are gone forever!
MWA HAHAHAHA :kam:
and then Im just so psyced for the next show Im like happy for 2-3 weeks

[e_BoY]

Smoking.

[NeVeRLooKBacK]

^^smoking WEED

[Rytalin]

May I be so bold as to mention exploring spirituality as a way to deal with depression?

:)

Yunno, that sorta all enveloping force behind everything/big dude in the sky, and such... Some people say its bullshit, but it sure seems to work for alot of us.

I could probably get myself diagnosed as clinically depressed. Hell, I go thru HUGE emotional peaks and dips.

and that's exactly what makes my life so interesting.

I got my spiritual light connection, I know shits gonna be all good in the end, no matter how bad the present moment may feel.

MC hammered said its all in your head.
Diva begs to differ.

I agree with both.

It IS all in your head.
EVERYTHING.
our view of the world we are in is all filtered thru our brain before we really SEE it.

so its all in your head.
does that make it any less real?


(it does make it pretty easy to explore it though)
:)

[e_BoY]

Originally posted by NeVeRLooKBacK:
^^smoking WEED

haha yea a lil of that too

[Lush]

Fake and Bake, manicures, guitar, disney movies and icecream...
hmm having a girls night out which involves a lot of drinking.
Drawing, going to English bay and taking my journal along, reading, listening to Portishead, phoning my bestest friend, or just crying my eyes out to some sappy chick flick.. usually Breakfast at Tiffany's.

[Discord]

have have a set list of what to do when i feel like shit

...Watch the bits of scream 1 2 and 3 with Randy in them when eating cookie Soy Icecream and really salty Potato Chips.... and lemon lime pop, then I have a bath and watch Trek...

never fails. i'm smiling by the end.

[SEAN!]

most of the time when i get depressed i just ignore it.

[Mc*Phee]

Originally posted by cerah
So I just looked into those light box things... they start at $169US =/

Damn you technology!!

I have a light box, they don't work, don't waste your money. they are just a temporary fix, for a more serious problem.
Even if you have SAD seasonal affective disoreder, they arnt much help.

[Revolver]

ME,

try to do my best to wake up early and alert without snoozing.

too much sleep seems to be a problem for me....and i agree with the satement of

"its all in your head".........why?

beacuse the human will is the most powerful force we poses. the mind"s will to do something or stay safe can be a extroadinary source of strength....some call it prayer, i call it will.

ingesting modern pharmaceuticles is the most ass backwards thing a person can do! designer chill pills created to re-wire your brainchemistry into thinking you need to have them to function normaly.tried it. couldnt do it.

and this behavior of rampant pill/pharm ingesting to make all your ills go away seem to nullify what it is that makes you a human being, wich is to face and come to terms your problems and grow past them.

but when a person has a SERIOUS chemical defficancy......that gets a little different

[wigglesworth]

Find a hobby you can be passionate about. I haven't been sad since i found mine.