How do you fight depression? - Let's help each other

  • 🐕 I am attempting to get the site runnning as fast as possible. If you are experiencing slow page load times, please report it.
It's like with opioid addction: eventually you won't handle enduring the negative effects and that just hurts you even more
Exactly eventually it will grind you down so much that you will mentally and physically collapse, but there is a point in between the strong emotions of the teens and 20s, and the deathly sickness of the 40s, where your brain is burnt out and the depression is more of a numbness.

Life is lonely, life is pointless, life is endless suffering.

Depression makes everything so difficult and time consuming and like autism nobody believes it exists.
 
- dont drink
- Get a job outdoors. Move to a ski town and work at a resort. you will meet tons of young happy people (most single, with money, and in good shape)(ride in the singles line on the lift, talk to everyone you meet), take up an invigorating hobby at a low cost. The publicly traded resorts have health insurance. Working outside is like depression obliterator. We are hard wired to be outside.
 
I don't normally talk about my feelings as much but I feel like depression is term for doctors and pharmacist to get you to take Prozac to nerve your brain sensors and if withdraws happen you have to take your medication rather than talking to someone genuine. I talked to my father that I haven't seen in nearly four years when I was younger. I was in a very deep hole and he pulled me out from floundering. He cared about me wanting a good job and everything. "Never give up son, you try harder and harder and harder someone is gonna take notice." And he was right. Its were I am right now. I have a job, saving up for a future investment for a home, and it didn't take me a pill. It was someone who loved me and cared for me who I was told by another parent that they were a horrible fucking person that physically abused them. I guess that's why he moved next to me. Because he cared. He is not perfect, but I forgave him and I love him for getting me out of that hole.

Take as much time as you can to yourself. Pray, meditate, talk to family, or friends if you have any

I went to my Family and they were there for me and I am there for them. If your reading this You are loved and you are not alone.
I have to go to work its about 4 A.M. and I have to be there at 6 to go to a three hour drive to the hood
 
I had severe depression for about 6 years so I can comment on this.
This wasn't "oh I feel a little down", or feeling bad because I was isolated. I had (and have) a great job, friends and family, but I was seriously considering suicide towards the end.
I didn't want to, because of my family, but I felt like I was running out of options because I hated feeling like I was living in a fog constantly for seemingly no reason.
One day I just said fuck it and decided to give it one last shot.

I radically overhauled my diet, got rid of all the processed junk, stuck to whole foods only (with exceptions for diet soda, sue me), made sure I was getting plenty of high quality protein (beef, chicken, eggs, cheese, etc), fresh vegetables, stuff like that. I didn't restrict calories, just changed what I was eating since I didn't need to lose weight.

I also spent more time outside, at first just walking to the local farmers market to get eggs and vegetables and cheese, and then eventually to explore my town on foot, and then just to walk.

I got as much sun as I could, and eventually started monitoring vitamin D levels and supplementing when it dipped in winter. I started looking into my metabolic health and then tweaking things until the markers got to optimal ranges.

Then the fog started dissipating after 3 months. When my energy improved I started swimming and lifting regularly.

I've been in complete remission for a decade now. If I get sloppy with my eating or other aspects I can feel some of that fog coming back within a few days to a week so I have to stay on top of it. I joke with my family that eating and living the way I do is my medication.

But I would be happy to do anything to never feel like that again.
In my experience just improving the quality of my diet did a lot of heavy lifting, but the other things I changed helped too. I see studies nowadays showing exercise can work better than SSRIs and diet targeting metabolic syndrome being studied for depression so I guess I stumbled on the right thing.

Given my experience I think depression is as real as ocd or schizophrenia. I would never consider suicide now, there was seriously something fucked up with my brain, but I also think it is tightly tied to your health overall or at least it's a low hanging fruit to target.
 
I believe, the word 'idiot' in its original meaning (an individual) has actually so much to do with the modern meaning of it. Both of these just consider two aspects of an idiot: being a fool unable to be a full-fledged member of society due to his own stupidity and inability to understand and adequately participate in interaction with others, even though he might have talents and skills not everyone has.
I find it hard to come to terms with my idiocy but thanks to the psychiatry and the meds I can cope easier.
Nothing bad ever happens, billions must live on.
 
I have a very specific issue regarding my depression, which is that I dont lack the motivation or the want to do things but rather I lack the strength to go through with them, if this makes sense? While im doing them I dont feel any type of joy or fun with it, even if im actually heavily interested in the thing itself.

I have a lot of hobbies and interests but once it comes to engaging with them, it feels like a huge chore that I cant keep up for very long. Its difficult to even get started with them, lets say for example I want to play a certain videogame.. should be easy enough to start it right? Just click on it and get into the game, but I often cant convince myself to do it. It feels like im locking myself into a huge chore as soon as I start it. Its not that difficult to get around though, I just have to ignore the strain and shut my mind off while I do the "physical motions" to get started.

But then when im in the game, and I play for a bit.. I realise after a while that im just tired of it now and I want to stop. I didnt have much fun while I was playing either, so after an hour or two I just give up. Its weird since youd assume if I dont have fun for it then its not the thing for me, but I can still feel myself being very interested in it and Wanting to play. How do I get around this? Its frustrating caring about so many things but not being really able to do anything with them because I have this invisible wall in front of me. Im especially frustrated over my art, ive been drawing since I was a kid but Im only able to churn out 2 or 3 pieces a month if even. I know I could draw much more and do much cooler shit if I just sat down and did it, but somehow I cant.
You definitely need more sleep. I only experience depression like what you're describing when I'm sleep-depreived, and I have a peculiar difficulty falling asleep no matter how tired I am.

My go-to solution for over a decade is listening to Opie & Anthony reruns with Louis CK on YouTube. I don't know why it works but it does. Louis CK has a very hypnotic voice, and there's over 100 hours of radio with him on it. Usually only takes 20 minutes for me to pass out, and I sleep like the dead.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Lethalmania
Sometimes I feel anxious and depressed and I don't know why. In a matter of hours, I was in a period of anxiety, for a short time I became ecstatic with the dopamine because I realized my knowledge of Spanish and how I can confidently watch things in Spanish after 200 hours of learning then I went to silently crying over some anxiety about sleep, routine and a lack of online activity from a Japanese friend of mine who has depression. Thankfully I don't have Bipolar. But I often ask myself if I have chronic depression. The anxiety, depression and low energy really interferes with my Japanese learning which leads to having more anxiety.
 
Addiction substitution.
Trade alcohol/whatever for exercise. It's a slog to start with, but worth it.
Exercise in the sun is better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ah ha'
Scientifically there are a few different things you can do to address depression.

Talk therapy and Cognitive Behaviour Therapy:
This is important because it gives you an opportunity to talk about aspects you think might be making you depressed, but then doing a deeper dive to find out other causations. You need to find the aspects of your life that are contributing to your depression, some of them will not be within your control, but others will and by adjusting these habits, you can start to work on the issues.

To poorly paraphrase Marcus Aurelius, "If it's in your control you can act, if it's out of your control, don't spend excess energy worrying about it."

Diet, Exercise, Sun Exposure:
We've deviated from our natural diets and our natural meal times. A regular healthy diet includes meats, fish, and vegetables, with basic complex carbohydrates. The Mediterranean diets a good example of just a classic eating way that works for optimal nutrition. Eating better leads to better health, and better health leads to better life quality.
The next pillar is regular exercise. Go to the gym and lift weights and do cardio, consistency is key over all. If your not a gym person, find a physical activity you can do, go hiking, play a sport, go to dancing, anything that is fun and will have you exercising will ultimately improve your mood through movement.
Get a daily dose of sunshine, Seasonal Affective Disorder is real, and we don't get enough exposure with our modern lifestyles. Try to get a minimum of two hours of actual sun exposure a day, this is how your body converts Vitamin D.

Sugars, Seed Oils, Fats, and The Hidden Dangers:
In terms of diet, the average sugar consumption in the 1800's was 4lbs per year, by the 1900's it had risen to 44lbs, and by the 1980's had reached an average of 140lbs, despite consumption of free table sugar going down. The addition of it to convenience and mass produced food. The worst is Fructose, and high fructose corn syrup is put into nearly all processed foods, which is why it should be avoided.

Over Exposure To Stimuli:
We are biological machines. Simple as. We were meant to move, not stare at screens all day. I remember when I was a kid, they estimated Americans spent and average of 3 - 5 hours watching TV every day, I'd say that's probably been superseded by smart phones and computers. I think this with the combination of social media, contributes to disassociation in society which modern people feel.

Supplements:
Vitamin D supplements and Magnesium is important for your mental health and well being. If you can take a multi-set approach to treating your depression you can alleviate most of the worst symptoms.
 
  • Winner
Reactions: Medic and Firewater
I like Andrew Tate's answer to this question; "I tell men to get a six pack". A six pack in and of itself won't make you happy but the journey to getting six pack will. It will give you a purpose (surrogate activity in Tedspeak) and force you to develop the necessary mental strength to achieve it.

The Wizard of Oz had the same philosophy. He told Dorothy and the gang that if they wanted brains, heart and courage, they must first retrieve for him the witch's broomstick. They thought he was going to use the broomstick to cast a magic spell. Little did they know, going out and slaying the witch would bring them the things they so desired.

I've been dealing with severe anxiety which was leading to hyperventilation and, in turn, respiritory alkalosis. At my worst, I experienced anxiety-induced psychosis, which was not pleasant. If you've ever had a bad trip, you'll know the fear of breaking from reality and never coming back.

My advice:

- Refuse SSRIs. Given the severity of my condition, I did dabble a little but never committed. It staggers me how readily healthy people will get themselves on a daily dosage.

- Don't put your eggs in the therapy basket. It's not harmful like SSRIs but ultimately it doesn't get to the root of why your body is malfunctioning. Perhaps a controversial opinion but therapy seems to me to be a rather feminine solution to the problem.

- The masculine and most effective solution is to go into Joe Rogan mode. Get your ass out of bed early and run before you start work. Lifting is great; cardio is even better (for mental health). There are tons of videos online about how running changes the brain. Start easy but once you get into the swing of it, try and push yourself so that you feel a sense of accomplishment. Seriously, get into that David Goggins mindset. Live for the next workout. Embrace the discomfort.

- Minimize your screen time and go for walks and bike rides. Spend time with family and friends. Get outside.

- Talk to people. Not easy for mentally unwell people but try your best. Just say 'good morning' to people you wouldn't normally say good morning to. Make friendly comments in the gym.
 
Last edited:
There is no way to escape depression, we are living in hell, we are responding to the stimuli of realizing we are in hell, we are reacting to the purgatory around is, we are realizing everything is wrong, everything is fake, that there is no point to anything, society is wrong, it's become corrupt, we are all lost and we have been left to perish in a world that died a long time ago and we are simply ambling among it's dusty bones.

All of this white pill stuff doesn't work, if you work a full time job you don't have time to do anything, that is why you have not done any of these things.

Everyone is now lonely, clearly there is an external force causing negative damage to us all.
 
He cared about me wanting a good job and everything. "Never give up son, you try harder and harder and harder someone is gonna take notice." And he was right. Its were I am right now. I have a job, saving up for a future investment for a home, and it didn't take me a pill
Okay, now imagine the same scenario except your parent has no idea what the job market is like, had all jobs handed to them by someone else, made more than you ever will, has a home and you can't even get a single interview off of 80 applications. Now then imagine pulling yourself out of depression.

Depression is what people called "the blues" or equally idiotic stuff in the past, even though it ran people into suicides all the same. No matter how much you write it off as lack of bootstrap-pulling, it's a real thing, and the same way you don't want to stroke your dick one moment and the next want to knock up 3 women, your brain can't outperform your natural instincts. I had a friend who was pretty unstable and weird. He went to the doctor, got his hormones rebalanced, and it was literally a new, better man 2 days later. From simply having his hormones fixed.

Imagine that: Spending years going "is it a depression? is it not?", to then getting it pilled up and suddenly you're ripe for life again. I work in a mental hospital and I know not even half of people get fixed by meds, but nor do half of people not just end up blaming themselves into suicide by not pulling themselves up. Sometimes life is against you. Self-made millionaires are literally as rare as winning the lottery, but because they grinded, hustled, and lost 18 years of their life working overtime to get there, it's well-earned etc etc, while the greasy loser one house over made the same by buying bitcoin to fund his weed addiction.

I like Andrew Tate's answer to this question; "I tell men to get a six pack". A six pack in and of itself won't make you happy but the journey to getting six pack will. It will give you a purpose (surrogate activity in Tedspeak) and force you to develop the necessary mental strength to achieve it.
I watched a documentary on the "blue zones" where people lived longer on average than elsewhere. In japan, because you had a societal purpose beyond retirement. Spain and south america because there's bigger culture for families to live together for generations. Purpose and family. Ask the millionaire in his white mansion what impression he left on society before kicking the bucket and best case he'd go "uhh i donated money lmaooo!". Ask the broke-ass loser with nothing but energy and time to invest and he's probably both a kids' soccer club trainer and a choir teacher.

Purpose really does wonders, but it's impossible to get these days. To have another person go "damn, I miss you. I wish you weren't sick so you'd be here" etc. EVEN IF it's solely because of the role you took on. You're the one who clean up the chairs, yet if someone appreciates it enough, you'll be missed if you were gone. The interpersonal angle maybe coming later than the practical one, but still. Humans need purpose. We laugh about the ideas of dogs and horses enjoying work but so do we, and we rob ourselves of it. I played 6v6 TF2 for years and by the end I'd rather just aid other people to play by doing management etc. I always wanted to be a healer main in WoW because the success criteria was "people didn't die so they got to shittalk about their dps meters and whatever while I'm playing an entirely different game than them", on top of also scheduling raids etc. Purpose, if just practical.

anyway i'll be over here not getting into rts or fighting games communities which such exact spaces to put in the work for others to have fun. :)
 
  • Feels
Reactions: A Left Elbow
Like others have said, you sadly have to live with it.

It's one of those things that get better with age. If you can survive the turbulent teens and the disappointing 20s then you will find your severe depression becomes a deathly numbing sensation. Instead of sadness you will mostly feel nothing at all. And that is at least slightly better than feeling a deep misery.
That sounds more like someone stole your youth or something, because that numbness shit is just age, but saying you always felt down, but now with age kicking in, less so - just damn.
All the feels, fren.
 
Edit: Consider not taking my advice. I have BPD but like, not in a cool way.

I'm never sure how much to say on personal shit like this.

As a depression expert, I recommend hobbies. Both skills where you create and have room to visually improve over time as well as consuming a type of media that releases regularly. As long as you have one or the other to look forward to, it should be enough to keep the gun out of your mouth.

Exercise can help, but it can also fuck with your self image and give you body dismorphia if you get too into working out. But feeling hot is a good way to stave off depression. Ummmm. That's all I can think of. Hobbies, exercise, and raw dogging 4's.
 
Back