Depression

[Green Pylon]

when it comes to depression and anxiety i would highly recommend:

- mindfulness/meditation
- eating healthy
- exercising
- getting creative i.e. learning an instrument, writing, practicing any artform, etc

This, I enjoyed last years of regular meditation. It helps a lot to calm your mind, in my opinion 20 min per day is enough. A long vegetable-diet also make a full health recovery, I don't do that but is recommended to avoid great depressions. If you have a forest near, go there and walk peacefully. The last point artwork is important to get out the bad ideas of yourself, painting while listening (boc f.e.) is a good one. Or try listen to reggae music like the great Bob, he got the right vibe.

see ya

[saturdayindex]

The city I was living in was the city that I had lived my 20's in (the major period of depression for me), so I had to go, it was too ripe with triggers and associations that reinforced the depression, so I moved to another city.

Did moving help you at all?

[Ostentatious Username]

If you truly are a depressed person you wouldn't be posting on here looking for sympathy or help from anonymous people. I made a post yesterday and quickly deleted it knowing that nobody really gives a shit about me and my problems. Too many people, too many problems. The world could use a death or two.

[d e n]

If you truly are a depressed person you wouldn't be posting on here looking for sympathy or help from anonymous people. I made a post yesterday and quickly deleted it knowing that nobody really gives a shit about me and my problems. Too many people, too many problems. The world could use a death or two.

nah man.

i read your post. and i cared about what you had to say.

i didn't make an effort to reply because i didn't know what to say, i can't relate to having a parent dying at a young age. that is truly gnarly.

the world does have too many people in it, but that will absolutely not be solved by way of suicide.

[Cupz]

the world does have too many people in it

I disagree. You could fit all people in the world in a single medium/large country.

[Cab Dreaming]

The city I was living in was the city that I had lived my 20's in (the major period of depression for me), so I had to go, it was too ripe with triggers and associations that reinforced the depression, so I moved to another city.

Did moving help you at all?

Without a doubt. In hindsight, along with choosing to reframe my relationship with my parents it was probably the singular most important thing I did, the decision to move away was the catalyst for quite a few things that started to move me out of constant depression.

For one, it brought to light how a few of my friends genuinely saw me. One in particular, who I would consider to have been my best friend in my 20's basically turned on me overnight. I know now that we were a couple of victims who found comfort in reinforcing our own negative outlook on life, and whereas I was now attempting to make a change she saw this as a betrayal, which in turn made me realise that she never really saw me as a genuine friend, I was merely a one man support network for her, that was being removed and she was scared.

Moving away from the city itself was a major part of the grieving process. For me, depression was my comfort zone, it had been my coping mechanism and my life for almost 15 years altogether, and now I'd chosen to end that life and begin a new one, so I had to step away from the graveside of where that life had been led and start the mourning process, for want of a better way of putting it.

Also, it engendered a certain sense of empowerment that I had actually made, even on quite a surface level, a pretty big decision, something I pathologically stayed away from previously because it was easier to let things happen and blame some external force rather than put myself out there and potentially suffer the consequences of a bad decision, as I always saw it. Fear of failure was (is) one of my main depression triggers, so it honestly took every ounce of energy I had to say to myself "if it doesn't work out, it's actually fine. At least I'm showing that I'm starting to give myself some value and even if that's all you get from this, it's still progress."

So in short, yes, it did help!

[Ostentatious Username]

If you truly are a depressed person you wouldn't be posting on here looking for sympathy or help from anonymous people. I made a post yesterday and quickly deleted it knowing that nobody really gives a shit about me and my problems. Too many people, too many problems. The world could use a death or two.

nah man.

i read your post. and i cared about what you had to say.

i didn't make an effort to reply because i didn't know what to say, i can't relate to having a parent dying at a young age. that is truly gnarly.

the world does have too many people in it, but that will absolutely not be solved by way of suicide.

Ah, well thanks for the sympathies. I actually tried deleting that post as well seeing as this is a pretty positive place in terms of its intentions. I guess I just feel that nobody can really help because I've gone down the whole social support route in the past but that doesn't mean for some people it can't. Anyways, enough about me. I'm not trying to garner self attention.

[d e n]

^there are many different routes to do this, can't be sure after only a couple attempts

the world does have too many people in it

I disagree. You could fit all people in the world in a single medium/large country.

you could fit 15 people into a small car if you tried. idk, i hear you. i still think the world is a bit overpopulated. especially considering the projection. its a touchy subject and people of course don't like anything that is controlling.. but for posterity and i think it's irresponsible for it to not be seriously considered.

[Aerial Boundaries]

If you truly are a depressed person you wouldn't be posting on here looking for sympathy or help from anonymous people. I made a post yesterday and quickly deleted it knowing that nobody really gives a shit about me and my problems. Too many people, too many problems. The world could use a death or two.

Humans naturally need sympathy and compassion. I think you are maybe just condemning yourself and reinforcing your own depression by shutting yourself off from others. But perhaps that is an unfair assumption for me to make.

Not to be condescending in any way, though I think you will feel offended anyway because that is exactly how I would have reacted, but I was saying roughly the same things as you a couple of years ago. I've had lots of reasons to be depressed about my life but what has always trigged it is social isolation. Sure I had 'friends', but frankly they were all assholes who didn't care about me and thought I was a piece of shit. I'm guessing, correct me if I'm wrong, that you are in the same boat. Disconnected from your family? Encountering people regularly who just barely tolerate your presence?

See what I've noticed about your posts here is that you seem to be (again I don't like making assumptions, so correct me if I am getting the wrong impression here) scathingly critical of other people and generally give off an aggressive impression. Looking back on the way I used to act like, what stands out the most to me is that after years and years of hating my life and being incredibly angry at other people and the world in general, I became a complete dick in response. I am not exactly ashamed of the way I acted because I know that I could not have been blamed, I was younger and a lot more naive. But I definitely strive to be as understanding and positive towards other people as humanly possible, and I have found that that has completely changed my circumstances. I have friends who care about me, I even have a best friend (yeah, who knew those actually existed) who I have an incredibly strong bond with.

I'm not saying your circumstances are about to change rapidly, but what I am saying is that you probably wont know the same people or feel the same way your entire life.

I hope you don't think I am full of shit here, and I hope this post is relevant in some way to your daily experience. Even if it is only a little relevant.

[Ostentatious Username]

The post was meant to be deleted. I'll give you credit for a good assumption based on very little information but much of it, if not all of it, is not relevant to me at the moment.

[d e n]

P.S this is simply a method i've found useful. if anyone has a local YMCA or public gym see if they have a sauna. I've found this to be really effective in alleviating anxiety and clearing ones mind.

[Lens Larque]

[Aerial Boundaries]

The post was meant to be deleted. I'll give you credit for a good assumption based on very little information but much of it, if not all of it, is not relevant to me at the moment.

Fair enough, I tried my best. It is hard for others to give advice when information is being withheld from them. I suppose my post was a bit of an exercise in futility.

[Magrathea]

It has been 6 weeks not that I have been on cymbalta, and I can see the changes, my mood is definitely LESS on the paranoid and the hypochondria that I had, also less of the dark blue spells, they usually just last moments now, but I watch them closely.

No major side effect, some mouth dryness, some light changes related to intercourse but nothing earth shattering which is a relief.

All in all, so far so good, I can see that those around me are having a much better time and all the crisis, in fighting and general tension has gone down in the house.

Thanks Guido for all the reassuring words on your own experience and insight into this, it was great help!

[naicob]

I've suffered from sometimes severe anxiety/panic for about 2 years now and depression off and on for most of my life. I half-assed/attempted suicide at 17 (I'm in my 30's now), and had a really rough go a couple of winters back where I just couldn't find joy in anything in life and death seemed like a pleasant escape. Illness, bankrupcy, addiction, failed marriage, terrible job, illness in the family-- all of it and all of it at once, or a monumental cascade in almost perfect sequence.

All I can say is I rarely took meds, so I cannot comment on how good they are and if they work. Valium was fucking great, but way too good for someone with substance abuse problems to begin with and a short-term solution at best.

I know when it comes to these things that we are dealing with an easier said than done kind of thing, but what has always helped me is striving to find joy in things...anything. Whether they be exploring and appreciating art or creating art of my own-- anything from the art of conversation, to photography, to writing. Reading also helps, especially philosophical works-- Albert Camus has inspired me in incredible ways-- finding meaning in an uncaring, meaningless Universe is hard, but it can be done. Getting out also helps, even if people scare/disgust you. Animals can bring a certain amount of joy and serenity. Sharing your story also helps-- I was shocked to find that simply being open about my thoughts and feelings brought about others sharing their own struggles, and there is some comfort in knowing you are not alone in your suffering. Finding out about the coping methods of others can be an incredibly therapeutic and inspiring experience.

Good luck to all of you struggling and seek help if shit becomes unbearable. Keeping it in has never been beneficial to me.

[Jonse]

I have decided that if I ever do off myself it'll probably be a gunshot or OD of something with Filter's "Take a Picture" playing on repeat in the room.




God, I've got a headache and I've felt like shit for quite a while now - nothing abnormal behaviorally or medicinally.

[Techboy]

last wednesday, someone close to me committed suicide.

i saw him in the morning, about 7 hours before he took his life; i don't know how many hours after he decided to take his life.

the tragic thing about what happened is that up until his final hour, nobody in his life knew what he was suffering, what he was going through, what he was thinking about or what he was planning to do. nobody knows how long he had been struggling with depression.

so my simple message to all people suffering from depression and experiencing suicidal thoughts is seek help. talk about it to the people who love you, and to medical professionals, and hopefully between them, they can help you sort out your head.

[Cupz]

Oh shit mark, that sounds aweful! I hope you are doing ok!?

Yes, by God seek help. Talk to friends, and if they suck, talk to friendly looking strangers. Suicide is so sad. especially since life is full of tough "I want to give up" phases, and there is a good chance that that feeling goes away if you hang on just a tad longer, or at least it went away with me, though I must say it wasnt thanks to a medical doctor. They just make it worse with the medication. I'm not saying there arent any good doctors, but you must be lucky enough to know one. Sometimes all a man needs is a good song, a good dance and a good fuck on a regular basis!

[Mexicola]

Jesus Mark - that's dreadful. I'm so sorry man. You know where I am if you want to bend someone's ear. Fucking hell....

[fujee]

Likewise man, hope you're okay. That is awfully sad.