Doing something physical even if you dont want to. When youre depressed its hard to do anything, you have no interest, but making yourself do something physical somehow really does help the brain's negative thinking. Also, I find getting tired from something physical helps even if you are just glad to relax and rest, lol.

GS

I just got that book out of the library!! Glad to know this helped you!!

GS

Nothing helps me....and I've tried almost everything. Oh, some things help like medication and accupuncture but only for awhile. I have severe, recurring major depression, atypical.

I ride the wave. When I recognize that I'm over the edge and falling into the abyss or pit of the woe-is-me self pity and darkness I have to immediately stop myself from waging battle, in other words, resist the depression episode, the illness. But I give myself permission to be depressed and get ready to ride it out and let it happen like a fever's ebb and flow. Unfortunately, depression works psychically and emotionally so riding the wave is the hardest work I've ever done in my life! But I've learned (by myself...no doctor has ever taught me anything), to separate myself from the illness and doinng this separate and detach work is how I get through suicide ideation and the deepest parts of the cave. I have to repeat to myself, this is not me, this is not me, this is not who I really am and try to pick out thoughts that remind me of how beautiful the earth is and how one tree or fountain can thrill me. The simpleness of life helps me know, KNOW that depression is not real and I hang onto that thought and the feelings which beauty and the earth and my cats express through the Life-force energies.


I have learned to trust myself and to let myself sleep for an eternity if need be in order to ride the wave. Permission to be that which is abhored by our social ways. Permission to be ill for awhile and not be afraid to tell people that I am ill and when they say ignorantly, you're ill all the time, I say, yes I have Major Depression and I'm still alive! I have learned to not let what other people say get to me because they are not educated or they are morons who will never understand that depression is a spiritual disease, a disease that attacks the spirit and mind and what that really means. So, I have learned to recognize people who can zap me with their ignorance and stay away from them and I also stay away from depressed people too....those who are denial and still hanging onto the ancient idea that depression is really about being a crazy person.


I'm Sixty and have a lifetime or two of being depressed and one of the biggest recovery methods I have learned is HOW to ride the wave. First is to recognize that I'm falling down. Second is to immediately accept and acknowledge the illness is happenning and get prepared and the third is to separate and detach myself from the illness! Separate and detach my goodness, my soul from the toxicity of the illness which is not easy...this is where battle and resistance comes in so quickly and deceptively. Depression loves battle and resistance and uses it to keep us in the pit, the caves of darkness and death. Once I understood that I was able to pull out my goodness and keep it protected. Maybe someday I won't be able to, I can't say or predict the future with this illness....all I know is that I ride the wave when an episode comes and I may crash and if so, that's oK.....no matter what.....it's OK. Permission to see death in the same light as life....as beautiful if it happens. But this is when I'm in the episode do I give myself permission to accept death; it is life I find that is the painful issue with me.....doing the living I'm supposed to do when I'm in depression and this is where I use all the energy I have to locate beautiful thoughts and use them as my surfboard !


~bravetwilight~

i like going to forums like this it reminds me that i am not the only one....but for the first while i like to be left alone to sort through my feelings. Every one wants to help or talk to you but when you don't even know why you are upset how can others help. i have been locked up pretty much for three days now and just starting to figure it out. the quiet is nice. when i figure it out then i will want to talk about it with some-one...but boy does it get on my nerves when every-one is saying what is wrong and i don't have a clue what triggured this bout.

Hi lonelysindy!

I don't think it matters in what order you figure out your triggers. If you can't figure out what triggered this depression then let the thought go....at least that's what I do. After the depression calms down and in reflection you will probably get your answer but while you are in that safe quiet place let yourself just be.....just be until the healthy energy returns and you know what? It doesn't matter right now why or what has caused you to be depressed. What matters is just getting through it and learning about yourself while you are going through it so the next time (and it will happen again....sorry) you'll be a bit wiser and stronger against those people who aren't smart or compassionate enough to know how to support you at this time.

Do you have enough energy to read....I can't read when I'm in a depression. Sometimes when I'm in that quiet calm of a depression I have enough energy to journal and it's silly nonsensical stuff, sometimes rambling, sometimes dumb depression poetry but I always feel a little bit relieved, as if I have achieved something big for that day.....HA! Most of th time I just wait and be patient with myself and trust the energies of l ife because really we think we're in control all of the time, but we're not! HA. Our subconscious makes us do things and feel things that we wouldn't be able to handle in our awake life and I think sometimes depression is what happens to those of us who are more sensitive to the subconscious areas of life like psychic empathy and st uff like that. Do you ever think about that kind of stuff?


~bravetwilight~

I think that people who are "mentally ill" (lol) are far smarter and i think we use more of our brains then most...we seem to obsorb emotions and envoriment and stuff like that and we feel it more then others....most people i know that are depressed bp or any other lable always seemed to have good marks in school or where very talented in other ways..my dad all used the expression "there's a fine line between genius and crazy" and he usually was looking at me when he said it

Wow, thanks I really liked that. I never felt I could identify myself separately from my disease, but it's like you identify yourself with the happy healthy person not with the disease. That's who really all are. I'm going surfing tomorrow morning. Surf's Up.

rs

You are very welcome. Words are powerful tools aren't they? I'm so happy that mine were there to help with a different perspective. We all are really healthy beings aren't we. The negative comes to us too quickly, but the positive is constant flowing energy just like the ocean waves. Surfing is a practiced sport and can be dangerous but how glorious it is to stand on top and feel the wave pull you along to thee shore of safety....that is, if we recognize our choices when we're on the surfboard right? HA.

nice to meet you rs2012!

~bravetwilight~

HA! Your Dad was tuned into you wasn't he? What you are describing is call hypersensitivity or psychic empathy. No labels. I don't believe in labels because a label is the result of judgement and criticism. Could be positive but in our illness it usually feels too negative, at least to me it does. Hypersensitivity is linked to depression easily. There are lots of books on it. Have you heard about Kay Redfield Jamison who was one of the first scientists to link suicidal depression, bi-polar, and endogenous depression to the genuis of our greatest artists and writers/poets? She herself is a manic-depressive and has accomplished great deeds which would be "labeled" genuis if it weren't for her mental illness. Anyway, I do agree that it is very difficult trying to have a conversation with people who just don't get it! HA.

~bravetwilight~

This post has been edited by bravetwilight: Apr 3 2009, 07:12 PM

For me it's been medication and talk therapy as the biggest help. Changing my thoughts and self-help books also can help. Stephanie

This post has been edited by Greek: Apr 19 2009, 03:19 PM

I notice a book mentioned above that I have used/am using: the mindful way through depression by Jon Kabat-Zinn and others. It comes with a CD that I use almost every day to practice meditation.

Also, as I have recently mentioned in my blogging and elsewhere, taking a drive through streets I don't know, just to stimulate myself with new sounds and sights.

Music, including something I just found today:
Check out music from Playing for A Change, very upbeat music played by people from around the world. Not only do I love the music, but it gives me a feeling of connectedness.
Also the song by Susan Boyle of Britain's Got Talent. I must have played that 6 times or more the other night, and it stirred my positive emotions. Not only is the music wonderful, but her personal story means that "it's never too late."

This post has been edited by PeacePilgrim: Apr 19 2009, 06:55 PM

you are right music can be uplifting, happy, silly and sad. I think music is a way to our souls. Sometimes I will listen to sad music because i know I need to cry but I was never allowed to cry growing up, so I find it hard to now. Anyways if a sad song makes me cry I can blame it on the song, and not that I am weak. Yes I know its ok to cry but it is something learned as a child and I am working on it....lol sad songs

I like to get out somewhere around to be around people like a coffee house or a good book store. I like to look at my huge collection of my daughters photos and school work/drawings always makes me feel happy. Certain songs bring back good and happy times. Getting out and buying food to make a nice meal for my parents. This gets me out and make people I love happy. Getting a purpose whatever it may be....

I live in an area where there is a Community Women's Center that provides all sorts of services for low or no cost all day long. If have a day full of purpose I can at night be relaxed and stay in without getting the cruddy results of being alone...

This post has been edited by Shannon2009: Jul 13 2009, 12:57 AM

My best medicine is writing everything out. Getting it out of my head makes me feel a world better. But I also like online support groups (like DF!) because knowing that someone is going through the same things as me and understands, makes me feel a lot less lost and lonely.

I agree with scaredheart, the DF have helped me so much!

I feel safe here and knowing how supported people here can make me feel has really lessened my sense of isolation.

Somehow it makes my depression a lot easier to bear!

This post has been edited by jen79: Jul 30 2009, 01:33 PM

So far...eckhart tolle, byron katie's the work, patrick holford's 'optimum nutrition for the mind', the option institute, the four agreements, reflexology, reiki and the panicaway website and this amazing forum and the wonderful people here who are so encouraging, open and kind.



Life is mostly froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone,
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own.
~Adam Lindsay Gordon

This post has been edited by PRT: Aug 8 2009, 08:33 AM

I think keeping busy prevents it, but once I'm down there, then I'm down, but one thing that stops me reachng the very very bottom is my pets.

Regular sunshine and exercise will keep me from spiraling, however, if I am already in deep, they do not help.

Music. Listening to it, creating it, playing it. Laughing at silly stuff with my kids. Being with friends.

Take Meds, eat right, play tennis really hard.

And SLEEP. Get enough sleep. Can't emphasize that enough.

Don't drink caffeine.

I agree with music, good food and good sleep.

My small list of other things: Working out, doing quality work and having good conversations with people.

Getting up early and get going and keep on going with a passionate focus on my tasks for the day - feeling good doing this daily.

Walking and sunshine really help me. Telling myself of all my achievements over and over. Making sure I get up every morning and don't go to bed until the evening.

being around others (as difficult as that is sometimes) REALLY lifts and re-connects me. of course, the usual suspects undoubtably offer relief, such as yoga and dance 4 me (but pick ur own personal fav activity. u gotta enjoy it or of course, u juz wont do it!). meds have never worked for me unfortunatley (tried and tested at least a dozen over 4yrs - urgh!), so i gotta be totally, 100% committed to my daily exersize, ingest a quality vego diet, a weekly date with the girls for laughs (soooo important!), MUSIC (Pearl *sigh* Jam) , loads of vitamins like fish oil, mega B's, st. johns wort and the never-ending CBT, definatley.. if i slip up and my will grows lazy, i fall. hard.

Me too; if I can catch myself before I have gotten too low. Even a beautiful day; scenery, fresh air does not hold the facination for me when I am at my lowest.

I have found that medication (helped TREMENDOUSLY) with talk therapy (validating my pain and anxiety) AND accepting and "being gentle" with myself have worked for me; it only took 2 years to realize that I needed meds and in just 2 months so far; I can SEE how much they have helped me deal with and face the issues that dug my depression hole.

Apart from my meds, spending time with my 6 weeks old grandson, I make a fool out of myself trying to get him to smile . When he's not around dancing does it for me.

Exercise. I LOVE lifting weights and consider it to be one of my lifesavers.

Ok this is my first post so please bear with me :). I've been suffering depression very seriously for about 5 years. I've been in treatment for about 1 1/2 years. I'm now out of treatment and am making progress, sometimes slower than I'd like.

I'm taking medication. It helps because I remember how non-functional I was before it. At first I was very resistant, but now I accept medication as a source of help.

I'm exercising. Someone told me it was the best anti-depressant around. I believe it. Getting on the bicycle and going a few miles really improves my mood. Suddenly I feel more alive.

I'm journaling. I write down my feelings. I get it all out on paper.

I go to 12-step meetings. Can't emphasize enough the importance of sharing with an understanding person my struggles. Talking to a peer with the same issues is really a source of bonding and healing.

I have to go! Take care.

first post!

i just wanted to say ive realised a few things that do work, but i was sceptical about when they were suggested to me (such is the nature of depression!)

1. when you feel you cant get out of bed, force yourself to get up, have a shower and get dressed.

i always used to think well yeah thats easy for you to say. but honestly recently ive been doing just that and i find that when i finally sit down after my getting up showered and dressed i feel envigorated and wonder what all the fuss was about. sometimes its just that first roll out of bed that takes the effort.
once ive forced myself to put my feet on the floor and taken that first step it doesnt seem so hard anymore.

and

2. celebrities/powerful/historical people who have depression.

even the other day i read about jack dee and how he has struggled with depression since his teens. jim carrey is said to suffer from serious depression too. gordon brown has it i think i read somewhere. stephen fry is the classic celebrity case.

all of these people have lived sucessful lives and found what makes them happy and found a way to be themselves while living with this condition. they are accomplished, outgoing, popular, and functional.

and if they can be, so can everyone :)

thats gotta make you feel better, right?

At the risk of being a downer and sounding bitter, I'll first list the things that have NOT helped with my depression.

Homeopathic remedies ( acupuncture, meditation)If these things work for you, fantastic. However the scientific consensus is that homeopathy is quakery and not worth anyone's time, except maybe those who profit off it. Acupuncture, chiropractic, and similar "alternative" medicines are pseudo-sciences with very limited research and practically no scientific basis. They are also potentially dangerous. I know being ill can sometimes make one want to try anything to get better, but don't let yourself be taken advantage of by quacks.

Talk therapies Talk therapy can be a good experience, but imo its benefits are very limited, and it can too often lead to self indulgent yacking that won't do anything for a disease with a biological cause like depression. I participate in a different kind of therapy that can probably be described as "practical therapy" that I do find very helpful.

Self help books All the self help books I've ever encountered have offered "duh" solutions not appropriate for those that are truly ill. For example, "I know I should care about the future, I know I shouldn't let little things bother me, I know that I should try to control intrusive, upsetting thoughts"... but my brain doesn't comply!

Improving your diet My understanding is that the diet of almost everyone in the US is sufficient in nutrients and should not be a factor in pathologies like depression, unless there is an enzyme deficiency etc. Diet change does not help me.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now for things that help, from a little to a lot:

Exercise Exercise used to make me feel better. Since falling into my latest rut, this is no longer the case. Still a good idea, though.

Support groups like DF DF rocks and is a great place to share and relate with others in similar predicaments. Unfortunately, it doesn't really treat my depression.

Support of friends and relatives This actually helps. Unfortunately, one of the problems with my depression is that it tends to make me not keep up with others and lose touch with friends and withdraw socially.

MedicationMedication, for better or for worse, is the most helpful thing for me. Unfortunately, I have been having unbearable side effects from my ADs as of late, and my doctor and I are trying to figure out what to do.

Listening to music, singing, being by my cat, sleeping, taking a hot shower.

hi. its my mum and my dogs that keep me going. why arent people like dogs - they never judge you