Eating Junk as a Coping Mechanism for Depression

TheTruthAtAnyCost

It would be fantastic if someone could tell me what to do right now. I just want to curl up in my bed with chips/chocolate/greasyburgers away from the rest of the world. But I can't do that anymore.

How do you guys deal with depression?

Jaymestar

Honestly, I have a bit of trouble with that myself sometimes. I had depression a few years ago, but I still struggle with things today. That is when I initially gained this weight because I sought out comfort when I came home every day. I find that the thing for me is to keep active, as simple as that sounds. I make a schedule and exercise, and I find it improves my mood so much compared to if I just mope around.I see exercise as an anti-depressant for me.

I'd also suggest some counselling too. If you are dealing with certain situations in your life, then it might be good to seek out some extra help. I've been in the position of not wanting to get out of bed. I just wanted to hide under my covers from the world and sleep.

I'm not a professional myself, but I know that everyone can do with a bit of counselling because we are all dealing with things in life that trouble us. I'm sorry to hear that you are carrying such a heavy weight on your shoulders, and I wish you the very best

ToFatT0B3S1ck

Medication. Works wonders for me.

feelin_gr_8

Sometimes the food wins....but lately I've leaned more on just crying and sleeping....if I'm in bed, the food is all the way over in the kitchen and I just don't have energy for that. I wish I could do the "turn it into exercise" ideal...but I'm not there yet.

endoftheside

Popcorn is very filling and a lot of munchability for the calories. Or just going to sleep, if that is possible. I don't like to eat while reading, so getting involved in a compelling book. Going outside to sit and write or read.

Lizzy622

"turn it into exercise" Depending on what's bothering me I like to either go for a long walk outside. Being outside and breathing fresh air helps refresh me. A bit of WII boxing can help me fight thru the funk.

SunnyDuckling

Jaymestar had some very good points.

For me, when I was clinically depressed, medication worked wonders! On top of this, my doctor gave me a prescription for exercise. A 45 minute walk can really help to clear your head from those obsessive thoughts, or even help give you a release from all those tears.
I also undertook some counselling (also highly recommend) and was given some relaxation and meditation techniques to practice.

Nowadays, my depression isn't so severe and I haven't needed medication in years. I still frequently get cases of the 'blahs', however, usually brought on by stress or anxiety. I'm learning to recognise when I feel crummy and want "comfort food", it's not the food I want, it's the comforting. Those sugary/salty foods don't give a lasting comfort.

Again, exercise or meditation are what I use to help me. Even though at the time, it's hard to do, it's still so much better when you're done.

I've also noticed that when my diet is better, I have less occurrences of anxiety or depression.

I wish you all the best with your recovery and getting through this. Depression is certainly no picnic and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Good luck. :flowerforyou:

SymphonyTea

Sometimes I don't deal and allow myself to indulge BUT since actively taking control of my weight loss I don't indulge too much. Granted, even the little indulgences can and have set me back, I'm learning not to beat myself up about it, frequently reminding myself that I didn't gain the weight over-night & I'm not going to loose it over night. Now that's the very shortened version of ALL that comes to mind after reading your post.

I guess, just know that Life happens and you gotta be a Rocker so you can roll with the good & bad punches. Stay strong, you can do it.

CubicalF13

Two words - ganoderma lucidum(also known as Lingzhi and Reishi). There are several benefits to using the product however you can not use it if your already taking blood thining drugs. Sorry. but to everyone else, its free rain

Ganoderma is avaliable in many forms for consumption - Energy Drinks, Tea, Coffee, Tablet/Capsules, soup etc as well as present in every day items like toothpaste, soap shampoo etc however to my knowledge, ganoderma products are only sold exclusively like on the internet and through various vendors/distributers but never fear, its growing in popularity so i would like to hope that it will one day be readily avaliable in all major super markets and chemists eventually. I usually buy ganoderma from my local gano excel distributor every tuesday but i have seen the gano products sold on websites like ebay.

I recommend googling the product and doing some research yourself into it as im the worst at explaining stuff but if your interested in my failer to explain stuff here goes -

Basically ganoderma lucidum is a chinese mushroom herb that they the chinese have been using exclusively for the past 4000 years. They consider it the worlds #1 healing herb. Only in the past few years now has the western world really actively been developing the herb for western consumption. Here in australia, gano excel is the company that actively grows and distributes the product.

ive been on ganoderma excel products for almost 2 months now and its changed my life beyond what i could ever thought was possible.

I used to suffer from social anxiety, knee pain, random stomach cramps, asthma and low energy most of the day. But ever since taking ganoderma products, i have very little to almost no anxiety, very little knee pain(about a 85% improvement), i can breath alot better now and the biggest one for me is the energy i get back. I can sleep 4-5 hrs a day and feel energized the whole day. I forgot to mention that you lose weight. Dont know how, but i missed a few weeks exercise and still managed to lose wieght. But those are just my experience with it. People are still benefiting from its use after prolonged use like 10+ years etc.

There are several people who have their own testimonials on the herb so id recommend doin some research but i can guarantee that if you choose to try it yourself, you wont regret it. Personally i think its just one of those 1 in a million products that we as human beings should not pass and forget. Its definite quality of life improvement for me anyway

CubicalF13

Sorry epic fact fail in my previous post, chinese have been using ganoderma exclusvely for more then 2000 years not 4000.

I found the following site helpful in understanding ganoderma for those interested

Ganoderma Lucidum - http://www.ganoderma-for-health.com/ganoderma-mushroom.html

I buy ganoderma products from the company gano excel but there are several companies now starting to appear all over the world so best do some research and find the one suitable to your location/situation.

Gano excel - http://www.ganoexcel.com/index.html

candiceh3

Ignore the poster above.

Depression can sometimes be a serious stumbling block for weight loss and should be managed with a professional doctor - not chinese herbs.

I've been medicated for years and I could not diet / exercise unless medicated. I know that I get a buzz from exercise and it was just too much of a rollercoaster for me to swing from depression to BUZZ and down again every time I worked out.

So I went on AD's and now I can be a lot more stable.

Please treat yourself kindly, and use a professional. Have you tried any CBT?

RhonndaJ

In my mind, there are two different types of depression. One I refer to as circumstantial, meaning that it's brought on by tangible things. The other just is. Life can be wonderful and depression still exists.

For the latter I would say get you to a psychiatrist, not a general practitioner, simply because they don't have the experience or knowledge of the available treatments. There are a lot of them, they work differently on different people, they should be administered only under proper supervision

For the former, there are self treatment options.

Though professional help is the best route, though I wouldn't say the medication route unless what you're experiencing is severe. Therapy can be very helpful.

Sometimes it helps to allow yourself to wallow in the feelings for a short period of time, then start working towards a solution to what caused the feelings. Sometimes just actively addressing the situation, even if just in your own thoughts helps.

Some people find exercise helpful. I didn't. It actually made things worse for me. The effort to do it was overwhelming and I've never gotten the endorphin high, I get angry, so that was a no go for me.

I used a number of other self soothing methods. Yes, food. But also music, books and writing.

I will say that there are herbal options as well that may help. Things like valerian and st john's wort do help some people, but they have side effects and shouldn't be used long term. If the depression is part of pms you might want to try dong quai. (These are all things I've discussed with my psych who is open to all forms of treatment, not just formal medications.)

CubicalF13

I cant agree more with that, seek help from a doctor for depression. My own issues where with social anixiety however there is plenty of information on the internet that can explain the effects of ganoderma on depression. I however maybe experienced depression in the past which was seasonal but i never had it medical examined by a doctor. Id suggest if you have the slightest interest in it, consult your doctor and see what they say. Just dont knock it until you have tried it, its always just another option for you.

Example of ganoderma on depression - http://www.wonderherb.com.au/natural-health-articles/battling-depression-let-ganoderma-help.html

Just trying to offer my own experiences and opinons with the deepest of sincerity just like the other two posters above me.

CyberEd312

Therapy worked wonders for me........ Getting to the root of my severe depression and social phobia and understand why I was depressed made all the difference in the world .... Best of Luck

michable

I have had a few bouts of depression over the years. I would advise you to go to your doctor to get a referral to a mental health professional. It is not worth waiting for your mood to lift by itself. Why put yourself through that misery when it is so easy to get help? I have used medication for one bout of depression (the first and worst) and it was effective. Another time I went to a psychologist for some CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy), and that was effective, too. For my most recent bout, I did an online course which was CBT-based, and provided information and concrete strategies to use and practice over the duration of the course. I had weekly phone contact with a psychologist as part of the course. It was effective, too. I think I may not have needed medication for my later bouts because I recognised symptoms earlier, and sought help before I got too bad. For me, my mood needs to lift a bit before I can tackle the comfort-eating and get back to exercising.

mayaocean

Try 5-HTP before the anti depressants route. Worked for me.

taunto

Get angry instead and take out your anger while working out. It works wonder.

On a side note, before getting depressed, make sure you aren't surrounded by A-Holes.

saschka7

It depends on the cause of the depression. I recently found that my Seasonal Affective Disorder was hitting me really hard, VERY early in the season and I just wanted to eat everything in sight and sleep in addition to feeling depressed. Even though my brain kept telling me that it was too early (it started in August, for crying out loud!), I started using my lightbox and taking vitamin D supplements again, even though I was sure it wouldn't do any good.[I got the lightbox at a craft store last year for $35 on sale and it helped me immensely last winter.]

I was wrong when I thought it wouldn't help. It did--a lot.But that's just me. In my case I knew I was not depressed from any situational cause: nothing had changed in my life, no job/relationship etc problems....but everyone's case is different.

I know what it's like to want to shove junk food in as fast as possible and not wanting in the slightest bit to exercise or even go for a walk. It's all too easy to say that exercise helps with depression and 'you just have to go out there and start walking or working out'--- when a person is depressed, they often have as much chance of doing that as a snowball's chance in hell.

I hope you find something that works for you soon. Try to get to the cause of the depression and then working on that: if you just try to solely focus on not eating all the junk, then you're probably not going to succeed and it will make you feel worse.

Best of luck--I've been there. I know how tough it is.

ashandstuff

Super simple:

Anytime I would want to hide away in my bed, I would walk around the block instead.
After a while, it became what I preferred to do rather than scarf down a ben and jerrys pint.

maybeazure

Exercise. It really does work better than food.

therainandthunder

You know what's the best coping mechanism when sad or angry? Go for a run. As fast as you can. Nothing else will feel better.

dsjohndrow

I used to have medicated depressions. I started running. I had injuries, surgeries and other obstacles. I kept running. Life is not a lot of fun right now because of unemployment and health issues. I run 40 miles a week, and feel better than I ever have in terms of depression.

Saucy_Yoda

There's a lot of options for finding alternative ways to cope for depression. People have success with: Medication, exercise, counseling, support groups, distraction, diet, mindfulness meditation, supplements.

What helps me personally?
1. Healthy lifestyle (regular exercise, balanced diet, balanced sleep) help a lot! I find if I regularly eat junk food or grains, my mood is affected negatively. Lots of fruit, veg, fats, and proteins = vitamins/minerals/amino acids that you may be missing so you may be able to avoid medication. Mindfulness helps me too.

2. Mindfulness. I try to remember that feelings/thoughts are fleeting. They aren't reality. What hurts me is dwelling on a feeling: oh, I'm kind of disappointed/sad/embarrassed that x happened. How do I fix that? Wait ... I can't fix that, what's the point, just give up. If I let those feelings and thoughts pass, not try to fix them, I just feel better. Stay in the moment and I notice the positive stuff around me instead of dwelling on the negative or non-ideal.

3. Counseling/support groups - having people who understand what I'm going through has really taken some pressure off of me. I don't have to go through this alone; I can lean on others when I'm in need.

What will help for you? You'll have to kind of go through things trial and error. While you do that, try to get yourself to believe that one of these times, you'll get relief and develop healthier coping strategies for depression.

Elpaw4mbv

I've struggled with depression in most of its faces for most of my life: situational, clinical, seasonal affective, postpartum.... It's almost like having one form sets you up for the others. The onset was when I was a "tween" and I am on the other side of 40 now. It's run the gamut from mild to severe. I've been on ADs and in therapy off and on throughout that period. Currently off meds and not in therapy but that was a decision made between me and my doctors so please don't anyone take that as "there's this woman on MFP who quit therapy and meds and is doing fine, I'll give it a shot..."

In some of the happiest moments of my life, I have also been depressed. Anyone who has truly suffered from a form of depression other than situational knows exactly what I mean...if you don't "get" this concept, consider yourself lucky.

When the "blues" hit, the carbs, and sweets in particular, start calling my name. Shame that its not veggies/fruit and lean meats that call my name...but I've been told that there's a physiological reason I crave a bowl of mashed potatoes over a salad when I am depressed. I've been known to indulge in a total carb fest when in the grip of depression but have also discovered that is the absolute worst thing I can do. The resulting roller coaster cycle of carb high, crash, depression just makes it all worse.

Things I do to cope with depression that don't involve diving headfirst into a hefty bag of potato chips and vat of clam dip...
1) Move around - this can be as formal as a workout or as informal as marching in place during a commercial on TV or between chapters in a book
2) Have some sort of project or hobby going on that I can stop and come back to - and that doesn't create a mess in my house during the period of time that I am not doing it.
3) Routines or order for how I do things
4) Housework
5) Gardening
6) Read
7) Write or journal

Sometimes one of these will work, sometimes it's a combo, and sometimes it's all of these. If they don't work to get me through, I'll call my doc and get back on meds for awhile.

Good luck.

NotBonJovi

√ therainandthu

You know what's the best coping mechanism when sad or angry? Go for a run. As fast as you can. Nothing else will feel better.

^^^^ This and
√ dsjohndrow

I used to have medicated depressions. I started running. I had injuries, surgeries and other obstacles. I kept running. Life is not a lot of fun right now because of unemployment and health issues. I run 40 miles a week, and feel better than I ever have in terms of depression.

^^^^ This ...

worked for me!

I was on Wellbutrin, but my doctor took me off it after 10 days when he found running was helping me and I no longer needed the medication. I take other supplements like Vit. D and B which helps.

bacarkey

Its really difficult to do anything when you feel like this, I have been experiencing this myself over the past few weeks. It also happened to coincide with me trying to maintain my weight so im really struggling to remain motivated and stay positive, the Ben and jerrys has been getting hammered, the weather does not help!

MrsBrown104

ipod, good music, and get outta the house. go on a walk/run, window shop at the mall, go to gym. do anything just to get your mind off of it.

JacquiN90

I have Bipolar Disorder, depression and anxiety disorder, and I definitely use food to cope! I know for some, they self medicate with alcohol or drugs, but for me it is junk food. My doctor said that as my condition is treated properly (with the right medication) I should find that my desire for the food lessens, and if not, we can probably find ways to treat what I believe is my junk food addiction. But I think just being on here and logging absolutely everything I eat, as well as seeing other people's food diaries will really help me cut back.

zyxst

I used to eat, still do, but limit myself to a serving; break things, cut and punch myself, scream. Now I just go cry in the bedroom or shower where no one can hear me. Medication may have worked, but I got sick of being told to "take your pill" whenever I showed any emotion.

My ideology now it to do what I can to get over the suicidal thoughts asap and if that includes scarfing down a packet of Oreos, so be it.

lithezebra

How about cooking something nourishing and comforting, like stew or soup, instead? I like eating super healthy food when I'm depressed. I make enough to have a few days of leftovers. Also, I make a pot of coffee and drink as much as I want. I can't imagine wanting to die if I've got a cup of coffee in my hand.

Besides eating healthy food, I fight depression with exercise, getting outside during daylight, a playlist of music that makes me feel happier (as opposed to music that feeds my depressed moods), a list of things to do that lets me see that I'm getting some things done, hypnosis and guided meditation apps, and keeping in touch with my doctor about what is going on with me in case I need a medication change. I take medication, however that is only part of taking care of myself. My biological family is part of the problem, so I don't look to them for support, but I also have friends and a husband who are wonderful. Even if I don't think I'll have fun, I go out of my way to do things with other people, and for other people.

P.S. Counseling is a good idea too. I'm not doing it currently, but my last round of cognitive behavioral therapy was especially effective. It's still a lot of work, but I've been able to have more control over my behavior, and ultimately over how I feel, by practicing the things I learned in counseling.

bellaiabello

What worked for me is biking to the local bookstore oder library (exercise, fresh air and removal from food) without money and then reading there for an hour or two (you can escape your problems without damaging yourself).
It does cost a lot of time, but if I relapse it will take twice as long to get myself out of it again and by the time I get back I am calm enough to go on.