depression isn't real...

kelly_e_montana

Good points. Exercise is very therapeutic for depression. I've also had good luck with self-pampering like you mention and spending time outdoors in the warmer months and/or going somewhere warmer for a vacation (or even getting some UV therapy) in the colder months.

I have been on anti-depressants off and on, and I don't like them. They're not for me, and the side effects are as bad as the depression. I think FOR ME, they work if I am in crisis mode, short-term to get me stabilized, and that's it. But, I haven't taken an any oral prescription medication other than an anti-depressant in over ten years though (especially not antibiotics), so I feel more comfortable with natural healing approaches to most things.

BeautyFromPain

Hey,

I have depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
Anyone and everyone feel free to add me (:

Zomoniac

I am not deppresed. (except about recent political results) I am 100% happy with my life and my amazing family. I have a good job and an OK support system. I have friends and i make enough money to get by. This is me. If you can not say some of these things for whatever reason then try to take whatever steps you have to so that you can say whatever possitive things about your life that you want to say.

With all due respect, a person can have all those things and still be diagnosed with clinical depression.

This. Sometimes there's a rational explanation for depression, sometimes there isn't. In many ways it's better when there is, at least you've got something to blame (though then there's the problem you also have something to think about, whatever is causing it, and several months later it still occupies every thought you have and eats away at you endlessly). I find if there's no obvious problem then it can actually then make you feel guilty about the fact that you're feeling depressed when you don't appear to have anything to be depressed about, because most people would love to have the life you have, but you still can't shake that feeling and spend your days chasing your tail trying to find what's missing.

BeautyFromPain

I'm sorry you're struggling with this. Are you getting any professional help for the diagnoses you mention on your profile? Finding the right medication can be extremely helpful for some people, and finding the right kind of therapy can be extremely helpful for others. (If you're lucky, and both work for you, then bingo! ) Serious clinical depression and PTSD are not the kind of things you can just will yourself out of, so don't feel bad about getting all the help you need. You're still very young; I seriously wish I was able to get proper help for my problems when I was your age, as it would have saved me from many difficult years in my 20s.

It is possible to get healthy and lose weight when you're depressed, but it makes things a lot harder. For me, it wasn't until I got a good handle on my mental state that I was able to find the determination and dedication needed to lose weight. When every day is a huge struggle, sometimes life becomes just about survival. There are lots of things that can help depression just a little bit though, and three of those are regular exercise, good nutrition and achieving small goals. How bad things are for you at the moment will determine the kind of goals you could set, but for example, try to incorporate some form of exercise every day. It's not going to magically make everything better, but do it regularly enough and it should help a little bit.

If you're not already getting some kind of counselling or therapy, I'd definitely look into that. PTSD is not something that just goes away on its own, and therapy can be really helpful. You absolutely deserve to be happy, and it's definitely possible. I know it's probably hard to believe that now, but honestly, that's the depression talking.

I am not deppresed. (except about recent political results) I am 100% happy with my life and my amazing family. I have a good job and an OK support system. I have friends and i make enough money to get by. This is me. If you can not say some of these things for whatever reason then try to take whatever steps you have to so that you can say whatever possitive things about your life that you want to say.

Clinical depression has to do with serotonin levels in the brain, not life experiences...

taekwonkenpo

I am not deppresed. (except about recent political results) I am 100% happy with my life and my amazing family. I have a good job and an OK support system. I have friends and i make enough money to get by. This is me. If you can not say some of these things for whatever reason then try to take whatever steps you have to so that you can say whatever possitive things about your life that you want to say.

With all due respect, a person can have all those things and still be diagnosed with clinical depression.

This. Sometimes there's a rational explanation for depression, sometimes there isn't. In many ways it's better when there is, at least you've got something to blame (though then there's the problem you also have something to think about, whatever is causing it, and several months later it still occupies every thought you have and eats away at you endlessly). I find if there's no obvious problem then it can actually then make you feel guilty about the fact that you're feeling depressed when you don't appear to have anything to be depressed about, because most people would love to have the life you have, but you still can't shake that feeling and spend your days chasing your tail trying to find what's missing.

Those are likely the cases i reffered to that would require medication. Typicilly if there is no stressor then there is, as mentioned above, a chemical imbalence. However i am only trying to point out the cases in which many people will not aknoweledge the stressors within thier cycle and then use medication as an excuse to avoid dealing with the root cause. Depression would, in of it self, make dealing with the root cause of depression difficult but that does not change the facts. If an individual can fix there concerns then that should be there priority. One day at a time and using any all available resources.

taekwonkenpo

I'm sorry you're struggling with this. Are you getting any professional help for the diagnoses you mention on your profile? Finding the right medication can be extremely helpful for some people, and finding the right kind of therapy can be extremely helpful for others. (If you're lucky, and both work for you, then bingo! ) Serious clinical depression and PTSD are not the kind of things you can just will yourself out of, so don't feel bad about getting all the help you need. You're still very young; I seriously wish I was able to get proper help for my problems when I was your age, as it would have saved me from many difficult years in my 20s.

It is possible to get healthy and lose weight when you're depressed, but it makes things a lot harder. For me, it wasn't until I got a good handle on my mental state that I was able to find the determination and dedication needed to lose weight. When every day is a huge struggle, sometimes life becomes just about survival. There are lots of things that can help depression just a little bit though, and three of those are regular exercise, good nutrition and achieving small goals. How bad things are for you at the moment will determine the kind of goals you could set, but for example, try to incorporate some form of exercise every day. It's not going to magically make everything better, but do it regularly enough and it should help a little bit.

If you're not already getting some kind of counselling or therapy, I'd definitely look into that. PTSD is not something that just goes away on its own, and therapy can be really helpful. You absolutely deserve to be happy, and it's definitely possible. I know it's probably hard to believe that now, but honestly, that's the depression talking.

I am not deppresed. (except about recent political results) I am 100% happy with my life and my amazing family. I have a good job and an OK support system. I have friends and i make enough money to get by. This is me. If you can not say some of these things for whatever reason then try to take whatever steps you have to so that you can say whatever possitive things about your life that you want to say.

Clinical depression has to do with serotonin levels in the brain, not life experiences...

If diagnosed correctly. Which all to often clinical depression is not.

I worked a mental health unit at my place of employment. As such i recieved a lot of hours of training in mental health and many types of disorders. I am not an expert, but i can tell you that every mental health proffesional that did our training classes told us that there first priority when speaking to any individual that has any type of disorder is to assure there diagnosis is accurete.

Think of it this way.............the first thing your mental health proffesional, or counselor will do when meeting you is decide if they feel your diagnosis is accurete. Even clinical deppresion. (P.S. when i said "you" i was speaking generally, not to any particuler person)

kimmianne89

Hello, I suffer with depression and social phobia. I don't take medication as for some reason I believe I can ease it with being healthy and active.. but I definitely know how you are feeling! Feel free to add me if you like x

ladytinkerbell99

hope i got your attention, but not your anger!

i'm finding it very hard to stick with healthy eating an exercising because of my depression. i lack all sorts of motivation and almost always feel as if i don't deserve it and that i'll never be happy anyway.

my point is, i would LOVE to have motivation from those who have suffered/suffer through depression so that we can pull each other out that big hole.

I'm sorry that you are going through depression. Things that can help are counseling and or therapy. You may have to search a little bit to find a someone who you are compatible with, but its worth it. There isn't anything wrong with seeking help, the mind is a powerful thing. Also don't be hard on yourself if you slack off from time to time. It happens to all of us. Keep moving at whatever pace you can. You'll get strong as time moves one. The key is to keep moving and get help.

God bless you. Remember, this is temporary. You'll be okay and your not alone. Lots of people experience depression for various and valid reasons.

^ This is excellent advice. Just to add, I wish you well. If you need more friends, you can add me. :flowerforyou:

tubbyelmo

I have suffered with bouts of depression on and off for many years. I'm not on medication at the moment, though only a few months ago I thought I was starting to need tablets again. Thankfully I found this website, and started to exercise again, eat more healthily and drink plenty water. I still feel anxious at times but on the most part I feel so much better about myself. It will be a while before I reach my goal but I know I am working towards it, I have something to focus on, and I'm actually enjoying getting up out of bed to exercise. Add me as a friend and we can support and encourage each other towards our goals. Take care, this too will pass, we can get through together.

sann4137

I'm new here, but I'm 19 and am currently here to try to help with depression, social anxiety and bulimia. Add me with a message if you want support - I don't offer requests in case I trigger people x

lisasshmisa

you did get my attention,/i was going to answer thats crap because I know from experience...add me if you like:)

Rachielous

hope i got your attention, but not your anger!

i'm finding it very hard to stick with healthy eating an exercising because of my depression. i lack all sorts of motivation and almost always feel as if i don't deserve it and that i'll never be happy anyway.

my point is, i would LOVE to have motivation from those who have suffered/suffer through depression so that we can pull each other out that big hole.

Oh my gosh - I am so pleased I clicked on this and read your post, When I saw the title come up in my 'recent thread' section my blood started to boil! I HATE it when people say that depression isn't really.. unless of course, you are depressed yourself - then you are allowed! :-)

I have suffered from mild depression in the past and have close family and friends who have too so can relate to how you feel.

You are welcome to add me as a friend

azwethinkweizm

I suffer from depression and anxiety as a result of extremely low self esteem and low self worth. I will add you as a friend - it's nice to know/talk to people in similar situations

Swissmiss

In case your doctor puts you on an antidepressive medication....Welbrutine seems to be the one that doesn't cause weight gain.

xSakura

I suffered with depression earlier this year, I found out recently it was a symptom of Hypothyroidism. I found it extremely hard to get motivated, or to even get out of bed in the morning for that matter.. :frown: I went for a blood test only 4 weeks ago (after putting an abnormal 2st on since March!) and found out about my Thyroid problems.

I still have my moments where I feel down.. But what I do, is either look at old, slim pictures of myself, or go to the Success Stories section on the Message Board It makes me believe I CAN do it, and gives me that little push! My MFP friends also support me a great deal, you can never have too many friends on here :laugh:

(Sorry about rambling on, feel free to add me, I'm on everyday) :flowerforyou:

RunningOnPurple

Depression, as you know, is real. It's also NOT something that you have to fix on your own just because it's not a physical illness. Some people have the 'willpower' to get themselves out of it on their own. Others of us, though, are not able to do that. And I know in my case it's certainly not for lack of trying. If you need meds and therapy then so what? You need what you need. I am Bipolar 2 so i know quite a bit about depression. I spent many years of my life cycling through depression and hypomania on my own and thinking I was tough and could fix myself. But the cycles kept getting worse until I realized that this wasn't something that I could fix on my own even though it was all in my head.

I needed help and there was no shame in it. I've stated this on these boards before and I'll state it again, thank God for psychiatric medicines. It is 100% accurate to say that without them I would not be here today.

Feel free to add me as a friend if you like.

sarahrbraun

hope i got your attention, but not your anger!

i'm finding it very hard to stick with healthy eating an exercising because of my depression. i lack all sorts of motivation and almost always feel as if i don't deserve it and that i'll never be happy anyway.

my point is, i would LOVE to have motivation from those who have suffered/suffer through depression so that we can pull each other out that big hole.

I know it is hard. I have been struggling with clinical depression for 20+ years. I was diagnosed in '92 or '93, but suspect that I was suffering several years before that--as early as '87 or '88. The whole reason I am on MFP is to lose the 50lbs that I gained during a depression that I *should* have gone and gotten medicated for, but I chose to self medicate with hersheys and godiva.

One thing that I have found is that cardio helps. Don't get me wrong, there are days that I REALLY want to jump off the treadmill at 5 minutes...but I keep going. Have you ever heard of a 'runner's high'? It is caused by endorphins released by running. I don't know that I have actually gotten a runners high, but I do know that I get a little twitchy if I go more than 3-4 days without getting to the gym. I've been using the strength machines too, and I am slowly easing into free weights. I have to smile and secretly feel like a bad *kitten* when within the first month, I can leg press more than I weigh ( currently pressing 208lbs) One thing I have found is that with muscle, I can definitely be heavier and still fit a smaller size. I wore a snug 14 at 175lbs...but at 197lbs, I have been wearing that same size 14 for at least 5lbs now. By the time I get down to 175lbs, I might be wearing an 8/10!

watcheronthewall

I completely understand how you feel and I think this is quite typical thinking for a depression sufferer. I am on anti-depressents myself and it took me a long, long time to come around to even entertaining the idea of losing weight even after I'd been on them for a long while.

Now I still have a lot of thoughts about what is it all for?, what will it mean for me? and of course all the feelings of low self esteem etc, that I get anyway.

It's a difficult one and I'm not sure what advice there is other than to acknowledge and challenge these thoughts and if nothing else, eating healthily and getting some exercise can only help with the depression.

Rachlmale

One of the main reasons I started improving my health was because of depression; I found it to be one of my greatest motivators. My depression has greatly improved the healthier I get. Self confidence and inner wellbeing has been a great cure. Here's to abolishing it forever!!

SarahCW1979

One of the main reasons I started improving my health was because of depression; I found it to be one of my greatest motivators. My depression has greatly improved the healthier I get. Self confidence and inner wellbeing has been a great cure. Here's to abolishing it forever!!

Absolutely this!

Ive had and been treated for depression for the last 6 years. As a result of the exercise, good eating and support Ive had here I 'might' be able to stop the meds in the spring \o/
The thing with motivation is finding the strength for that first workout. The second will be easier, the third will be easier still and hell, by the fourth you may find yourself looking forward to it! At the start I dealt with the feelings of being worthless and undeserving, also the fear of not feeling any better when I get to goal. You have to nip those feelings and learn to appreciate who you see in the mirror NOW. Then you will be able to take the steps needed to be who you want to be :flowerforyou: