Depression?

I read a really good book,"Feeling Good:The New Mood Therapy (without drugs) by Dr. David Burns. It can help by teaching you cognitive behavioral therapy changes (CBT). It changed my life and I have recommended it often.

Are you exercising? Research shows exercise just as effective as meds for depression.hope you feel better soon.

For me, exercise lifts my mood and not exercising sinks it lower. I have found this to be the best way to combat depression, as well as taking the time to reflect on all the things I am grateful for. I do this every night before bed and every morning before getting out of bed.

I heard a handful of cashews everydaay day was suppose to give the lift of Prozac.
Best wishes.

i have found lots of cardio helped me on many of my blue days --

It depends a lot on the cause and severity of your depression, as well as other genetic and environmental factors. The best non-pharmaceutical treatment is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It is very effective in treating mild to moderate depression. Exercise is also strongly recommended.

First define what you're calling depression. Are you feeling blue over the loss of a loved one or are you contemplating suicide/homicide or something in between? If it's the latter , see your physician. The people on MFP are well-meaning but it's pretty obvious 99.9% of them have NO medical training. If they did, they would not tell you to treat depression with a book, they'd tell you to see your physician because a diagnosis of depression can't be made over a website.

Sooooo . . . I'm about to get told to shut up, but why are you trying to do this without drugs? Are you heavily into suffering? Most of the time antidepressant therapy is short term, especially if the depression is caught early (if it truly is depression). Instead of "toughing it out" treat it. If it were cancer, would you try to read it away? Exercise it away? Talk it away? Chances are, you'd treat it. Same with depression.

Depression is caused by an imbalance in the brain chemistry. The drugs (with exercise, cognitive therapy and diet as an adjuvant therapy) can help get the brain chemistry back into alignment.

My cousin suffers from diagnosed depression. For 14 years he tried to deal with it without drugs. In December he became suicidal. He is now on antidepressant therapy. Within two weeks of starting the drugs he began sleeping again, the SI (suicidal ideation) was gone. Don't get me wrong, he has good days and bad days but the good days, for the first time in 14 years, outnumber the bad.

Good luck, whatever you decide to do. :flowerforyou:

Well, I lost the first 33 years of my life due to clinical depression. I tried exercise, talk therapy, everything. When they invented a drug that worked for me, I started taking it and have spent the next eighteen years trying to catch up, personally and professionally, to everyone who had three decades' head start on me because their brains, you know, actually worked during their childhood, teen, and early adult years.

So ... depends on what you're calling depression. My brain, it is broken. Nothing allows me to function besides a pill full of the chemicals I can't make on my own. For me, it's like having thyroid problems or diabetes. Diet, exercise, mindful living, all that is an incredibly important part of being a functioning human being ... but there's part of my brain that doesn't do what it should without outside help.

I'm telling you this so you know that, always, depression is a MF'er ... but it's a different MFer every time and sometimes you have to kill it with different bullets. My very best wishes and hopes go out to you. It is horrible and I hope you beat it to the gutter where it belongs.

After seeing my doctor, we discussed SSRIs as an option, but I was scared of the side effects and blamed myself for how I was feeling, so I chose to try every avenue possible before going on meds. I started a journal to keep track of my moods, and found that going out into the world always made me feel better. Then I found that exercise basically worked like a light switch - I would barely make it to the gym, feeling like it was pointless and I was worthless, and when I walked out, it always felt like I was CInderella in the forest with birds singing to me and the sun shining through the trees. I also got six sessions of CBT - I never felt like they did much, but I was pretty blind in terms of self-awareness at that point, and people around me said I improved a lot.
My advice, simply, is this:
1. Check in with a doctor. You can choose your own path and way of doing things but it helps to have a professional on the same page, and they can help you find exactly what you need.
2. Exercise. It won't hurt and it is very, very likely that it will help.
3. Time. Depression can feel like a suffering that will never end, but that's not true, it's just the depression talking. Eventually, it can just go away. For me, it came on without explanation, and it left in largely the same manner. Wait it out, and do what you can in the meantime. You'll make it.
4. Keep a journal or a blog or something. Things don't make proper sense when you're depressed. You need to write out how you feel without worrying about it and then go back over it with a red pen and edit the heck out of it - literally scrawl on top of what you've written with "this might not be true" and "well, i might feel like a loser but what about this one time when I achieved x". Your brain is really good at criticizing right now: turn your inner critic, against your inner critic, and correct the garbage misconceptions that you have about yourself into more true, kind, loving thoughts. (One really helpful way to tune out garbage thoughts is to force yourself to think about things you're grateful for - even if it's just nachos, nintendo, and your bed, or your most comfortable sweater).

It's a lot of work for someone with no energy, I know. You'll have good days and bad days. Even if you don't always believe it, just do the best you can, and you WILL get somewhere better.

I've suffered from depression and anxiety since I was little... I was on anti depressants from the time I was 7 years old, until I was about 16. Medication saved my life and at that point in time, though I was very young, I needed them (and therapy). Since the age of 16, I've been completely off medication. The biggest thing that's helped me was to keep a journal and check in often. Getting whatever that was in my head, out of my head, was a much needed release. Even if it was just circles, or scribble marks. It's something. Also, exercise. Just going for a walk, instead of back to bed, would help my mood. Even if I don't walk, sitting in the sunshine seems to make me feel a little better. There have been times when nothing helps. At that point, I take long showers, sleep and try to push myself outside as much as possible. :flowerforyou: Cheers dude!

I AM NOT A PHYSICIAN and I think you should see one if you haven't already. I do however, have years of personal experience with moderate clinical depression which includes trying to taper off meds time and time again.

Even if you're not into yoga, you may want to check out the book 'Yoga for Depression'. It has done more for me than any other book on the subject, surprisingly. You can skip some of the far out stuff if you're not into it, but there are some activities/techniques suggested in that book that truly helped when things were really bad. Plus the woman who wrote it went through it herself and has been able to deal without medications.

Good luck and hopefully you will find something to work for you.

Lots of good advice has been given. Exercise, reading self-help books and keeping a journal can all help. BUT you need to consult a professional too. Clinical depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain; you can tough it out, but why would you when you don't have to? Medication in conjunction with therapy can be a great healer...I speak from experience.

sometimes meds can be the best option and if you cannot shake it, do whatever it takes to get better. There are several things that may help... Eating right, impoving your fitness level, lowering sugar intake, Multivitamins with strong zinc, and B-complex components may help. Exercise has been shown to help. Avoid circumstances that cause you to get down will help. Sometimes, all that is not enough.. at that point, you would need to see a counselor... Don't totally nix meds if necessary... Sometimes that can be your best option. All anti-depressants are not the same either. There are some herbs and supplements that have been shown to help but I would be cautious using those... SAM-E and St. John's Wort are two of those... This time of year, often absence of sunlight can be an issue -- you may try to increase your exposure to sunlight. By all means, if you get down enough to consider harming yourself or others, that is a medical emergency... go to the ER immediately any time day or night. Best wishes on a happier and more rewarding life.

Hi, yes.

I also use 5-htp (but please do your research before trying this!), exercise, and try to stick to foods high in tryptophan (which produces serotonin). There's an excellent book called 'The Mood Cure' about how to tailor your diet to your needs, especially if you have a serotonin deficiency.

A good alternative to 5-htp is St John's Wort.

I have never been depressed but I am SHOCKED at how HAPPY I feel when I eat dr. Joel fuhrman anti cancer gombs diet (bitter greens collards kale mustard greens watercress. Onions. Mushrooms. Beans. Berries and seeds) that I wonder if people are STARVING and NOT DEPRESSED I also feel so much better when I exercise and play soccer with my dog. You can borrow a dog. Please consider reading "the happiness advantage" and training your brain and behavior to be more happy. If you need counseling and medication please get them. God bless.