Depression and weight loss?

First off, can I offer a (friendly, and hopefully not creepy) hug? It is hard when it seems like everything is stacking up against you.

I would suggest trying to find a doctor that is willing to treat your depression, whether you choose to take medication or just have therapy sessions.

For me, exercise is what helps me feel better. When I started my weight loss, I was going to the gym where my cardio was the treadmill. It is the most boring thing imaginable, so I made sure I have music with a good rhythm. I also figured out that if you put text in front of me, I can walk for hours. Trashy magazines ftw :-) I would get off the machine and feel lighter for the rest of the day. Even now, if there is more that 2 or 3 days between exercise days I start to feel mopey.

Hey there. Feel free to PM me if yopu like. I have been dealing with chronic depression (among other MH issues) my whole life. I used to be embarassed about it, but I've kind of swung the other way. Now I try to be an advocate for mental health issues and try to use my situation to help others whenever I can. As you can tell from my profile pic, I am certainly not a slim person (LOL), so I am in no position to offer weight loss advice. However, I can give you some advice on the other side of the equation. If you have chronic depression, that needs to be treated as any other health issue would! If you are listening to advice from your general practitioner,DON'T! Go to a mental health profession. If you need medication to assist with your condition, a psychiatrist is way more qualified to help determine which medication is for you and what dosage. And I can tell you from personal experience, sometimes it takes a while! Depending on the psychiatrist you find, it may also be worth seeing a psychologist/therapist to try to work through the issue as well. I see both a psychiatrist to monitor my meds and a therapist to help wit the day to day stuff that goes along with chronic depression and my other issues. Sorry if I'm rambling! I guess this is a long winded way of saying that, if you have issues with depression and issues with weight, treat them both.

I wanted to point out that you are one step ahead of most people because you are aware that negative thinking is causing your depression. I highly recommend a book called Feeling Good by Dr. David D. Burns. It's cognitive therapy that you can work on on your own. Basically changing your negative thought patterns. Believe me when I say that I understand it's an uphill battle and seemingly neverending. From experience I get it. But it can be done. It takes effort on a regular basis. Sometimes we feel too tired to make the effort but that doesn't change the fact that that's what it takes. If only it wasn't so hard, right? :grumble:
Anyway, I recommend that book. One of the first things it covers is how you view yourself. Something most depressed people have in common is they view themselves as unworthy, not good enough, a loser, etc. We all have certain aspects of our character that we can improve on but we're not total losers. We have good qualities. We really do. We are not all bad but we let ourselves believe that we are. Look at it this way - imagine someone telling you horrible lies about someone you love. You wouldn't simply accept it. You'd reject the lies! Well, we do that to ourselves. We accept as fact these harmful, negative, false thoughts that we have about ourselves and that colors our view of the world around us. I could go on but I'll stop there. It can definitely help you with your self image. Again, kudos for recognizing the problem. You're ahead of the pack!

I sympathize completely with your situation. I've lost 40lbs and I have a lot more work to do to get where I want to be physically, but mentally my head is still playing catch up. If you need a friend in a similar situation, shoot me an invite.

My only advice would be to keep at it. You may not feel like exercising every day, but I've found the depression is lessened by working out. Endorphins are amazing.

I just wanted to come back and add that this is a very individual thing to deal with. Everyone speaks from their own experience and it's great that so many people want to be open and honest about their struggles. However, what works for one person may not work for another. What doesn't work for one person may work wonders for another. Some get great results just from exercise and improved diet. Some need cognitive therapy. Some need medication. Some need a combination of two, three, or several things to see improvement. Just keep trying and don't give up.

I just want to let you know that there is possibly hope! I am 35 and have suffered major depression all my adult life and was on medicine, swapping at least every 2 years due to it would stop working.. I also had (have) fibromyalgia and diabetes.. a year ago (Sept 29) I changed my life forever because the doctor told me the week before that I had to go on meds for diabetes. I did not want to!

So, long story short, I have lost 110 pounds (264-154) and about 4 months in I completely came off all medicines!! I feel better than ever before! Yes I still have days where I feel crappy.. but I will take an occasional day over every day anytime!

Hang in there and don't give up hope!! I truly hope things will turn around for you!