Depression and Weight Loss

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  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
    girlwithcurls2 wrote: »
    We are all "works in progress," whether physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually... You have strength beyond measure. Who could work so hard to make each day a good day? Only someone who is willing to put in the energy to learn, grow and work toward it. Every day.

    Make one good decision (even if it's eating 2 marshmallows). Then make another (grab a glass of water and walk outside instead of opening the bag again). And keep at it.

    i LOVE your attitude! KUDOS to girlwithcurls :smiley:
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
    Dear Myra,
    Your thoughtful comments add a depth of wisdom and insight which I look forward to with eagerness. Please don't stop sharing. What one person writes, many think. You write beautifully and from a soulful place. I relax into your words and sip the nector of your story.
    Thank you
    Shel the sipper
  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
    wow, could i actually be feeling special? :blush:

    i just logged on to "check in" and wasn't expecting such a kind post, so thank you.

    I am going to try something new (to me), that I've been putting off for a long time, but i think my yoga teacher has given me the motivation to finally try it.

    has anyone here ever heard of EFT? Emotional Freedom Technique? (also called Tapping)
    here's a link for the curious:

    http://www.emofree.com/eft-tutorial/tapping-basics/how-to-do-eft.html

    almost a week on a "new to me med" and i'm feeling a little bit hopeful. fingers crossed.

    happy monday to you all!
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    @kae612 I do see what you mean, and I agree that you shouldn't jump on the medication bandwagon right away. If a person's clinical depression is very mild, other things might work and you won't need medication. So it's worth trying other things, but if they don't work, then there's nothing wrong with taking the next step to try medication.

    I think my point I was trying to make is that there is still stigma for taking antidepressants. So many people believe that 'happy pills' as they call them are a shortcut and you can 'cure' depression with will and effort. Add to that the stigma of having any kind of mental imbalance (or whatever you want to call it) means you're broken and it's shameful, it's a wonder that so many people do actual try meds.



    And I have a general question: am I the only person that gets really annoyed at the 'hang in there' motivational speeches people try to give when I mention I'm feeling down? It's like, dude, if it was that easy, I wouldn't be feeling down! *headdesk*
  • RobertWilkens
    RobertWilkens Posts: 77 Member
    If you're at a 'low' then i think "hang in there" can be good advice if taken right. It's kind of what i've told myself when i hit a deep depression, i could think suicidal thoughts or at least "passive death wish" thoughts, but instead I try to tell myself "I've felt better than this before, I've had good times, just be patient, they've come back in the past and they undoubtedly will in the future". It's always a matter of getting 'past' the low period. In the end, depression is just a mood, and for those with a mood disorder it's an abnormal/extreme mood, but it's just a mood and not a reflection of the reality of your life.
  • firststepformefal
    firststepformefal Posts: 180 Member
    I go the other way. When I am depressed I stop eating and lose a ton of weight. For 6 months I was off work. All I did was lie in bed and not move. The only thing that got me out of bed was my pets. They were fed, water changed, litter box changed and dogs put out in the yard. I cried all through doing this, but I did do it. My brother and sister-in-law walked my dogs for me and brought me food, pet food and litter as I could not go out for this. They also took me to my weekly Dr. appointment and counselling. They were great. I am now on anti-depressants and my mood has stabilized. I still have occasional bouts of depression, but now I am exercising I get fewer. I had to take early retirement, as I had a lot of trouble working, even though my mood was stabilized. Of course, once I was better, I gained all the weight back. I am now going to Curves and Bikram yoga. I am losing weight via Jenny Craig. When I started with them I thought Yeah, no cooking. Now I am looking forward to starting to cook for myself. I am volunteering at the SPCA. I still monitor my mood, to make sure I am not slipping back into negative thoughts and emotions.
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    robertwilkens wrote: »
    If you're at a 'low' then i think "hang in there" can be good advice if taken right. It's kind of what i've told myself when i hit a deep depression, i could think suicidal thoughts or at least "passive death wish" thoughts, but instead I try to tell myself "I've felt better than this before, I've had good times, just be patient, they've come back in the past and they undoubtedly will in the future". It's always a matter of getting 'past' the low period. In the end, depression is just a mood, and for those with a mood disorder it's an abnormal/extreme mood, but it's just a mood and not a reflection of the reality of your life.

    See, for me, it doesn't work. I end up spiraling down into what I called the 'fail cycle' and people telling me to cheer up made me feel worse because I couldn't at the time, which just contributed to that little voice telling me I'm a failure. I do take something now that allows me to balance that mood out myself without feeling horrible for days on end. I still have bad days, but at least now I can pull myself out of them before they go on for too long.
  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
    dubird wrote: »
    See, for me, it doesn't work. I end up spiraling down into what I called the 'fail cycle' and people telling me to cheer up made me feel worse because I couldn't at the time, which just contributed to that little voice telling me I'm a failure. I do take something now that allows me to balance that mood out myself without feeling horrible for days on end. I still have bad days, but at least now I can pull myself out of them before they go on for too long.

    interesting. for whatever reason, i interpret "hang in there" and "cheer up" completely differently. i agree with you that hearing "cheer up" when you know that is out of your reach at the moment, does nothing but make you think "if only...." on the other hand, "hang in there" to me means: you know it will get better, it always does.... just keep being faithful to that thought and it'll be alright, even though it doesn't feel like it right now.
    so, there you go.

    i'm pleased and grateful that dubird and firststepformefal both found something that works for them :)
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
    My 2 cents
    Certainly we rely on superficial communication to lubricate the awkward moments when it's hard to know what to say. One if the impacts on my emotional state when I hear cliche type words which generate from (often caring) people is frustration. I imagine the frustration is created by me because my mood is like a wild cyclonic storm and someone is suggesting I "hang on". Of course I am hanging on. I'm still here
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
    I think communication is like a picnic. Someone brings the words and others bring the meaning. Good hearted people often say what comes to mind which may not fit the experiences of others but if the intention is perceived as genuine and caring we can make it ok. I think we gain acceptance over our challenges and permit others to learn that we can manage their journey regarding how they think and feel about our situations. We can manage our responses and be quite excellent at remaining balanced when we have a handle on what we are working on.
    I was looking at a shirt I have in my closet which I cannot fit into and was bagging myself for having slipped over the past 4 months. Having read the posts this morning, I looked lovingly at the piece of clothing and asked for its patients. I said to it quietly..(wait for it....)
    Hang in there.
    Take care everyone.
    Shel
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
    Nm
  • kuroshii
    kuroshii Posts: 168 Member
    hang in there. hang ON there. on the hangar! ;)
    no different than the folks pinning teensy bathing suits (they want to fit in by summer) to their refrigerator doors to keep themselves from snacking.
  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
    kuroshii wrote: »
    hang in there. hang ON there. on the hangar! ;)
    no different than the folks pinning teensy bathing suits (they want to fit in by summer) to their refrigerator doors to keep themselves from snacking.
    the older i get, the more i say: "whatever works!" :smiley:
  • dubird
    dubird Posts: 1,849 Member
    kuroshii wrote: »
    hang in there. hang ON there. on the hangar! ;)
    no different than the folks pinning teensy bathing suits (they want to fit in by summer) to their refrigerator doors to keep themselves from snacking.

    See, that would be creepy for me. Imagine stumbling into the kitchen in the middle of the night for a drink of something, and you see this itty bitty swimsuit on the fridge door. The white of the fridge is reflecting ambient light so it looks like it's glowing, but there's this ghost bikini floating in front of it......

    Yeah, how about a big nope? ^_^;
  • angelexperiment
    angelexperiment Posts: 1,917 Member
    I have really been struggling to get back on track. I flew into a depression these past few weeks and I am attempting to dig out. I had a rage out which had been building bc of constant criticism for months. I lost it completely and felt as ai did as a child and I had the insight and ability to not respond as I did but I think it's years of pent up emotion towards my mother as she can be quite mean to me and if I show emotions there is something wrong with me or I need to be on meds or see a dr.

    It felt good to release it however i could have reacted differently. I also found some release in yard work.

    Lately I'm uninterested in any food available at home even when hungry so that is new. Food was my comfort and now it has changed asi am changing.
  • kuroshii
    kuroshii Posts: 168 Member
    dubird wrote: »
    kuroshii wrote: »
    hang in there. hang ON there. on the hangar! ;)
    no different than the folks pinning teensy bathing suits (they want to fit in by summer) to their refrigerator doors to keep themselves from snacking.

    See, that would be creepy for me. Imagine stumbling into the kitchen in the middle of the night for a drink of something, and you see this itty bitty swimsuit on the fridge door. The white of the fridge is reflecting ambient light so it looks like it's glowing, but there's this ghost bikini floating in front of it......

    Yeah, how about a big nope? ^_^;

    I am totally with ya. I just know it works for some people as a reminder of their goal. My goal is to fit into clothes that fit me just fine a year ago but are "suddenly" now rather snug, but they can stay in my bedroom closet just fine.
  • shelleygold
    shelleygold Posts: 178 Member
    Hi everyone,
    I was wondering if there is an upside to Depression and I thought of the following: Our ancestors had to hunt, gather, and prepare from scratch most foods. No Coles or Woolies on every corner for our Cavemen and women rellies. So, if food was scarce and the weather was crap, perhaps they had to stay in their caves for long periods of time and wait for things to change. Maybe their brains generated a "slowing down" of motivation and initiation so that calories might be preserved. It may have felt like depression WITHOUT the meaning we give it today. We don't have the luxury these days to slow down when the going gets tough. We tend to get angry and blame ourselves and feel even worse. Perhaps we ought to be gentle with ourselves when we are in that low mood and take small steps that move us ahead. That seems to make sense to me.
    Your thoughts??
  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
    i love the idea of being gentle with ourselves and taking small steps that move us ahead :)
  • 68myra
    68myra Posts: 975 Member
    i just want to say happy friday to you all :) it's sunny where i live today, which is nice, and i was fortunate enough to spend my morning in a yoga studio. good stuff.

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