How do you cope with depression?
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CaptainFantastic00 wrote: »I try to be kind and positive to others in hopes that I can help others not feel this way
Making someone else smile really does help sometimes
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xkitxkatxkaix wrote: »Drink, eat, zone into whatever video game I can and tune everyone out.
Trying very hard to correct this though, after a while it's hard to turn off 'auto-pilot' and the days tend to blur together from these habits.
I use 'auto-pilot' for dealing with anxiety, in a good way. Sometimes I NEED to shut down my mind and feelings and just go through the motions of what I supposed to do. The act of doing it helps change my attitude and feelings towards doing it for the better. I call it 'floating' thought days.
You bring up a very good point and I do agree with you. The funny thing is what you just said I have said almost the exact same thing to my boyfriend while explaining why I need to shut down for a bit after a hard day. The only reason why I want to try and break that is because I'm starting to feel like I'm just wasting away in a sense and I need/want to try to search for a new shut down mode, so to speak. But this is just my feeling on it, if this is what others with anxiety need; go for it. It's very hard to find an outlet or a way to cope.
But I do agree, I was diagnosed with GAD when I was a pre-teen and sometimes the only thing that really helps is having a 'floating thought day' (btw-spot on title).0 -
I try to give myself 30 minutes to cry and pout, and then I force myself to try and make a plan. Finding something that gives me peace, music, walking, whatever really seems to help. Try not to beat yourself up for the way you are feeling, but instead accept it and figure a way around.0
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Alcohol and Netflixx0
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There's a significant differentiation between people who are diagnosed as living with depression, me, and people who have depressive periods. Important distinction I think In answering the question.
I have a therapist and try to be actively aware of when I feel a period of depression settling in, then I talk about it with the people around me to let them know Im going through a rough patch and ask that they help keep me above water until I come out of it. I also have to ride my bike daily to make sure my days get off to good starts, try to avoid over-working, and be vocal about my struggles.
To date I've refused drugs no matter how many times my doctors have tried.2 -
Every day is a bit different as far as coping goes, but I am on medication to help with depression as well as something to help me turn my brain off and rest. I find a routine works best. The better care I take of myself with food and exercise, the better I feel overall. There's no magic formula, for me it's just resolve and stubbornness not to let it drag me down any more than I'm willing to let it. Some days I win, some days I lose-- the key is to keep going and not to beat yourself up over expectations of how you SHOULD be.0
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I know this is chit chat but seeing as this posts straight up asks for positive and helpful advice about dealing with depression let's try to focus on positive and helpful coping mechanisms
(Not because I want to find out how to positively cope or anything)2 -
hargiebargie wrote: »There's a significant differentiation between people who are diagnosed as living with depression, me, and people who have depressive periods. Important distinction I think In answering the question.
I have a therapist and try to be actively aware of when I feel a period of depression settling in, then I talk about it with the people around me to let them know Im going through a rough patch and ask that they help keep me above water until I come out of it. I also have to ride my bike daily to make sure my days get off to good starts, try to avoid over-working, and be vocal about my struggles.
To date I've refused drugs no matter how many times my doctors have tried.
I feel this. Connecting with other people and breaking the isolation is key for me; as is maintaining an active routine. I journal a lot because sometimes these periods can be very revealing. But the biggest thing I've done for myself is get into therapy. We can all develop coping strategies in private, but for many/most types of depression professional help is really crucial.2 -
I used unhealthy habits for a long time, mainly food and alcohol and I still backslide into those coping skills every once in awhile.
The main thing that helped me was therapy. I found an awesome therapist that I really connected with and seven years later, I still see her monthly to help keep me on track. Exercise helps some too as does just getting out in the world. I'm fairly introverted and tend to isolate myself, but even just taking a walk and sitting at a coffee shop people watching helps my mood. I don't usually talk to anyone at all, but just feeling that connection to other humans can be enough to mitigate my depressive tendencies.3 -
I feel this. Connecting with other people and breaking the isolation is key for me; as is maintaining an active routine. I journal a lot because sometimes these periods can be very revealing. But the biggest thing I've done for myself is get into therapy. We can all develop coping strategies in private, but for many/most types of depression professional help is really crucial.
This is tough for me. I am not interested in many in-depth relationships with people. I prefer keeping things superficial except for very few folks. I know de-isolating really helps my depression, but at the same time, I just want to control it. I play basketball on Sunday nights with a really good group of people, but I don't want any contact with them off the court and when I go home, prefer to have my life there. Social interaction is good but I need it in limited, controlled ways.0 -
I learned as much as I could about the causes of my specific type of depression and worked with both mental health professionals (therapy) and medical professionals (psychiatrists, endocrinologists, and holistic practitioners) to find out the root causes and made efforts to address these root causes rather than just addressing the symptoms.
My specific depression is related to family history, poverty, abuse, post-traumatic stress, and an inherited / long-untreated thyroid condition.
I also worked on some specific coping strategies and self care to keep me in a place that lets me function and hold a job and participate in life in a way that is comfortable for me.
On my journey to wellness I jettisoned toxic family members, got divorced, went back to school and pretty much "treaded water" a lot, just riding the wave of what ever I was feeling until it started to subside. I willed myself to put one foot in front of the other and to NOT walk out in front of a bus... I reminded myself to breathe.
Some great links (not a substitute for medical or psychiatric treatment):
Step 1: Make a list of the things you LOVE about your life; Of the things you LOVE, what can you do more of? Make a list of the things you HATE about your life; Of the things you HATE, what do you have the power to change? Create an action plan to address those things. Break these things down into actionable steps.
Ref: https://womenslearningstudio.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Find-Your-Passion-follow-your-bliss.pdf
Step 2: Get a physical from a doctor that is going to spend more than 15 minutes with you, preferably someone with a background in hormonal management. Your hormones can make you crazy and make you hate your life. When my estrogen is low, the sound of my husband chewing makes me want to kill him... just saying.
Ref:
http://www.saragottfriedmd.com/why-do-i-feel-disconnected-the-cortisol-oxytocin-connection/
https://stopthethyroidmadness.com/things-we-have-learned/
https://www.yourhormones.com/signs-symptoms/
You want a doctor that will work with you to balance your hormones, check your thyroid (based on your symptoms, not your blood tests), and possibly also prescribe something to support your adrenals.
Step 3: Based on the lists you made in Step 1 reach out to a trusted friend or mentor (if you don't have one get one) and bounce off some of the ideas that came up as a result of the exercise just so you have some support for these new ideas.
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xkitxkatxkaix wrote: »The funny thing is what you just said I have said almost the exact same thing to my boyfriend while explaining why I need to shut down for a bit after a hard day.
My wife is always wanting to do more and more, and loves all these social engagements. I have a job that I talk and teach all day long, and when I get home I just want to have quiet and not have to extrovert anymore. We fight a lot about that and I hate being labelled as less-than-social because I can only do so much of it.
Doesn't help that I am very empathetic and big crowds just kill me inside.
But I do my floating to get through those evenings and work to cope with it all.
All the best.
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I'm very bad at it. (Please keep in mind, I am not in treatment at this time due to money issues)
Mostly, I dwell on the intrusive thoughts, periodically self-harm, allow the suicidal ideation to sit on the front burner. I isolate a ton which isn't that hard since I don't have a driver's license so its not like I can actually go anywhere even if I wanted to.
How do I get through it? Stubbornness and sheer spite. The power of "Foxtrot Uniform Charlie Kilo India Tango" helps a ton.1 -
xkitxkatxkaix wrote: »The funny thing is what you just said I have said almost the exact same thing to my boyfriend while explaining why I need to shut down for a bit after a hard day.
My wife is always wanting to do more and more, and loves all these social engagements. I have a job that I talk and teach all day long, and when I get home I just want to have quiet and not have to extrovert anymore. We fight a lot about that and I hate being labelled as less-than-social because I can only do so much of it.
Doesn't help that I am very empathetic and big crowds just kill me inside.
But I do my floating to get through those evenings and work to cope with it all.
All the best.
I believe I've lucked out a little bit since my boyfriend has a worse case of anxiety than I do so whenever I'm having a rough go of things he's incredibly understanding.
Having a managers position in retail is incredibly rough, especially when you're talking all day long or getting confronted with x, y and z and you need to resolve this thing ASAP and now corporate is calling and asking for you and yada yada (I need a break just from writing that lol). I've lost a lot of friends because they just didn't understand why I would just want to be home and not go to a club and "let loose" or "get thrashed". Too chaotic and too... just too much really. People don't understand that needing to put extra energy into being a temporary extrovert can be incredibly exhausting.
I hope your day is a good one my friend. Take care.0 -
Obsessing about my diet/exercise to keep my mind occupied, as well as other interests like film and music.1
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The whole introvert / extrovert thing is pretty common in couples and sometimes with kids (who seem to suck the life out of their introverted parents).
My hubs is a raving extrovert and I am super introverted. He wants to go, go, go everywhere (and, oh, wouldn't it be cool, if I went?); and he wants to have people over all of the time (but I seemed to be doing all of the work...)
It took me a long time to find the words that resonated with him so that he could appreciate that I actually get physically sick when I am bombarded by too much stimuli and I need my down time.
It's an ongoing compromise.1 -
Sleep and video games1
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I take my meds and do as much self care as I can. I'm more focused on my teenage daughter's anxiety and depression.0
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I see a counselor and psychiatrist to help learn how to cope with it and get myself out of it. I used to binge and still do from time to time unfortunately that is what got me to where I am today. so things had to change. I started keeping a written food diary where I also put in quotes and how I am feeling besides tracking here online. It helps.0
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Therapy.
But personally for myself that I don't have the money for it, is basically distracting yourself and having a schedule. Having a schedule, and by this I mean plan your times with things you absolutely NEED to do, like cleaning, showering, eating, worrking, etc. helps create a habit because the reality is that sometimes you won't have the motivation or energy to perform this tasks, you must create a habit of these and soon you'll find yourself doing these even when you're feeling down because you enter autopilot mode.
As for the distraction, this could be anything, truth is if I find some motivation I often find myself becoming unispired by it like, it only works for so long before it no longer motivates me, so I try to find whatever, it doesn't matter how actually important is like it could be a tv show, a videogame, a person, something that makes you happy so when you're feeling down you can look at this thing and smile, take it one day a time with this. If you find something loosing your interest then switch it, don't allow yourself to feel down.0 -
Alcohol.0
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Talking, writing, reading, *kitten*, running, lifting and reading..
I try to stay busy. Talking most of all, especially if someone has lived thru a similar thing.1 -
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Bar-B-Qed , fried or boiled with Veggies? Have you put it in the Food Data base yet?Will_Run_4_Food wrote: »I *kitten* 0 -
Most take medications. Is this the answer?0
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