Depression and over coming it :)

I've dealt with depression for literally as long as I can remember. I'm kind of rushed right now, but I'll share a few things that have helped me.

Positive affirmations. Even if you feel stupid saying positive things out loud to yourself, do it anyway. It's important, and nobody else can hear you. I also tell myself things out loud to keep from procrastinating things that will make me feel better. "Just do it now!"

Exercise. Every day. At least 30 minutes. It doesn't have to be anything major, just a walk around the block or something. Get moving. If you can't muster up the energy for 30 minutes, do 20 jumping jacks, and then do some more later when you can. Any little bit helps.

Banish "perfect" from your vocabulary. You don't want to be perfect. Perfect is boring. But you are good enough. Whatever you're doing, your best is good enough. Keep this in mind to help banish those negative voices.

Take a vitamin D supplement. I take 4000 IU in the winter, 2000 IU in the summer. It helps.

This post says it so well! I, too, have struggled with depression/anxiety for about 8 years now. Even now, being medicated and in a healthy place, I still have my ups and downs. I have found that the three things that help me most are exercise (even when i don't want to), cutting a lot of sugar and crappy food out of my diet (desserts and stuff, which I would use to self-medicate), and having a community of support (friends, family, church). Good luck to you in this! It is a battle....but it looks like you have people here who can understand and support you.

I have depression and want to know if anyone else has it? what do you do to keep yourself motivated and keeping the negatives thoughts at bay? i am also an over eater i really really need all the tips and advice i can get. I am really tired living this way (( i just want to lose some weight and be motivated

thanks sooo much

The Risks of Low-Fat Diets
A diet low in fat and cholesterol may put you at risk for depression.
By Hara Estroff Marano, published on April 29, 2003 - last reviewed on August 13, 2007
It's one of the most intriguing discoveries about diet. People who consume a diet low in fats and especially low in cholesterol are at risk for depression and suicide.

The first clue that low-fat diets might have anything to do with depression or self-directed violence turned up a few decades ago, quite by surprise. Large community-based studies of heart disease prevention strategies showed that among persons with the lowest cholesterol levels, there was a increased incidence of death not caused by illness, primarily to suicide, accidents, and violence.

At first, it defied comprehension. And to a considerable degree it still does, twenty-something years later.

But the link between cholesterol lowering and suicide may run directly through brain serotonin pathways, with side stops to depression, irritability, impulsiveness, and aggression. Or it may run more indirectly through metabolic pathways of brain serotonin, the neurotransmitter most associated with depression. Whatever the link is, it's complex, because it hasn't been easy to pin down.

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Not that there is a whole industry of people trying to hunt it down. To some degree, the issue pits hearts against minds, or the interests of cardiologists against those of psychiatrists and neuroscientists. Cardiologists, for the most part, along with many public health experts, are focused on the need for much of the American population to reduce their risk of heart disease by cutting their intake of dietary fats. They have lots of evidence to back them up. And they don't seem over-eager to vigorously pursue whether there may be an unusual behavioral hazard associated with cholesterol-lowering strategies.

Several studies have shown that low cholesterol is linked to depressed mood and to impulsivity, although it isn't clear whether the link to depression is as true for people whose cholesterol levels are lowered by diet as in people with naturally occurring low cholesterol levels. Behavior is a very tricky thing to study, and many different factors have to be taken into account.

But some problem in serotonin function seems always to be at the center of the story.

In nonhuman primates, high cholesterol levels enhance serotonin function. They lower levels of overt aggression. And they promote social behavior.

In people and other animals, serotonin dysfunction is implicated in major depression and, independently, with suicide. Serotonin is seen as a neurotransmitter of restraint. It remains inactive until called upon to inhibit some impulsive command, such as, say, the thought of suicide in the face of some extra stress.

In healthy people, serotonin turns on to suppress impulses and keeps them in check. In those whose serotonin system is not responsive, for whatever reasons, it fails to suppress an impulse, resulting in an impulsive act. Like hostility or acting on a suicidal thought.

Low-fat diets are known to alter serotonin function. They might decrease the fats in nerve-cell membranes, impairing serotonin receptors.

Where does that leave you?

With some awareness, hopefully, that there are few absolutes. Dietary fat isn't all bad, and some is absolutely necessary. Did we say moderation? Absolutely.

I've dealt with depression for literally as long as I can remember. I'm kind of rushed right now, but I'll share a few things that have helped me.

Positive affirmations. Even if you feel stupid saying positive things out loud to yourself, do it anyway. It's important, and nobody else can hear you. I also tell myself things out loud to keep from procrastinating things that will make me feel better. "Just do it now!"

Exercise. Every day. At least 30 minutes. It doesn't have to be anything major, just a walk around the block or something. Get moving. If you can't muster up the energy for 30 minutes, do 20 jumping jacks, and then do some more later when you can. Any little bit helps.

Banish "perfect" from your vocabulary. You don't want to be perfect. Perfect is boring. But you are good enough. Whatever you're doing, your best is good enough. Keep this in mind to help banish those negative voices.

Take a vitamin D supplement. I take 4000 IU in the winter, 2000 IU in the summer. It helps.

what is IU? and i am def going to go out and get those

I've dealt with depression for literally as long as I can remember. I'm kind of rushed right now, but I'll share a few things that have helped me.

Positive affirmations. Even if you feel stupid saying positive things out loud to yourself, do it anyway. It's important, and nobody else can hear you. I also tell myself things out loud to keep from procrastinating things that will make me feel better. "Just do it now!"

Exercise. Every day. At least 30 minutes. It doesn't have to be anything major, just a walk around the block or something. Get moving. If you can't muster up the energy for 30 minutes, do 20 jumping jacks, and then do some more later when you can. Any little bit helps.

Banish "perfect" from your vocabulary. You don't want to be perfect. Perfect is boring. But you are good enough. Whatever you're doing, your best is good enough. Keep this in mind to help banish those negative voices.

Take a vitamin D supplement. I take 4000 IU in the winter, 2000 IU in the summer. It helps.

what is IU? and i am def going to go out and get those