Depression and eating

I just posted something on this. I'm starting Prozac tomorrow. I am so relieved!!!

Exercise. It is awesome medication.

If I need to snap out of it quickly I will usually dance around or sing to a good song. Hard to be sad when you are doing something like that. Good luck!

I do not suffer from it, but I would think exercise could help and maybe a support group. Just talking to people can help.

I can relate, I tend to be an emotional eater at times and it's too easy to go to food when things are rough. BUT we have to try to remember that 1) that food is going to be gone in a few minutes and our original problem will still be there, unsolved. 2) that eating our way to happiness will just add more problems usually. It usually ends in me feeling guilty and feeling depressed over how I look and what I just did. So, just try to think logically and realize this is a habit that is easy to fall into and you have to correct yourself and change your habit.

Things I like to do when I'm depressed/stress: Write. I love writing. Even if it's horrible and other people would look at it and go "man she sucks at writing" I still enjoy it and most of the time I'm able to get my feelings on paper and just doing that helps me to cope with whatever is going on. I also like playing guitar. Even if it's not perfect, or some amazing song, just strumming away is relaxing, peaceful, and usually calms me down. I also talk to my best friend, if she's available, because she knows me so well and I can usually spill everything and she helps talk me through it.

Try to find some activity that you enjoy, and force yourself to do it. Life is too short to eat ourselves into a false happiness. You're stronger than your depression, you can do this

I have battled depression most of my life. That said, when I get really down about what's going on with my life, I start to think about all of the tragic things of the world:
09/11
Joplin, MO tornado
Japan's hurricane
Starving familes around the world
etc.
Yes, that seems counterintuitive. What happens though is this: it makes me put my life in perspective is this...my stuggles are nothing in comparison. ~Nothing~

If all else fails, pray. In fact, start there, find it in the middle, and remember to give thanks when you're feeling better.
(Sorry if that was too preachy - God's gotten me through a lot, though!) :flowerforyou:

Thanks for some of the ideas....I guess I know that excercise is a great stress reliever, it's just pulling myself out of this mood to get myself on the treadmill.

Just start. That's the hard part. You will feel like you don't have the energy, but once you start, you will feel strong. Trust me.

i heard a saying a few weeks ago that i really liked: "if it isn't hunger, food won't fix it" i know it's different for everyone but i finally realized that the reason i turned to food was because at the moment the food was being eaten, all i was thinking about was how much i loved the food. it was the only time i really felt totally distracted and happy. i used food a lot. but after a while i realized that i only felt good while the food was being eaten, and that as soon as i was done eating i felt even worse than i did before i started. not only was i still upset about whatever was originally bothering me, now i was upset because i had sabotaged my plan to eat healthy, felt physically miserable because i'd eaten too much of something really unhealthy, and i felt guilty and disappointed in myself for "failing" to make healthy choices. what helped me was keeping a journal. i would take time to write down the things that were bothering me. sometimes the simple act of putting my problems on paper helped to get them out of my head, even if it was just for a little bit. something else that has REALLY helped is working out. i know it sounds silly but when i feel stronger physically i also feel stronger mentally. when i push myself during a workout and accomplish something i didn't think i could i realize i'm a lot stronger than i give myself credit for, and that i really can make it thru my emotional obstacles without using food as a "crutch". i know that you are capable of getting thru this without using food, even if you don't think you are right now. hang in there, we're all here for you!

I have battled depression most of my life. That said, when I get really down about what's going on with my life, I start to think about all of the tragic things of the world:
09/11
Joplin, MO tornado
Japan's hurricane
Starving familes around the world
etc.
Yes, that seems counterintuitive. What happens though is this: it makes me put my life in perspective is this...my stuggles are nothing in comparison. ~Nothing~

If all else fails, pray. In fact, start there, find it in the middle, and remember to give thanks when you're feeling better.
(Sorry if that was too preachy - God's gotten me through a lot, though!) :flowerforyou:

Unfortunately preaching will get a perfectly nice thread shut down since it's against the Mfp rules.

I have depression, too, and used to overeat or just plain binge eat to cope. I still do at times, but less and less. I did a week or two ago, but it was so unfulfilling that I don't think I'm going to do it again for awhile. (I kind of think for me that's how I'm going to unlearn it, by doing it and realizing it sucks, and then doing it less and less frequently until I get it into my big fat skull that it doesn't work anymore )

Now, since I still love eating, I cook big pots of vegetable soup and eat the **** out of that when I want to stuff my face. Or I knit or go to the gym or surf the web, or do something else to distract myself. Good luck