NationStates Jolt Archive

I hate this time of year at points. I get depressed easily enough as it is, thanks to my emotional immaturity I have yet to work through, but it gets so much worse at this point that I just can't stand it. Hell, last year I attempted suicide around this point of January(with a bottle of ibuprofen, admittedly, but it was still an attempt.)

So, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? I like listening to inspiring music, but unfortunately I've run quite short of that at the moment(and am actually looking for more if anyone cares to recommend some.) I also have tried spending time with our kitten Sokkwi, which works at least somewhat thanks to his cuteness and constant adoration he gives me for some reason(far more than anyone else in the family.) I used to be able to use intellectual discussion here as a way of keeping me from feeling depressed, but that hasn't worked so well lately. Most of my usual methods have also fell by the wayside, and my emotional eating has picked up--which is bad, since I'm fat as it is.

So, as I said, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? Maybe you guys do something that I can do that'll help me and anyone else who might need a new method too.

do you think its SAD or something?

bright lights usually help... although im not one to say a thing, because when i get depressed i usually just brush it by the wayside and move on to other thoughts.

do you think its SAD or something?

bright lights usually help... although im not one to say a thing, because when i get depressed i usually just brush it by the wayside and move on to other thoughts.

I thought that a possibility at one point, but I've never noticed a continuity between the amount of light--natural or artificial--and how I feel. I've become easily depressed in broad daylight and absolutely giddy in total darkness, and vice versa.

I have never really been able to brush aside depression--no, I take that back. I was able to brush aside small and medium amounts of it for a while, but somehow I've lost that ability. I can't figure out why...unless the whole Platte Canyon thing back in September affected me far more than I thought.

I thought that a possibility at one point, but I've never noticed a continuity between the amount of light--natural or artificial--and how I feel. I've become easily depressed in broad daylight and absolutely giddy in total darkness, and vice versa.

I have never really been able to brush aside depression--no, I take that back. I was able to brush aside small and medium amounts of it for a while, but somehow I've lost that ability. I can't figure out why...unless the whole Platte Canyon thing back in September affected me far more than I thought.

a friend of mine... who, ironically, was the one that made me depressed... told me to do things that i enjoyed doing alone because i was working myself to death and it worked fantastically.

maybe give it a go?

what is it with NSG and suicide?

anyway I suggest something like meditation for what ales ya, maybe some good music as well (apathy is good too)

a friend of mine... who, ironically, was the one that made me depressed... told me to do things that i enjoyed doing alone because i was working myself to death and it worked fantastically.

maybe give it a go?

Alone is how I am most of the time, though. I typically prefer to work alone and try to avoid social situations like parties because they make me immensly uncomfortable(and I can recall three separate instances where I've either broken down crying or otherwise have been rather depressed by going to such an event.)

Call: I've tried meditation before, but I may give it a go again. As for good music, do you have some suggestions as to songs?

Alone is how I am most of the time, though. I typically prefer to work alone and try to avoid social situations like parties because they make me immensly uncomfortable(and I can recall three separate instances where I've either broken down crying or otherwise have been rather depressed by going to such an event.)

Call: I've tried meditation before, but I may give it a go again. As for good music, do you have some suggestions as to songs?

Ah, you see, the friend i was referring to is anti-social and so am i... sort of. okay, fine, im shy. i love social interaction with a person or two but with more im uncomfortable. hence the whole doing it alone kind of thing.

and, honestly, apathy kills more than it helps in these kinds of situations.

Ah, you see, the friend i was referring to is anti-social and so am i... sort of. okay, fine, im shy. i love social interaction with a person or two but with more im uncomfortable. hence the whole doing it alone kind of thing.

and, honestly, apathy kills more than it helps in these kinds of situations.

Aye. Strange thing, though, back when I worked at Wendy's, I used to love helping customers because helping people made me feel better. I took a job at King Sooper's for a short while a couple weeks ago but then the first major smack of depression hit me and I just quit before getting two weeks into the propationary period. Which was really stupid of me since now I have nowhere else I can work. (Luckily I still live with my parents.)

Almost everyone is seasonally affected to some degree or other. I'm also one of the more affected. I really dislike winter time. I feel it starting usually around the end of september or begining of October and I know there's nothing I can do about it. I just have to "weather" it if you'll excuse the pun. Some years are better than others. Call me emo if you like, I do tend to wear dark clothing :P I'm too old to care what label people stick on me these days :D

As for your mood swings depression is exactly like that. I find I can be happy and cheerful when I need to be (in the presence of others usually because its expected of me) but the cost later is the downswing which can last for weeks. On the other hand it can switch back very quickly. This isn't bipolar disorder though, I know I don't have that. I personally suffer from a non casual depression that can hit at any time for no reason whatsoever. Although if there is a cause as well it worsens it. Looking back I can see I was like this even as young as 10 years old though I had no concept of what was wrong back then. The worst for me was between the years of 15 and 25 and I had a bad patch for about 3 years starting in 2002 (I'm 35 now, 36 next summer).

My advice is don't be afraid to go for help. Part of the condition is feeling that it's not worth bothering anyone about which only serves to make you feel worse for being totally crap. People will tell you "pills aren't the cure" - no they're not a cure but they are a helping hand. They can keep you up long enough for your brain chemistry to start sorting itself out again. That's the thing about people that suffer from depression (non causal) when you're happy you'll tend to stay happy, when you're down you'll tend to stay down because there's something funky going on with neurotransmitter production.

I don't usually spout this in public but I dont really see the harm here because nobody actually knows who I am :P and besides if anyone recognises in themselves what I'm on about then it's worth baring my soul a little.

Aye. Strange thing, though, back when I worked at Wendy's, I used to love helping customers because helping people made me feel better. I took a job at King Sooper's for a short while a couple weeks ago but then the first major smack of depression hit me and I just quit before getting two weeks into the propationary period. Which was really stupid of me since now I have nowhere else I can work. (Luckily I still live with my parents.)

hah. i live with my parents as well, but i work a little caesars locally and im just starting college... i work 31+ hours a week, plus i go to class 16 hours, so i get burned out easily.

take a day off and just plan something. i mean, i blew $60 just going to a go kart track after taking a prep test for college and it took loads off of my mind.

I get very depressed sometimes. The way I seem to get through is by sticking music like Pennywise, Social Distortion, Dropkick Murphys on (seems to say to me "life is shit sometimes, get on with things and that there is more to life"), then when I feel a little better I put on some ska-punk like Reel Big Fish.

I also read Terry Pratchett books, just because I love them so much.

I seem to have what Mogtaria describes. I've stayed off pills because I know that I'll get addicted (I'm just like that) and have managed to find a couple of friends that have helped me a shitload. I'm not emo in the least, I have depression but don't actually like emo music and find it makes me more depressed than I was in the first place.

My advice is don't be afraid to go for help. Part of the condition is feeling that it's not worth bothering anyone about which only serves to make you feel worse for being totally crap. People will tell you "pills aren't the cure" - no they're not a cure but they are a helping hand. They can keep you up long enough for your brain chemistry to start sorting itself out again. That's the thing about people that suffer from depression (non causal) when you're happy you'll tend to stay happy, when you're down you'll tend to stay down because there's something funky going on with neurotransmitter production.

One thing I've never been afraid of is asking for help. You'd be surprised at how often I tend to ask others for advice on decisions, almost commitee style, actually.(Possibly influenced by the spending of my early childhood watching ST: TNG with all those episodes of Picard doing the same thing with his command staff.)

However, I won't touch medication now, mainly because I used to be on it for a while and it never helped much. It did at first, but later I discovered it to be mostly a placebo affect and since then it stopped being useful entirely. I thank you, though, for the advice.

Holidayman: I can't exactly just go anywhere though. See, if you look up Pine Colorado, you'll note that it's a rather tiny sprawling place on Highway 285 about 50 miles from Denver up in the mountains. There's very little around, which is why the only job opportunities at Wendy's and King Sooper's that I had were all I could have. Even those were a wee bit away in Aspen Park(not the Aspen you're thinking of. That's far to the west of where I am.) This isolation is fine and dandy for the most part, but it does make certain things difficult.

One thing I've never been afraid of is asking for help. You'd be surprised at how often I tend to ask others for advice on decisions, almost commitee style, actually.(Possibly influenced by the spending of my early childhood watching ST: TNG with all those episodes of Picard doing the same thing with his command staff.)

However, I won't touch medication now, mainly because I used to be on it for a while and it never helped much. It did at first, but later I discovered it to be mostly a placebo affect and since then it stopped being useful entirely. I thank you, though, for the advice.

Holidayman: I can't exactly just go anywhere though. See, if you look up Pine Colorado, you'll note that it's a rather tiny sprawling place on Highway 285 about 50 miles from Denver up in the mountains. There's very little around, which is why the only job opportunities at Wendy's and King Sooper's that I had were all I could have. Even those were a wee bit away in Aspen Park(not the Aspen you're thinking of. That's far to the west of where I am.) This isolation is fine and dandy for the most part, but it does make certain things difficult.

yeah, that does make it difficult, doesnt it? kind of how working every weekend and having no social life makes it hard for me to feel like going places...

well, anyway, i know that music doesnt always help. it usually in one way or another makes me think of the thing im trying not to think of. like, for example, listening to music by a band that was introduced to you by a person that broke up with you. music helps people think and the major problem with depression is thinking about bad things too much.

One thing I've never been afraid of is asking for help. You'd be surprised at how often I tend to ask others for advice on decisions, almost commitee style, actually.(Possibly influenced by the spending of my early childhood watching ST: TNG with all those episodes of Picard doing the same thing with his command staff.)

However, I won't touch medication now, mainly because I used to be on it for a while and it never helped much. It did at first, but later I discovered it to be mostly a placebo affect and since then it stopped being useful entirely. I thank you, though, for the advice.

Holidayman: I can't exactly just go anywhere though. See, if you look up Pine Colorado, you'll note that it's a rather tiny sprawling place on Highway 285 about 50 miles from Denver up in the mountains. There's very little around, which is why the only job opportunities at Wendy's and King Sooper's that I had were all I could have. Even those were a wee bit away in Aspen Park(not the Aspen you're thinking of. That's far to the west of where I am.) This isolation is fine and dandy for the most part, but it does make certain things difficult.

I understand entirely, I tried several medications before I found one that worked, and then when I used the one that worked a second time it didn't. One of the things I've found that helps loads is just talking to someone who can tell YOU how YOU feel rather than you having to explain to them, because they have been through the same thing. I often find that when trying to explain what's wrong to someone who doesn't understand, my words sound hollow, petty and whiney to my own ears, which of course doesn't help me any at all.

over here in the Chicagoland area its cold, but thanks to that nifty el ninyo nonsence its not snowing. That's right, its been raining. No snow friends. Only cold, cold, cold, cold, wet, suicidle, rain. Hope that helps i mean, at least snow is pretty.

Therapists are also a mixed bunch. I've had 2. The first one was crap, his technique was to tell me all about the stuff that he'd been through and it just served to point out how crap and whiney I was being because it made me feel like I was wasting his time. The second one was really fun to talk to, and in appearance he was like a stereotypical grandfather - white beard, cardigan, glasses, slightly balding white hair and "portly" as they say :).

I understand entirely, I tried several medications before I found one that worked, and then when I used the one that worked a second time it didn't. One of the things I've found that helps loads is just talking to someone who can tell YOU how YOU feel rather than you having to explain to them, because they have been through the same thing. I often find that when trying to explain what's wrong to someone who doesn't understand, my words sound hollow, petty and whiney to my own ears, which of course doesn't help me any at all.

Well, finding psychologists and counselors where I live is incredibly difficult. I had a few sessions with a friendly counselor back at high school, but I've not had a single chance to talk to one since I graduated.

Hop: I'd like for it to rain instead of snow for once. We keep being hit with the absolute worst part of these storms here in Colorado and it's driving me nuts, because all I've got to drive is a minivan with front wheel drive and that thing is going NOWHERE with three or more inches of snow on our short--but steep--driveway, let alone the couple of feet we get smacked with every time.

Hehe, like I said, Ive only seen 2 and a total of about 10 sessions in 35 years total. I live in a city of 265,000 people and there's a waiting list of 3 months to see a counsellor here. Then it's usually a month between sessions because of the workload.

hah. i live with my parents as well, but i work a little caesars locally and im just starting college... i work 31+ hours a week, plus i go to class 16 hours, so i get burned out easily.

take a day off and just plan something. i mean, i blew $60 just going to a go kart track after taking a prep test for college and it took loads off of my mind.

Actually, with true SAD, some of the things mentioned are inaccurate. You don't have to feel affected by light in any way (I love the night!) to need a light lamp. It DOES make a difference. Also, anti-depressants during the winter will help.

True SAD can get you to the point where you can't do the things listed above, and if you can, there is no solace.

I am an extroverted social person, so being with people helps, however, the light lamp and anti-depressants are the first line defense. The lamp should be used SEPTEMBER TO APRIL!

After all, this isn't just "Cabin Fever", or being bummed. It's a chemical change in the brain. You take insulin for diabetes, you take an anti-depressant for SAD. It IS a form of depression.

See a good psychiatrist. It will likely do loads of good. And those who say "pills aren't the answer"; do they say that to diabetics? No difference... chemical imbalance that has to be adjusted, although for SAD it is only a few months out of the year...

And for the person who said they had ups and downs and mood swings but was not bipolar, (can't remember who it was), you sound cyclothymic, which is also something that should be treated. It isn't full blown depression, and it isn't even hypomania... just up and down... no sense in living with that when you don't have to.

These aren't things you can just get rid of with willpower or meditation, any more than you can meditate away matastesized cancer.

Hope that helps... just see a good shrink and get a REAL light lamp! Not just any old lamp you buy will work.

Good luck! :)

Being more depressed in the winter seems quite reasonable. Attempting suicide is obviously too depressed, but how could you expect to experience the joy of spring if winter had been all hunky-dory?

Make sure you're getting sun on your skin (vit D) and for music ... the Magic Flute by Mozart. Almost any Mozart for that matter.

Its funny how easy the answer is, but no one seems to write it down:

People.

You see, no matter who you are, if you spend a lot of time alone, you will get depressed. You need people to talk too, share with, get happy with.

It doesnt need to be a party. It can be just one person. But you need her. Spending time alone, in a room, bored, for days, will make anyone depressed.

I hate this time of year at points. I get depressed easily enough as it is, thanks to my emotional immaturity I have yet to work through, but it gets so much worse at this point that I just can't stand it. Hell, last year I attempted suicide around this point of January(with a bottle of ibuprofen, admittedly, but it was still an attempt.)

So, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? I like listening to inspiring music, but unfortunately I've run quite short of that at the moment(and am actually looking for more if anyone cares to recommend some.) I also have tried spending time with our kitten Sokkwi, which works at least somewhat thanks to his cuteness and constant adoration he gives me for some reason(far more than anyone else in the family.) I used to be able to use intellectual discussion here as a way of keeping me from feeling depressed, but that hasn't worked so well lately. Most of my usual methods have also fell by the wayside, and my emotional eating has picked up--which is bad, since I'm fat as it is.

So, as I said, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? Maybe you guys do something that I can do that'll help me and anyone else who might need a new method too.

wow you sound a lot like me. its uncanny.

i hate this time of year, too. the grey skies, the cold, the dead trees... eugh. in the past i used to get depressed this time of year and just sorta... wallow in it. now i'm on meds for the depression and its not as bad this year as it has been. still fucking fed up with this season, the bleakness, the grey... but not getting depressed soley about that. i think it is affecting my aptitude to become depressed - its easier for other things to kick it off at the mo - but it is better this year.

my basic plan is to move somewhere warm like australia and hopefully be rid of this bleakness here in england.

the weather is gray here too, but in addition i have exams soon. so i've not been outside since monday (literaly) and my social life has been reduced to zero.
but i'm quite happy. i have stuff to do (study) but today (13.10) i haven't done a thing for school, and it feels soooo good. i have also cooked, wich was cool. and listening to music, it helps a lot. i'm listening to devendra banhart at the moment, and he makes me happy.

Yeah, but I´ve learned that talking before going to study really improves my learning skills.

Yeah, but I´ve learned that talking before going to study really improves my learning skills.

well, i could really need a study improvement boost. i can't focus for longer then a few minutes. the only thing is that i'm alone right now, so no talking for me. and i've experienced that if i talk a lot before i'm going to study i think a lot about the conversation i had.
maybe i should get some physical exercise or something because i've been sitting/laying for 2 weeks now.

and listening to music, it helps a lot. i'm listening to devendra banhart at the moment, and he makes me happy.

actually, thinking about it, music is good for happy-mood making. heavy/angry music takes the grey away :)

actually, thinking about it, music is good for happy-mood making. heavy/angry music takes the grey away :)

i'm not really a fan of heavy/angry music, maybe lyricaly but not su much musicaly. (maybe extreme noise would be an exception but i only listen to that when i'm angry.)
but seeing how many people listen to heavy/angry music i kinf of hope it is good for happy-mood making, because otherwise ... there would be a lot of people in a bad mood i guess :)

Dunno, the only way I can really enjoy music is when I can relate it to something I´ve experienced recently.

And about thinking of what you´ve talked about, that happens with me too. But I take the time to think about them, then go to study.

If you´re alone, just call someone and waste time speaking about bullshit. That works, specially when its someone from the oposite gender.

If you´re alone, just call someone and waste time speaking about bullshit. That works, specially when its someone from the oposite gender.

meh, i'd just be thinking about sex all the time (if it's possible to think more about that :p ) and with the exams, i don't know if a lot of my friends want to be disturbed, they are probably all working really hard right now, i should start too :(.

{{{hugs}}} for all the depressed people.
Then some {{{hugs}}} for the people who aren't depressed, so they don't feel left out and get depressed because of it.

I'm not especially fond of winter. I can end up not leaving the house for over a week if I'm not careful. I just can't face doing anything, and so my productivity, and essay writing ability just turns to nothing.

The odd thing I find about not wanting to leave the house is that it's the only thing which makes me feel better. I sit in the house loathing how cold and drab it is outside, yet one 30 minute walk along the river can have me in the best of moods by the end of the walk and working on an essay for the rest of the day. And that's despite me not liking the cold and the wetness. It's quite odd really.

There is nothing to be depressed about yet.

God damn warm weather.

I hate this time of year at points. I get depressed easily enough as it is, thanks to my emotional immaturity I have yet to work through, but it gets so much worse at this point that I just can't stand it. Hell, last year I attempted suicide around this point of January(with a bottle of ibuprofen, admittedly, but it was still an attempt.)

So, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? I like listening to inspiring music, but unfortunately I've run quite short of that at the moment(and am actually looking for more if anyone cares to recommend some.) I also have tried spending time with our kitten Sokkwi, which works at least somewhat thanks to his cuteness and constant adoration he gives me for some reason(far more than anyone else in the family.) I used to be able to use intellectual discussion here as a way of keeping me from feeling depressed, but that hasn't worked so well lately. Most of my usual methods have also fell by the wayside, and my emotional eating has picked up--which is bad, since I'm fat as it is.

So, as I said, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? Maybe you guys do something that I can do that'll help me and anyone else who might need a new method too.
Start by loving yourself. Find a friend to share intimate moments with. Exercise, go for a walk or join a club. Volunteer to help those less fortunate. Go for a professional massage. Find a hobby. Read a book that makes you smile. Go to a movie (comedy preferred). Get counselling?

sunshine! seriously going outside for a walk for an hour really makes me feel better, I think I read that the sunshine releases some chemical or hormone or something.......also the exercise is good, and since I walk alone, it's quiet time.

oh, and if it gets to the point that you want to hurt yourself again, please seek help from someone who can and will help you......I really mean that.

oh, and ibuprofen is dangerous if you take too much.

maybe you could get one of these lamps that imitates sunlight. i heard they help against winter depressions (or however you call that).
and the professional massage also sounds like a good idea. really i could kill for one now.

sunshine! seriously going outside for a walk for an hour really makes me feel better, I think I read that the sunshine releases some chemical or hormone or something.......

ahahahahahahahaha..... sunshine? sunshine??? hahahaha :p :p


not here in england, luv

ahahahahahahahaha..... sunshine? sunshine??? hahahaha :p :p


not here in england, luvYou can still get bracing fresh air though... it... ummm... builds character?

You can still get bracing fresh air though... it... ummm... builds character?

melts your face, more like ;)


edit: hows the slipped disc btw smunkee?

maybe you could get one of these lamps that imitates sunlight. i heard they help against winter depressions (or however you call that).
and the professional massage also sounds like a good idea. really i could kill for one now.

You could kill for a massage? Try rugby!

On the sunlight/vitamin D thing, I've heard that mustard oil on the skin makes a bit of sunlight more effective. (Might be hippy BS, I get a bit of that.) It's one vitamin you can't get from pills, though there are co-factors.

You could kill for a massage? Try rugby!


i don't know, i like watching it, but i think i'd prefer a gentler massage, by a good looking young lady if possible (instead of a bulldozer-type-rugby-player-guy)

I hate this time of year at points. I get depressed easily enough as it is, thanks to my emotional immaturity I have yet to work through, but it gets so much worse at this point that I just can't stand it. Hell, last year I attempted suicide around this point of January(with a bottle of ibuprofen, admittedly, but it was still an attempt.)

So, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? I like listening to inspiring music, but unfortunately I've run quite short of that at the moment(and am actually looking for more if anyone cares to recommend some.) I also have tried spending time with our kitten Sokkwi, which works at least somewhat thanks to his cuteness and constant adoration he gives me for some reason(far more than anyone else in the family.) I used to be able to use intellectual discussion here as a way of keeping me from feeling depressed, but that hasn't worked so well lately. Most of my usual methods have also fell by the wayside, and my emotional eating has picked up--which is bad, since I'm fat as it is.

So, as I said, what do you guys do to keep you from feeling depressed? Maybe you guys do something that I can do that'll help me and anyone else who might need a new method too.



Find someone to cuddle...?

I find simply engaging my brain in something, regardless of what it is, generally helps. The depression seems like a subconscious thought that can only be surpressed by conscious effort on my part. But try to do something active and slightly unpredictable. Video games aren't so good, they are too routine. I enjoy playing the piano, or reading a novel. But the best way is to interact with people, as someone said earlier. Even if its just one person, he/she can really lift you for a time, if only short.

melts your face, more like ;)


edit: hows the slipped disc btw smunkee?:eek: Your secret identity is safe with me wicked witch of the west! *bows down and trembles*

However, I won't touch medication now, mainly because I used to be on it for a while and it never helped much. It did at first, but later I discovered it to be mostly a placebo affect and since then it stopped being useful entirely. I thank you, though, for the advice.


Don't give up on meds too easily. It took me well over a decade of trying pill after pill after pill before I found one that actually helped me - but I did find one that actually helped me. (For that matter, therapy can be much the same way - I've gone to six or seven therapists in my life, of whom five or six were fairly useless and one was a godsend.)

As for other suggestions for little ways to fight depression - make yourself exercise at least a little every day. I personally recommend shutting yourself in your room, putting on cheesy upbeat music, and dancing around like an idiot. The goal of this should not be to look suave and coordinated; the goal should be to get your heart rate up while making yourself laugh at your own ridiculousness. Stay out of dimly-lit rooms. Treat yourself to something fun or tasty or nice every day - take a bubble bath, eat a chocolate bar, download a new song from iTunes, bake brownies, reread a favorite book. Play with your kitten. Make yourself go to bed at night and sleep during the day - no staying up till 3 AM or sleeping till noon. Set simple, achievable goals for yourself, and congratulate yourself upon completing them.

I'm sure I could come up with more advice, but that's probably enough to get you started. :)

I actually like this time of year. I don't tend to get depressed, I get comfortably drowsy, gravitate towards warm comfy poufy chairs and couches, wrap myself in soft flannel blankets, make hot cocoa or coffee (with, perhaps, something stronger added), turn the tv to something inane, grab a book I can ignore and proceed to doze the winter away. Unless my daughter, who has a severe case of ambition rips me from my hibernation to run one of her endless, pointless errands, then I get depressed.

What has helped with me is just recognising that the winter is going to be a bad time of year. That took a long time...I didn't buy into Seasonal Affective Disorder, and to a large extent, I still don't. I think it really has to do with the amount of stress that arises this time of year, and the lack of outdoor time you get, unless you're a huge fan of snow, which I'm not. So, knowing it's coming helps, because if you let it sneak up on you, you tend to let yourself believe it's something totally wrong with your life in general instead of a slump that you should have expected.

Then, I figure out what about this time of year makes it so hard. Getting out more is important, keeping active. And noticing when you aren't being totally rational, and recognising that it's the depression. Don't make any life altering (or ending) decisions during this time.