depression

it's pretty pathetic to ask for help and advice on a site like this, but I've been depressed for several months now. what should i do?

you have multiple options

1) Seek psychiatric help.

2) Consult your primary physician on options.

3) Attempt a change in diet, sleep habits, drug usage, and/or exercise.

I would start with these three, and see what possibilities arise.

Depression is rough, but it can be maintained with a proper, individualized routine/form of therapy.

1) well my last psychologist wich i had a half year ago sucked beacouse she didn't help me with what i seeked help for (depression).

i mentioned this guy that i just couldnt stand at school and then the whole therapy went on that. so im not doing that again.

2) tried meds. dont like it.

3) well that actually might work. thanks

If you want to talk to a completely impartial person with no vested interest (IE not here to take your money) about things, you can PM me.

And no place is "pathetic" to ask for help. Everyone "looks" for help in different ways, places, etc. Keep that in mind...

  On 8/14/2012 at 3:01 AM, anonymstol said:

1) well my last psychologist wich i had a half year ago sucked beacouse she didn't help me with what i seeked help for (depression).

i mentioned this guy that i just couldnt stand at school and then the whole therapy went on that. so im not doing that again.

2) tried meds. dont like it.

3) well that actually might work. thanks

Your primary physician may be able to offer you advice that doesn't involve prescription meds. Perhaps a hotline, or an organization he knows locally that deals with this sort of thing.

Depression is not conquered via one, intact, soluble thing. Just remember that if you get frustrated. Good luck.

remember everything in the world is just an illusion

  On 8/14/2012 at 3:42 AM, logakght said:

remember everything in the world is just an illusion

I seriously believe in that. I've believed in that since i was 13.

what does that mean?

Cue philosophy debate on watmm.

Also, different people have different experiences with depression and with doctors. I've heard of doctors basically just blaming the patient and saying "shape up". Personally, I have a very good experience with a psychiatrist. However, my depression was linked with an actual negative situation in my life, making it easier to treat. I know people who just have depression, not linked to anything they can change, and sometimes they react positively to drugs, sometimes not.

I think, as far as things go, several months isn't super bad. I had depression for a couple years, and it's fading away with time now. Sometimes time solves things. Is there something that's causing your depression?

It's pretty normal to feel a bit depressed at age 15, you are neither mussel nor fish at that age and most parents/teachers have no clue how to handle that

lol you don't need a psychiatrist, just go chase girls/boys, do what you think is fun and listen to music

but trust me, on the sunscreen

  On 8/14/2012 at 4:12 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

what does that mean?

-

  On 8/14/2012 at 5:11 AM, Root5 said:

Cue philosophy debate on watmm.

 

Also, different people have different experiences with depression and with doctors. I've heard of doctors basically just blaming the patient and saying "shape up". Personally, I have a very good experience with a psychiatrist. However, my depression was linked with an actual negative situation in my life, making it easier to treat. I know people who just have depression, not linked to anything they can change, and sometimes they react positively to drugs, sometimes not.

 

I think, as far as things go, several months isn't super bad. I had depression for a couple years, and it's fading away with time now. Sometimes time solves things. Is there something that's causing your depression?

well i've been depressed since 8th grade (wich is 9th grade in america i think?) and since then its uasually been like i'm depressed for maybe a half year and then i'm pretty happy a couple of months and then i get depressed again.

well i went trough a lot of pretty hard bullying over 8th grade (yes even physical violence) beacouse i came out as bisexual. i dont blame them though, i live in the country and people are retarded, scared and close minded around here. so they probably thought/think i'm one of those pink stereotypes when i actually consider myself more manly than the rest of them. and i use a lot of time to annoy myself over assholes. maybe thats a part of the problem.

  On 8/14/2012 at 4:12 AM, Smettingham Rutherford IV said:

what does that mean?

it means that this life is just a virtual reality. and when i die it has only been 5 seconds of my real life and then i can just put some money in the virtual life machine again and live a new life.

I'm not going to approach the kind of depression that psychiatrists call a chemical imbalance. You are a human being and are never broken, you are just the way nature made you. Don't underestimate your ability to change your attention. This includes changing your habits. it's good to start there.

Do a lot less drugs, primarily alcohol but also caffeine and nicotine. Maybe change your diet. Then start looking into doing new things with your life.

The difficult part is always finding the motivation and energy for doing new things when the old negative habits have sapped you of all of that. The prime pitfall is wanting immediate results, it doesn't work that way. If your depression is worth calling depression, you're gonna struggle with alot of bad shit. Anyway, before you know it you're going to feel alive again. The hard part, then, is not going back into the familiar and negative habits because you feel safer with yourself, because otherwise you're going to go back to feeling shit for long periods.

The key here is not looking to just fix your broken brain so you don't have to feel sad, but carefully finding out, through trial and error, how you actually work. What takes you into hopeless mode, what takes you into happy and relaxed mode, and so forth.

Most of the time I believe depression is a symptom that you're stuck with self image issues that don't fit the self image that you want, but you're afraid of actually being the person you want to be because the world is a scary place. There's no good, easy answer to that, except that the whole "self vs. other" philosophical conundrum is an illusion, we are all one and there's nothing to worry about. Maybe you won't cure your depression altogether but you might find it easier to cope with.

  On 8/14/2012 at 3:01 AM, anonymstol said:

well my last psychologist wich i had a half year ago sucked beacouse she didn't help me with what i seeked help for (depression).

i mentioned this guy that i just couldnt stand at school and then the whole therapy went on that. so im not doing that again.

well, there are a lot of different psychologists out there with very different methods. a good psychologist is a great help and gives a lot of hope, but its is hard and daunting to find one.

  On 8/14/2012 at 3:04 AM, StephenG said:

And no place is "pathetic" to ask for help. Everyone "looks" for help in different ways, places, etc. Keep that in mind...

Good point.

  On 8/14/2012 at 11:45 AM, chimera slot mom said:

Most of the time I believe depression is a symptom that you're stuck with self image issues that don't fit the self image that you want, but you're afraid of actually being the person you want to be because the world is a scary place.

Very good point. Except for physical reasons or some disturbing experiences, probably that's the formula for depression.

I myself get stuck in depression for months since puberty, but I also smoke a lot of weed, which makes it hard to know where it comes from. I wish I would get more self confident and start to live actually, but I'm not doing shit.

Well, the best thing to do is to cheer up.

what a great advice. wish you were my psychologist.

Glad I could help.

What are your sleeping patterns like? How much time do you spend on the computer and how much outside in the daylight? What's your diet like?

Don't sleep in too much, go for a run first thing in the morning. Start up a new hobby, something that you've never considered before.

Read a book before you go to bed (on paper, not on screen). Write a journal (on paper, not on screen).

I hope my suggestions aren't coming across as banal and condescending. You may be doing all of these things already. And I'm not saying any of these things will solve the bigger problems in your life. But you'd be surprised how the little things, put together, can make a big difference when it comes to your general outlook and well-being.

Some good advice in this thread. Don't really have anything else to add other than loads of people have suffered depression and got better. I'm sure you will too!

  On 8/14/2012 at 11:45 AM, chimera slot mom said:

I'm not going to approach the kind of depression that psychiatrists call a chemical imbalance. You are a human being and are never broken, you are just the way nature made you. Don't underestimate your ability to change your attention. This includes changing your habits. it's good to start there.

 

Do a lot less drugs, primarily alcohol but also caffeine and nicotine. Maybe change your diet. Then start looking into doing new things with your life.

 

The difficult part is always finding the motivation and energy for doing new things when the old negative habits have sapped you of all of that. The prime pitfall is wanting immediate results, it doesn't work that way. If your depression is worth calling depression, you're gonna struggle with alot of bad shit. Anyway, before you know it you're going to feel alive again. The hard part, then, is not going back into the familiar and negative habits because you feel safer with yourself, because otherwise you're going to go back to feeling shit for long periods.

 

The key here is not looking to just fix your broken brain so you don't have to feel sad, but carefully finding out, through trial and error, how you actually work. What takes you into hopeless mode, what takes you into happy and relaxed mode, and so forth.

 

Most of the time I believe depression is a symptom that you're stuck with self image issues that don't fit the self image that you want, but you're afraid of actually being the person you want to be because the world is a scary place. There's no good, easy answer to that, except that the whole "self vs. other" philosophical conundrum is an illusion, we are all one and there's nothing to worry about. Maybe you won't cure your depression altogether but you might find it easier to cope with.

QFT. Wise words, sir.

I`ve suffered with it since my late teens, never really got any help[medication didn`t help]so I`ve had to learn to live/deal with it my own way. It seems pretty deep rooted, like a sickness of the soul/a loneliness or something.

Exercise helps a lot, it clears the mind, and try take time out to relax[a nice bit of silence doing nothing/or a bit of drawing. But just try different things and see if anything helps. Good luck.

Mostly what chimera said. Stop using drugs for a while. I can't stress exercising enough. Normal-folk depression (Non-chemical-imbalance related shit) is largely due to too much energy, and too little energy expenditure, in my experience. You will feel so much better if you wake up and take a run, or just take a few minutes out of your morning to do some pushups and situps. Give it a shot.

went on a long bike ride today (15 km) like i used to do in 7th and 8th grade (8th and 9th grade in america) while listening to acid jazz. although i would bike about 30 km back then every second day, but it was still awesome. it's such a nice weather today too. i gotta start doing this more often.