How did u recover from Depression ?
If you’re still here, then depression has been failing and you’ve been winning
Local Man too angry to die
If only that were the truth. Many of those stuck with depression are simply too afraid to die or choose to stay for kids, family, friends, gf, pet, etc.
This, I'm only here for my daughter
I am not afraid to die. I would honestly just rather stay alive.
This is legit good
One of the most oddly motivational things I've heard... "I haven't ended it so I'm winning"
I love this.
Aka “I get knocked down, but I get up again.”
- Chumbawamba
haha this is a good mantra
It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll
I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.
This is my mantra.
I don't think you can ever truly "recover", we can only manage. I've tried every prescription available for decades to find something that worked. Most only "sort of" worked until I found marijuana.
I'm a very strait-laced corporate professional, so I held off trying it for as long as possible. Unfortunately, it is what works best for me. NO ONE but my wife knows I use it, and I only take edibles to avoid the smell (and I've never smoked in my life). My entire family and my colleagues have all noticed a marked improvement in my mood and demeanor.
It's really been a life saver. I'm not advocating drug use, but this one thing worked miracles for me. I have my quality of life back. I take one 10mg edible twice a day, and I'm a new person. It's just enough to help mood and anxiety, but not enough that I seem like I'm on drugs.
You can’t end on a loss!!
Recover? Bless your good heart, but depression and I are conjoined twins, so I learned to live with it decades ago.
For real it's terrible.
I hope u get to recover and feel better about urself and Life. Stay strong my mate, it needs more than heart to be like you, most people don't realize it, but the strength, resilience and effort are definitely admirable.
Keep it up my man.
I think you don't quite understand what Depression is and that's okay. As someone with MDD it's not something I'll ever "recover" from, it's something I'll likely have to learn to live with for the rest of my life.
Just adding to this, the best thing I ever did was patiently and carefully explaining to my husband what the bad patches felt like and the coping mechanisms I've built over the years to try and soften them. He used to get really nervous and worried, convinced it was somehow his fault, and that made things worse because I could see how much it was fucking him up and that just made the black fog darker. I'm not going to recover, but I can limit the impact it has on the people that matter. Now he knows its just a thing my brain does sometimes and he's there to help me ride it out. He's got a bad back, I've got the black fog. They're unpredictable in the same way and we get it.
Learn to live is a strong statement to remember. It’s just Life. Even people without these thoughts and feelings feel down sometimes. Focus on the good you can see and try to keep pushing. Always. Love you friend
I don’t disagree with your comment and the sentiment, but depression for most is more than just feeling down sometimes. Not to take away from anyone who is feeling down. This is not to take away from anyone else’s struggles, but I wanted to point out this is a different struggle.
Get to recover. Yeah, no offense OP. That never will ever help
OP not completely wrong here though… But OP, two types of depression… Caused by something (which you can maybe recover from), or genetically passed down (which you can’t really recover from, but treat).
Yes. Healthy gamer gg has a good video on “congruent depression”. I tried hard to medicalize situational depression till two ECT referrals in 6m made me realize it was time to change the situation.
Depression is no longer
This is a very accurate description and something I’m learning to understand and accept as well
Okay you didn’t need to make me cry like that
Yup, sweet summer child...
There’s a spectrum to it, so I often wonder if claims like this are coming from a version of it that’s not severe. If it’s the real, clinical, all-consuming kind - you can’t live with it untreated. But I’m assuming “learning to live with it” means it’s not medicated.
got away from social media. YES including reddit. Plus the classic therapy, exercise, etc. Once things got better I came back to reddit.
"came back to reddit" for round 2?
Depression 2: now is personal
So like by the next day you got better?????
The SSRI meds saved me from calling it quits. I know that I’m one of the few they seemed to help.
Same thing. SSRI, therapy, cutting back on (bad) work, more excercise, more peace and quiet. I'm good now, but I still have this thought in the back of my head: "Be careful, it might come back. Don't take more than you can handle."
But I'm finding that I grew a lot stronger and resilient in the 20 years that passed since then.
It helped me too, I was worried about trying it because of all the typical things you hear about them. I feel like it’s given a big portion of my life back.
They do help a lot of people, but it takes time and usually therapy as well. Not sure about the statistics, but my guess would be somewhere between 50% and 70% of people do get at least some help from them
For me, it helped to discover that SSRIs aren't the only type of medication available. After multiple failed therapies with SSRIs including all types of dose changes and side effects almost worse than the depression itself, Wellbutrin saved my life.
Wellbutrin and Zoloft saved my life.
Same here. First day after my first dose, it was like a bolt of lightning hit me. I felt totally different and better than I ever had in my life.
They absolutely worked for me. 100%. You have to persevere with them for a couple of months and keep on them.
Ignore the negative views on them, they really are a wonder medication in my opinion.
Depression is a disorder, not a mere temporary emotion you just recover from one day. It comes and goes for a lot of people and takes dilligence to recognize the signs and strength to ask for help. It's possible to beat it, but the reality is that it is a constant passenger in most people's lives who suffer from it.
It's when everything is going good in life, new kid, great job, family and friends who love you, and you don't feel anything at all. You don't want to eat your favorite food anymore, music doesn't give you rhythm anymore, all your favorite shows are shit, and you torment yourself by saying you probably deserve it. Why? No reason. But you feel like a failure and all of your success is meaningless. That's depression. Having a room and life full of people who love you and you feel like you're alone treading water. Not even sad, just existing without the ability to care.
I know your heart is in the right place here, but "you'll get better soon!" falls flatter than Taylor Swifts ass to somebody with depression, and shows a lack of experience with the disease. You can't love somebody out of depression, it has to be a deep personal choice that rewrites who the person is. It draws parallels with addiction in that way and usually they are deeply connected.
The issue is that "depression" tends to be understood as either :
-A disorder that can only be treated with meds (if you're lucky)
-A temporary episode with a clear cause that can be adressed with time and effort, like after a bad breakup or the loss of a loved one
For most people, the second definition is the one they typically associate with the term "depression", which makes sense, because pretty much anyone can and will eventually fall into this state at some point in their life, or maybe one of their friends, while "actual" depression is much rarer and tends not be talked about as much.
This is why you see so many people tell you that they "hope you get better" or that "you should go outside, because it helped me", or that running will release endorphins,... They will think of it as you being in the same state as they were after their first girlfriend left them, that you fell into a pit of despair and simply need someone to throw you a rope and for you to find the strength to climb out of it.
To me, depression feels like having an unquenchable thirst but all you are offered is food. No matter how well-cooked and tasty your steak is, I will still feel the need to drink after the meal.
- >falls flatter than Taylor Swifts ass
☝🏻 This is hilarious
- You did a really good job explaining depression. It's bad enough on its own, but it's intensified when there are other mental disorders. I have a family history of depression on both sides, so either way I would've developed it at some point in my life. I couldn't control when I developed it, but I can control how to develop with it.
Psilocybin mushrooms 🤷♂️
I call it the psilocybin reset and do it 1-2 times a year. Keep depression at bay and makes me feel normal !
Step one: eat 🍄 Step two: 🤮 Step three: 🤫 Step four: 🙃
For me it's usually just 🍄 🤫 🙃
Do you do it alone? I had pretty "meh" effects by taking truffles alone.
I have them alone and set my intention to heal and repair. Once they come on a let them take over and try to focus on healing and it usually works wonders for me.
Probably on nature, right? That's what I've done so far. Unfortunately, we are having a rather rainy summer here.
I second this!!
This. Sometimes it starts creeping back but I fend it off with what I call a positive snowball effect. Start by doing positive things in your control like cleaning, yard work, exercise. You got this
This is the way. Just work on something you can work on and make it better. If it’s cleaning your room, cleaning your car, making a good meal, etc. do something you have the power to do. It can be really small. But a small win is a win and it can be the first step towards bigger wins.
I microdose regularly and it has been pivotal in my healing. Combine that with eating healthy and more exercise (mostly walking) and I feel so much better.
This 100% i walk like a mother fucker now since my mushroom experience it’s like meditation for me. “walking zen” as the zen master would call it.
I pray for the day I can go into a facility, pay a few hundred bucks or whatever, take a huge dose with a therapist there and just melt into the experience, and do this once or twice a year.
I did a clinical trial for depression a little over two years ago and it was by far the most helpful thing I've ever done for my depression. However the experience was very intense, and I really appreciated having someone there with me (in this case a trained psychologist).
It has such incredible capabilities for healing people, but I do believe the set and setting is essential, and a lot of people with depression would benefit from the pre and post dose therapy sessions built around the trip.
You never recover from it, I’ve had it since my early teens. I’m 41, now.
I'm beginning to think this is true and I'm 35 especially with the mistakes made.
Mine is childhood trauma, I had an abusive home life, abusive childhood ex-best friend. The shit she put me through, I still get affected by it.
What you do? If it’s too personal to share no worries. 😊
Just a lot. Wasn't childhood for me but teens and young adult hood. A lot of loss really and it happened earlier on in my late teens early 20s. Loss in the family, mom ran off around that time and later passed from years of alcoholism. Loss of my first wife of 10 years from cancer. My struggles with alcohol and mistakes I've made. Trying to figure out how to make things right and things I wish I could have made right with those that are gone and knowing I'll never be able to. Struggles with the woman I'm currently with. It's a shorten version but always been a lot on my mind for years.
Awe man, I’m so sorry you’re going through shit now. My condolences to your losses. 😔💐
Have you seen anyone to help you through those traumas?, to process all the loss/confusion about why you chose those actions you regret, or do you have a clear picture of the why?
I hope I was coming through clear on what I said. I second guess myself a lot, it’s a habit I need to break. 👀
I appreciate it you're good. I never really saw professional help I guess because I kinda figured I knew what would be told to me so I didn't really feel like paying for something I already knew. Like taking a car in to a mechanic when you have a flat tire asking what's wrong when all your gonna hear is the obvious, you have a flat tire. So I took the approach like with alcohol, that only I could truly determine if I was ready to break the habit or more or less deal with the problems because no matter how long I may put it off I will be forced to deal with my problems at some point. It's gonna be a lifelong process with some of it. Righting my wrongs will certainly take time. I hope what I said made sense?
Ketamine infusions
Hey me too but early 20s rn. I have moments still where I firmly believe the depression will be completely gone and life will just feel lighter once I hit a certain age. Have things gotten easier for you at least since your 20’s? if you don’t mind me asking
I’m 41 now, not really. I tried dealing with/stuff when I was younger. My whole life story is kinda sad, I don’t want to bum anyone out. But I’m getting help through ketamine treatments and trauma therapy to deal w/things, which is helping to dig deep and explore as to why I’m such a mess, lol.
I’m glad it’s working for u :) I’m looking into starting music therapy .. hopefully a little sumth sumth might shift in my energy. Thanks for sharing, we’ve got this bestie 🫡
I really hope the music therapy works out for you! Whenever you start that, later on down the line, let me know if you don’t mind, how it’s working for you.
Thank You, and you hang in there! 😊
We got this!🫡
I had severe depression from my teens to early 20s and am completly free of depression for years (30 now). It does go away for alot of us dont listen to the frustrated people that were unfortunate. Its very possible that youll be good in a few years just like me. People in this thread gatekeep depression as if it is only legit if it doesnt go away and everyone else was never depressed in the first place and this is BS
I’ve recovered. Something changed at around 41 years old for me.
For me, I have to take time to take care of myself. It’s not an option. I exercise I go do things I enjoy, I take time out for me. I do it about 3 times a week.
Not to say it won’t ever come back but this is working for me right now. I’ve not carried the full weight of depression for 2 years now.
Take care of yourself. Take time to put yourself first.
So sorry to hear you’ve struggled for so many years. There are people who do recover, and have a single episode, but it’s complex and differs depending on the individual context and factors beyond your control.
- If theres something behind it that’s perpetually there it can be difficult for any treatment to shift it without properly resolving that first. This can be physical illness, a social dynamic, or struggles with another mental disorder like ADHD, BPD, PTSD or schizophrenia can make you depressed. It’s common to get an episode of depression after recovering from a psychotic episode, and depression can be part of bipolar disorder.
- Treatment resistant depression is also a thing. Usually the diagnosis is reached through unsuccessful trials of several different pharmacological/psychological treatments.
- And lastly things like personality disorders, dysthymia or PTSD can be misdiagnosed as depression. (Interestingly, depression in the older age group can seem very similar to dementia and can easily be misdiagnosed without proper medical assessment).
I'm sorry you are struggling, but it is wrong to generalize based on your experience. People do recover from depression, either by getting rid of what has lead to it (for example, divorcing someone who does not treat them well), by understanding why they feel a certain why and addressing the issues, or sometimes by adopting healthy routines, such as exercising or socializing.
They key is finding what is causing it and being determined to take steps to get better.
I apologize for the generalization, I should’ve maybe chosen my words more carefully. You can call it “recover”, I prefer the term “remission.”
Because I still have it…
Okay people, serious question, who here has either, “Recovered” or is in “Remission” as far as depression goes?
I call it a remission too. After the first episode was diagnosed and successfully treated 20 years ago, I thought I recovered. 2 decades and several episodes later, I know it’s a remission. Likely to require lifelong management and treatments.
It’s a lifelong struggle for sure. I hope you’re doing well and have the necessary tools/resources to help you through your tough moments. 😊
I thought it would be over for me also when I move back home and into a bigger place. Little did I know, I would have a big episode a month after moving. Got my ass back into therapy again.
It never fully goes away, does it? Have to always keep your symptoms in check and know when it’s time to ask for help.
Yeah, and that's what people like Lukha (the one who atuhored the parent comment) just don't get: it's incredibly hurtful to hear that you just have to find the cause, deal with it, it will stop. It won't. It might go into remission, but it will never fully recede for me and tbh, implication that if I were doing all that (which I am!! I am trying with all that I have in my little depressive self), I'd recover is just incredibly hurtful-like I wouldn't want that for my kids??
I am already living with immense guilt and fear that it might be hereditary, that I may be somehow traumatizing them and setting them for it or that I am not a good mother. Reading that someone implies that I could, but won't is just....it really, really sucks.
been 10 years, and yeah I wouldn't call it recovered. it's just there sleeping until some shit happens.
Personally, I understand what you're saying about remission, because during the first years of getting better, I still could get threwn back into depression if something bad happened.
However, it took years for me and a lot of therapy, but I can finally say I have conquered it. I have grewn so much as a person and my whole mindset has changed. Things that would have affected me severely before are now normal occurrences in life that I deal with accordingly.
I have had some major unexperienced drama stirring up in the horizon, but I dealt with that as well like a "normal person" with being appropriately sad and mourning without having even a hint of depressive thoughts.
I can not explain the change fully, but I really do feel something major has shifted in my brain chemistry, and I'm not wired anymore for getting depressed. Mind you, though, I am observing my mental health in my daily life and taking precautions if I see that I am falling into bad habits or lingering in the wrong kind of environment too long.
Long story short, I really do feel whole heartedly that I have recovered
edit: when I say years, I'm talking about more than ten years of actively dealing with it through therapy and other means. It took so long that I almost gave up several times.
Thank you for sharing your story. 😊 We all have different experiences, some of us recover, while others feel like they’re in a remission state a lot of the time. I’m unfortunately the latter. But I hope through my ketamine treatment/trauma therapy, I can finally say I’m recovered.
It's not fair that it's so difficult and different for everybody, but I just want to bring a little hope to the discussion that sometimes it's possible! I'm rooting for you 😊 I really hope that you can find your way out of the cycle!
A term I’ve heard in AA before is that people call themselves “gratefully recovering alcoholics”. You’re never ‘recovered’, but you can definitely be ‘recovering’. If you are, best be grateful about it.
They key is finding what is causing it and being determined to take steps to get better.
This is the big one. Someone told me a long time ago that "happiness takes effort." It was one of those things in my youth and through my 20's that I kind of scoffed at. My doctor did diagnose me with chronic depression long ago, but I always refused treatment with meds (and glad I did, tbh.)
It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that keeping my toxic family members at a distance and cutting ties was the big first step in curing what was causing my depression. Losing weight came next (70 pounds total). Next was forming and keeping healthy life habits. This stuff took years to implement and it paid off big time, and continues to pay off years later.
The problem was, because of my "diagnosis" I was using it as a scapegoat to keep bad habits. I would tell myself, "hey, it's okay that I don't feel like doing the dishes or taking a shower, that's part of my illness and it's okay to have bad days." What's even worse, is it's VERY easy to fall into these bad habits. After a long day at work, would I rather tidy up and do the dishes real quick or crack a beer and turn on the TV? One of them is an instant "feel good" pay off, and the other isn't fun and takes effort. But doing the not fun thing pays off, because now my kitchen is clean and the "feel good" pay off is something that is happening passively without realizing it. Taking the lazy/easy route and having that beer I was craving made me feel good briefly, but my kitchen is still dirty, and now it's a compounding problem that is going to get worse when I make food again. If I make the same choice again the next day, my simple chore load has now tripled. Now take the other several little things we all gotta do every single day. Chose pizza over getting some fresh air and getting a little exercise? Cancelled plans with friends for the nth time? Worked overtime with no increased pay again? Went to family dinner where my drunk mom would start a fight with everyone? etc. etc. etc. Maybe this is a silly analogy, but these "little bad habits" add up very VERY quickly and they can easily break down even the happiest people on this planet.
Ketamine infusions
I’ve been doing them for over a year now. In fact, I have an Infusion scheduled for Wednesday. I do it every 3wks.
I still have stressful moments every now and then, but not as much as before I started. I don’t have crying spells as much, anymore either..👍🏽
I started them shortly after a friend of mine C/S.
Good for u, music really takes our emotions to some places. I'd recommend you to listen Dle Yaman ( a song made by Duduk, an Armenian Musical instrument. )
I hope things turns out better for u, hope u finally recover from it and enjoy life at its fullest.
Time. And it took quite a bit. People around me who understood what I was going through. Therapy helped some.
Getting out of bed helped. I'd just play games or something except staring at a wall.
Gardening was a huge help. Creating life is kinda awesome.
I found hobbies after trying random stuff half heartedly that I never thought I'd be interested in (woodworking).
Just the idea that someone who's in deep depression could ask how to recover from it is putting a step forward.
People are scary, angering, and not just the people you love are who you want to talk to.
But there ARE people who get you. You have to get out of bed to find them though. Take the time you need to feel the way you do, then seek them out through whatever platform is good for you.
Strangers, like me, are rooting for you. Best of luck and DM me if I can help more, if I have helped at all.
One does not simply recover from depression.
But Ketamine has helped.
Yeah I failed legitimately 10+ meds for depression and ketamine is the only thing that worked and it REALLY worked. I’m not even taking it for that - I’m on it for chronic pain - but my mental health is so much better
I’m not throwing shade… I’m just jealous.
60+ meds. Spravato. ECT. Vagus nerve stimulator. Still haven’t found anything yet.
If you can afford a 2001 Honda civic you can afford Ketamine. Mmm hmm hmm!
Shrooms as well. In a few years it will be the biggest cure for a lot of mental health conditions
I imagine I’ll discover what it’s like to recover from it when I’m dead.
Psychedelics
I made a friends
The hard, slow way unfortunately(as I lack insurance and thus could not get therapy or meds). Once I realized I *was* depressed, I took little steps every day. Can't motivate enough to clean the house? Pick up some trash in a room. Can't eat a full meal? Snack on something, better than starving myself. Don't want to read that new book? Just grab an old favorite, no shame in it. Intrusive thoughts? Smack the fuck out of them with loud music, petting the cats or other positive things.
Didn't work every time, but over about 9 months I managed. Im also probably lucky I caught it early enough that it didn't become permanently ingrained, and my brain is weird anyway due to a legacy of self-experimentation and seizures so what works for me probably won't work for most other people.
Still working on the anxiety attacks I picked up during that time tho. Those things, ugh, an orgasm's evil fucking twin.
orgasm's evil twin..... That sure is a way to look at it. Then you know what you have to do to fight it
I did a magic mushrooms "treatment" and I recovered exponentially after a few days. I'm still in shock
I wouldn't say recovered but more a remission? Good friends, good work colleagues and taking time for myself and doing nice things for myself too. I've learnt to be happy doing things by myself and not relying on other people to feed my happiness
I love the concept of depression remission!
Yeah, I'm in remission. Definitely wouldn't say I'm cured.
if you have the money - get good team of therapist, nutritionist, gym trainer, and life coach - basically you want a support team of people around you supporting you and trying to constantly reframe things and improve the situation consistently - try to find the source of things causing you anxiety and focus on that. if you need to improve your personal finances get someone to help with budgeting and to keep you on track. if you need help cleaning your apartment hire a maid.
consistency - with depression its easy to fall off the bandwagon or very slowly start falling off the bandwagon - the team/services will help you keep on track... i think depression is about consistency... if one thing becomes too off balance then everything else becomes more off balanced i.e. if you spend a lot of time alone then you will spend more time with your thoughts and less time engaging with others and making memories etc. so consistently plan outings with friends/family... take that vacation/trip.. don't forget to smile.
nutrition - what you eat, drink, smoke, etc will affect and destabilize your mood. i'm getting to the point where i cannot eat out anymore. i can't drink alcohol anymore. the oils and food they use for fast food isn't made well and it hurts my mood. if you have a favorite fast food meal make a version of it at home. take time, put love into the meal. learn how to cook well. learn how to use a knife properly. the good thing is you can freeze some of it for next time and when you have friends over for a dinner party they will be amazed at how well you can cook.
gym - a good workout can really clear the mind... honestly when i was the most happiest in my life i was eating very clean meals and was in tip top shape. running 5 - 6 miles a day. i got a lot of attention. a good morning workout clears my mind for the day. i can sleep better at night.
pharmacologies - personally, i had really bad experience with ssris and it made me fall deeper into the darkness. i have had a much better time with adhd meds as it helps me focus.
sleep - check if you have sleep apnea... try to get good sleep rituals and learn tricks to quickly fall asleep - what the navy seals do. understand when/how you sleep best. for me i take a nice warm shower, and get the room to about 67 F with a nice blanket. learn how to whisk away your anxieties and stress.
aromatherapy - use wax oil with warm diffuser to change the vibe/mood
friends - community - help people, surprise people, be kind to strangers, don't demand too much from friends, be gentle, tip extra sometimes, smile every once in a while, remember things about people, smile at the barking dog. make small talk. ask someone what they think about X. everything we do is a choice. we have to reprogram our meta cognition systems and rewire them so we do things with positive energy.
lsd with all your hobbies around i.e. if you like music have some instruments, classical music etc, some water colors... start very very very very small but it can help unwind shit. have a partner around and/or talk to a therapist.
I'll let you know if it ever happens
TMS treatment!!! Please look it up, it literally saved my life!!! I’m honestly not exaggerating when I say that, I genuinely do not think I would be alive right now if it wasn’t for that treatment! Good luck, I hope everyone who reads my comment gets better soon :)
I did TMS too and I feel the exact same way! I was at the end of my rope, and I did it as a last resort. I spent most of my savings on it, but it worked. Come to find the depression was masking adhd, so now I've got that to deal with. But all in all, it was worth it.
OH MY GOD lmaooo are we the same person??? I realized I had adhd too but it took me so fucking long to figure it out because almost every symptom I had I thought it was just my depression haha. Do you also struggle with adhd paralysis? Because I swear I REALLY want to have a productive day but it’s like my mind won’t let me omgggg
I did TMS too and saw very little benefit, so YMMV
People recover?! Fuck. I’m still struggling. Even with meds, a therapist, psychiatrist, and increased physical activity at the gym.
💔🥺
You can do it, I'm rooting for you. Try to take it as a very very long path of recovery where you get better in small steps.
For me the change was so slow that I only noticed it when I compared my diary notes from the year before and noticed that I had actually gotten rid of some small symptoms. The year after, again the same.
It might help to write down your process, just so you can make yourself see and believe that you are actually on the right path.
The problem for me was that even if I got better, I still had the deeply depressive pitfalls where all positive emotions were removed from life that was gray without music and colours. When you were in that state, it was so easy to think that "this is depression, I'm never getting over it", when in fact the episodes got shorter and more sporadical during the years.
Try to accept and be glad of the small steps and the possible positive days you have, since waiting for the life with all depression gone forever can take such long time. Still, I just want to say that it's doable, even if you don't believe it yourself during the journey.
The best cure for depression is exercise, running helps get rid of bad thoughts in your head. Do you think I'm right?☺️
I don't know. Having sex and someone to love helps me.
This is what I need
A lot of people will probably give me shit for saying this but Psilocybin completely changed my life. Before I took it the first time I hardly left my house more than twice a month, I hardly bathed, some days I barely left my bed/ room.
I am now doing so much better. I have a career and a full time job. I'm an adult, I pay bills, take care of myself, my dog and others.
Magic mushrooms changed my life and although my depression and C-ptsd has not been cured, its dramatically improved from where it was.
🫶🏼🤌🏼same
Same but acid instead. Candy flipping in particular. Death of the ego. I still get bouts but not even remotely on the same level. I used to not speak or move for weeks at a time.
The last two bouts of really bad depression I had were healed by making big life changes .....first one a moved a couple states away and restarted my life and more recently left a long and somewhat toxic relationship
As an Arab this is my favourite Arab quote : "what a beautiful weather I can't decide between drinking tea or hanging myself"
TBD
Youre supposed to recover?
Right? You’re telling me there are people who only get the seasonal variant?
I knew i shoudve gotten the vaccine 😭
It’s a good joke. But on a serious note, I would be willing to get many vaccines if they say it cured depression.
You don’t. You get help and treat it, and then you learn to live with it.
Do not smoke weed drink or do hard drugs. That shit makes shit 10x worse.
Latuda 40 mg, Wellbutrin 150 mg, topmax 100 mg.
i’m so sorry to be that person but working out really helped and finding things that i’m passionate about, working towards goals, feeling like i accomplished something. it still comes back though in different forms but all of that has helped a lot. wishing you all the best on your journeys
You guys are recovering?
I stopped my birth control and the vast majority of it disappeared. The rest of it I had to kill myself with a ton of therapy and self-compassion. It's been hard work but I'm happy to be alive now.
Seeking professional help through therapy, building a support network, and practicing self-care were crucial in my recovery from depression
didn’t recover just know how to cope with it but therapy, music, a great bf who supports me and gives me the type of reassurance i need
Focused on the healthiest behaviors I could control. Ate quality food, got 8 hours of sleep, moved my body daily, positive socialization and no drugs or alcohol. 30 days of that brought me to a great baseline. Sadly, many folks try to reinvent the wheel doing other stuff or the above minimally but these are simply how our brains are designed to run optimally
Less about recovering more about just not letting it win daily
I moved out of home away far from my parents and high school and actively crafted the life I wanted. I realized early on that no one is coming to save me. I had to do it myself.
I spent several years putting myself out there and saying yes to all opportunities to connect with other people (which was a struggle as an introvert but paid off big time; I have some wonderful friends and an incredible husband).
I was deeply depressed as a teenager and while I still have the occasional bout of the blues, I don’t need medication anymore. I also practice deep gratitude for the wonderful things in my life, even if they are small: a beautiful day, a nice cup of tea etc. Walking in nature every day also helps a lot!
Depression is also a clinical diagnoses with a variety of factors. This is what helped me. Your experience may vary.
My first bout with it years ago was managed through Rx medications, diet change, work load change, and learning how to stand up for myself.
In recent years it's been managed through small lifestyle changes, increased / updated workout routine, and checking in with my doctor on a more regular basis.
I've admittedly dealt with lower levels of depression than many others, and it seems to come and go with major life changes.
I found solace in my trusty sidekick my dog. Nothing cheers you up faster than a furry friend who's always happy to see you, even when you're feeling down.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is no joke. My dude would spend 2 hours brewing me teas with medicinal plants that are only native to China and Eastern Asia. They would have 16-19 different plants that you've never heard of. It was like a miracle. But only because he's using medicine that Big pharma doesn't want becoming popular. Psych meds are mostly garbage.
Moved. Turns out getting proper treatment and not being around the people who abused you in fact helps you feel better.
Shrooms got rid of mine for a year, did it again and I was good for another year. I’m going to keep doing that. Not medical advice.
Went to therapy and talked about anything and everything without the fear of being made fun of or judged. Medication, finding joy in a new hobby and finally getting away from the people who caused my depression in the first place also helped.
One day I decided to keep busy and just spent a lot of time working and gradually reduced work until I felt better.
The drugs help considerably.
I didn’t necessarily recover… but I can mute it.
I got involved. With my loved ones. With my hobbies. With my education. Things like art, cooking, exercise, and watching fun shows like anime, has helped a decent amount. That being said, I have the strength to even do these things on the right medication combo.
Zoloft, but only after I tried all other options. I fixed a lot of shit on my own, and the Zoloft was just the cherry on top.
I wouldn't consider myself fully recovered. I have times that it feels like I'm cured but it inevitably comes back.
What has helped: keeping my apartment clean and tidy, my dogs, and journaling.
Random capitalization helps me
It comes and goes but the biggest thing that helps me keep it away is accomplishing something whether I’m feeling it or not. Particularly if I help someone else with something in the process. Note: I don’t really struggle with clinical depression, just run of the mill blues and moodiness so this answer may seem like an oversimplification for a person that is dealing with something serious.
The same way I got there, one day at a time. Keeping busy helps.
6 months on Lexapro, just came off 3 days ago, stay tuned 🤞
Honestly? Live. Laugh. Lexapro.
"im in the gym fighting demons" is a popular meme that definitely holds true for me. Depression and anxiety have been a central theme for me since i was a child. I was exercising 4-5 times a week. It was only when i foolishly quit exercise altogether for the pursuit of better grades during medschool that my mental health really suffered, and obviously so did my grades. It was hard to get back into exercise during arguably the most trying times in ones life such a medical school. I went to a psychiatrist and got on meds while i finished my schooling. I slowly began weight lifting again, not because i loved it like i once did, but because i knew i needed to. Within a month of exercising i began to feel better all around. I was going through alot at the time such as losing my mom, a devastating break up, financial and housing troubles, etc. So even tho I was still exercising i stayed on my meds just in case. Once i got through the hard part of medschool my psychiatrist and i stopped my meds and i just kept lifting. I joined a jiujitsu school which is something ive been yearning to do for a while now. I stopped making excuses for myself. I still lift weights but its no longer about "being the strongest guy" but more about "being the strongest version of myself." Here are some tips that help me personally.
- EXERCISE. Doesnt have to be weights or combat sports like me, could be ballet, yoga, walking, etc. Anything that gets you moving. Something where you achieve flow state: It has to be hard enough that you feel challenged and stimulated but not hard enough that you wanna quit all the time.
- WATER. I drink diet soda and a ton of protein shakes all day. Not saying you need to cut these out. But whenever i feel "down", with slight headache, etc i just chug 20-30 ounces of water. If you dont remember the last time you drank water, you should probably chug some.
- SLEEP. I naively thought to myself that sleep was a waste of life. But as i grew older and wiser i realized that sleeping the full 7-8 hours made the rest of the day more productive. There is no point in sleeping less for the purpose of "having more awake time" if said awake time is groggy and foggy.
- NUTRITION. Im not saying you need to be a bodybuilder or athlete, but i believe everyone on planet earth can benefit from more protein in your diet. This of course is assuming your kidneys and liver are healthy, but the recommended daily intake of 50g is way too low. I say 0.5g per pound of body weight is perfect whether you exercise or not. Protein is essential for neurotransmitters, hormones, and pretty much everything else besides the well-known muscle building properties.
I'm not fully recovered I still have bad days. For me it was a mix of meds and moving my pet rabbit into my room. I have to get up in the morning to feed her or she throws a tantrum. She seems to know when I'm having nightmares and will wake me up from them. She also seems to want more attention from me when I'm sad, she hops up to me and is all like "hooman you smell of the sads I am here to cheer you up now pet me and scratch my cheeks" she makes my life better and I don't know where id be without her. She depends wholly on me. I need to get up in the morning to get her food and water. I have to go to work to get money to buy her food, treats and toys. Then I come home to brush her and tell her she's my everything. She even stomps at me when it's really late and thinks I should go to bed which is usually around 11pm
Make your life more meaningful to yourself. I was feeling like there was no reason to go on until I started teaching HighSchool kids. Seeing kids feel more confident in themselves is life changing and another reason for me to keep going. I had one student who was on the edge of dropping the class but she went on to pass the class with flying colors. She currently takes a few AP classes now. She sent me a letter saying I changed her life and helped her get out of her comfort zone. I will never forget it. If I can change more lives, then that's a reason to keep going.
Therapy and my wonderful partner. She never gave up on me.
You get use to it I guess. It never truly leaves you. It always comes back though in different intensities.
I went to the gym
I learned to change my mentality about it and what triggers it and force myself to be healthy. It’s mentally taxing but it keeps the depression and sewerslidal thoughts gone
By first picking it apart into its components: cPTSD took some specialized trauma therapy to fix.
But the pain persisted and had to be checked out separately, it's a genetic disorder (not body flashbacks) + migraines and I can now get help for that.
The actual "depression" part was a misdiagnosis and antidepressants barely touched it. It's actually bipolar II and mood stabilizers work wonders.
I'm on 7 daily meds and some more as needed. Chemical brain optimization at its finest.
I'm not "recovered" and likely never will be unless some new treatment pops up but it's bearable and I've molded a pretty nice life around the restrictions.
How does the sea recover from the tides? 🌊
you guys do recover from depression? is it on wikihow?
I'll let you know when I do
I found a purpose in life—helping others—and over many years have oriented my life and work around that purpose.
This one's a must for everyone: excellent diet, regular sleep habits, 3-4 day/week exercise routine, proactive maintenance of good relationships.
I discovered that the opposite of low self esteem in not really high self esteem, but actually a lack of self regard—meaning the less I think about and fixate on myself (how others perceive or feel about me, how I look) the overall better I feel.
I realized that the world around me is not a fixed, external place I was accurately perceiving as such, but was in fact 100% a creation of my mind, and that what I perceived as a cold, uncaring, and unloving world was my perspective creating that reality, and not the capital-T "Truth" of the reality itself. When I then tried to see the world as caring, beautiful, and full of possibility, I found that it became that over time.
All of this is an active and ongoing process for me, and I understand that sometimes I have down days, or even weeks or months, and I try to remain patient and forgiving when in them!
Who said I did
Accepting that the apathy for doing anything that came with it never made anything better, either things stayed the same or got worse. Just "doing a thing" gradually made things better.
Oh, and getting rid of the pills. All they did was make my shits weird and uncomfortable. They might work for other people, but they sure didn't for me.
Meditation was the biggest game changer for me.
Running really helped me (I do it almost every day). So did cutting out sugar. I never realized just how much sugar alone was making me depressed.
Hahahahaha recover .... no you don't. you just get less depressed with random waves of it.
You kinda have to force yourself out thought . My go too s are .
Ignore my phone. It always spikes it doesn't help
Listen to happy music. I like metal but when I'm not happy I'll listen to it week of the funniest nonsense on earth
Mindless tasks . When it hits you all you wanna do is crawl up into a hole. I try avoid that by doing things that don't take much effort but make me feel accomplished. Like folding paper or macrame anything you can just sit and do over and over . Or just making the bed. Even just walking can help
That's basically a carbon copy of my life you just described.
I'm heavy metal by nature myself. But I did find solace in a song by Alanis Morissette called "That I would be good" the lyrics kind of hit home.
Nice , it's interesting to meet another metal head who's same.
I really cannot do metal when I'm sad
Divorced her ass.
I don't think you can recover from depression... you just learn how to live with it.
Drugs.
Ketamine
No, not that one.
I'm afraid that my depression and anxiety are life long issues. I did just recover from a major depressive episode. I was lucky enough to have a supportive partner and be able to take some time off work. I changed my meds, my diet, and found a new therapist. We put together a schedule for my time off that includes basic hygiene, time outside, exercise, self-care, and closing my anxiety loops. It really gave me time to dissect my triggers and how my brain works. My partner and I have made some adjustments with this knowledge. I'm now discussing in detail with my therapist how it's going to look when I go back to work.
What does closing anxiety loops mean? Sounds like something I could use.
Got a cat.
I received Escitalopram which is a SSRI and it helped me a lot to get back onto my feet. And a few weeks ago I decided to work on the roots of my depression and started psychotherapy again. So not yet fully recovered but on track.
I did for the most part. I still take medication for sudden mood shifts or having episodes from being bipolar, but I haven't really been depressed in a long time. If anything, I'm surprisingly stable these days as long as I'm on my medication. I am very lucky in that sense though. I do not have any noticeable side effects from the medication I take, and it's so subtle that I don't know I'm taking it until I stop and life goes horribly wrong.
With that sad, I'm rarely even depressed even if I go a good period without medication. My shift in mood or personality may change but I'm not depressed
I think it's mostly because I've let go of a lot of the things that I used to desire or want but couldn't manage to obtain. I used to spend so much of my time comparing my life and the things they had that I didn't that I would always just feel down about where I was in life.
But I remembered this dude back in community college who was in a honors program with me. The dude gave no fucks about what kind of goals he was supposed to have in life or whether he needed money or if he was ever planning to have a career. He just didn't care. And he was the happiest guy I knew because all of those things seemed superficial to him. He just wanted to do his own thing, and anyone who didn't like how he lived or operated didn't matter to him, so it never bothered him. I have no idea what he's doing now, but I remember him being surprisingly intelligent.
Got off of birth control and just waited it out. Was borderline suicidal on that stuff for 1-2 years. And it took about that long to get back to “normal” after no longer taking it. Now I take progesterone and it helps me tremendously with emotion regulation.
I had depression and bad anxiety. I wanted to avoid medication so I tried everything. Started going to the gym a lot, changed my diet, did yoga, breathing exercises, meditation, going out in nature. Pretty much all the usual advice people give, I tried. I did this over the course of a few years, and they all helped me feel better in the moment, but the depression and anxiety would always creep back in. For example I would be at the gym for an hour and feeling great, then I get home and now I’m depressed and anxious again once all the endorphins wear off.
So I said fuck it and finally went on medication and therapy. Happiest I’ve been in my whole life.
i have not and probably never will. But I raised my brother from infancy and he relies on me heavily still. Even as an adult he calls me for something or other at least once a day. I will be damned if I ever miss that call
So depression! It depends heavily a lot on what kind of depression you have. For me, I got depressed during a period of my life which I had to put a lot of effort, exams period, which mean I had no time to set with myself and try to remedy myself. I went to a psychologist and tried to talk about how I felt and my symptoms ; however, it did not work. After 2 weeks or less struggling with depression which I did not know it was depression that time because I didn’t believe in it. I went to psychiatrist who prescribed some pills which kind of helped me to reduce the symptoms but not cured them. Time passed and I finally finished my exams and so ever anxiety comes with it. I started having more time which allow me to start going to the gym, start reading new books and doing good habits. In essence, sport, books, religion and not involving myself to any excessive commitments helped me tremendously to remedy from the so-called depression.
Recovering and coping are two different things, my dear. It’s important to tell yourself that you matter even if you don’t feel like you do. Go take a shower and eat some ice cream and try to relax. You got this hun!
It comes and goes. Some days I feel like I have recovered! A miracle!
But soon enough it is made clear to me that mine won't go away that easily or that quickly.
I won't say I recovered because I think generally it's always there behind the scenes but ....
1) confide in someone - in my case I broke down to my wife
2) get your blood tested - I was severely deficient in several vitamins, getting those helped quite a bit
3) workout - for so many reasons but it has both physical and mental benefits for everyone
4) eat right and sleep right
I think in time this was the building blocks to recovery for me
I just had my mental breakdown a few days ago so I should be good for another few months. Still depressed as hell though
World War II
The horrors persist….but so do I