How do you guys deal with depression?

[baletetree]

Speaking of music, be forewarned if you love the classics or have a "hipster" taste.

My brother and I watched a concert of an underrated band we really loved called The Wild Swans. It was their only tour to a country outside the UK. But the soloist/songwriter was pushing 50+ and he wasn't able to belt out the higher pitches in his songs.

Then after the concert, my brother said that he felt he had reached the epitome of awesome music. He felt there was nothing else to look forward to, musically speaking.

[colibri]

http://youtu.be/3vwZAkfLKK8

[Taco]

http://youtu.be/3vwZAkfLKK8

That was really good.

Sunshine in The Rain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AzjF6Zf ... ature=plcp

Full Sail
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id8mtDfx ... playnext=3

Watch The Sky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jODxgwi6 ... playnext=8

[chileanueva]

f**k your life. Just f***ing kill yourself. Life is pointless just like furious masturbation.

Was I polite enough? GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME? Chop Suey, great song.

[NorthAmericanguy]

Everyone feels depressed or down sometimes. It's part of the natural cycle of life and of a person's emotional cycles. But when you do get depressed or down, how do you usually deal with it? Do you watch TV, read a book, go for a walk in nature, listen to music, call a friend? What have you found to be the best way for coping with depression or a sense of helplessness?

I'm sure those of you in America feel this a lot more than we do abroad, but everyone feels it no matter where they are, cause it's part of the natural cycle of life.

What are your coping methods? Care to share?

Do you all see depression as normal, or as something "wrong" that needs to be fixed?

This is really a complex question because depression is a symptom that people suffer from when something is lacking in their lives, or when people are simply not living a balanced life.

So off the top of my head, depression could occur from:

Nutritional deficiencies
Lack of romance/sex
Lack of meaningful platonic friendships
The lack of vigorous exercise
The feeling of being trapped in their current way of life (i.e., married with kids)
Not being happy with ones own career choice
Committing oneself to one too many responsibilities
Unhappy with physical appearance
Lack of hobbies

[Billy]

I won´t tell you, because you won´t belive me

[OscarFJepsen]

Depression is very common issue in human life. It damned something . Everyone feels depressed . It's part of the natural cycle of life and of a person's emotional cycles. But when you do get depressed or down, how do you usually deal with it? Do you watch TV, read a book, go for a walk in nature, listen to music, call a friend? What have you found to be the best way for coping with depression or a sense of helplessness? then connect depression treatment.

[C.J.]

I suffered from "sadness" for a long time. When you're in the western world, sadness is what the elite throw at you when wageslavery, violence and sex addiction don't work. I remember one time where a relative asked me "Why do you look so sad? Your eyes are so dark! There's so much sadness in your eyes." This was a condition imposed on me, that was meant to control me. NOTHING would help. I eventually however, stopped the sadness at its source. I regularly feel happy now;there are few times in my life where I'll feel sad, and it's usually because of something silly. These times fade quickly.

I usually feel happy, or I'll feel extremely bored. At that point, I'll do what I like/something that keeps me busy(programming). I've found also that since the source of sadness was "killed", I never really masturbated either. Went approximately 5 months without it so far.

What really boggles my mind is, why do people TRY to seek physical help, for a mental condition?

[Taco]

Depression is a physical problem brought about by an inability to properly digest food in your GI tract. Bacteria then crosses the blood brain barrier causing mental illness.

Natural Cure For Depression
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9cg4454 ... re=related

Niacin May Increase Lifespan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRwL-8Yuryw


Dr Abram Hoffer Elimnation Diet

Elimination of all processed or prepared foods containing added refined sugars and probably 90% of other additives, as foods that contain added sugars usually contain other additives.

Elimination diets to remove all foods to which the patient is allergic or sensitive.

SUPPLEMENTS

Vitamin B3 (no flush niacin or niacinamide) - 2 grams 3 times daily.
Vitamin B6 (for many) 250-500 mg daily.
A general B vitamin formula.
Vitamin C, 3 or more grams daily.
Zinc (gluconate or citrate) 50 mg daily.
Manganese 15-30 mg daily (if there is danger of tardive dyskinesia).

I also take a high dose of fish oil and coconut oil daily. In addition, I juice spinach and freshly squeezed lemon together. The spinach contains glutamine which has mood enhancing properties and the lemon juice controls any sugar cravings you have by killing candida yeast in your intestines.

- I can personally tell you this diet and supplements work extremely well! You should start feeling better after a few days on it.

[PeterAndrewNolan]

I did the landmark forum three times now as well as the curriculum for living back in 96. It is VERY hard to be depressed once you have graduated from the Curriculum for Living.

I rate my time doing Landmark Education as the most valuable personal training I have ever done.

This is the BEST value for money training possible.

There is NO WAY I would have been able to be functional when my former step son had cancer if I had not done the CFL. It was also a major help for me when I was coming out of my suicidal phase.

It has changed a bit over the years. It is not as "in your face" now and I think that is a loss. I like in your face". I had a young indian man do it recently in London and he said it was the best thing he had ever done and a couple of his friends did it as well.

http://www.landmarkeducation.com/

PS. Depressed or sad is NOT the same as suicidal caused by disowning your former children.

[Winston]

Here is a UCSF lecture by a psychiatrist about how mindfulness meditation can help with depression and mental health. This is amazing. I thought psychiatrists only cared about dissing out drugs. I didn't know they cared about meditation.



A guided meditation on dealing with depression.

[Jackal]

Here is a UCSF lecture by a psychiatrist about how mindfulness meditation can help with depression and mental health. This is amazing. I thought psychiatrists only cared about dissing out drugs. I didn't know they cared about meditation.

I didn't watch the videos, but I know that some psychologists have been interested in meditation for a long time. I guess it's inevitable that they will influence their psychiatrist colleagues a bit.

[momopi]

Before psychiatrists existed, in China the fortune tellers served as psychotherapists. Fortune tellers have to be good at "reading" people, their role was to listen to their client's troubles and provide advice that would hopefully improve the client's sense of well-being and cause positive behavioral changes (note: this is how you get repeat customers!). There were, of course, charlatans who were only interested in cheating money from their clients as well.

Traditional Chinese fortune telling is very fatalistic and not engaged in the business of selling good luck charms. Ironically the established temples would sell good luck charms as means to improve their revenue. One interesting role that fortune tellers served was to provide conservative business advice. You'd be surprised how many suckers there are who'd fall for their friend's investment schemes. A good fortune teller can sense BS when they hear it and advice their clients not to make the investment.

In the western world, I suppose people go to confessions to make themselves feel better.

[mattyman]

I think that depressions arise as a natural reaction to circumstances that feel overwhelming to the individual. Depression happens when one's innate emotional needs are not being met and the individual feels unable to meet them. There are a variety of reasons of which they are too numerous to go into here. You may for instance, see many people who seem to have it all, but deep down they are lacking the most important emotional needs, of which a lot are satisfied through relationships and others satisfied through work.

One is emotional intimacy (by that I mean a sense of friendship, companionship, you feel you can really be yourself) which I think is all too often overlooked these days, especially in western countries.

What stops people from getting their needs met? Well, there are all sorts; bad conditioning and fear can be a major barrier for some people. Whatever there is, there is something that makes people feel unable to change their circumstances (of which harsh criticism can amplify). So basically a bad situation (emotional needs not met, stressful, bad for self-esteem) + feeling unable to move on

When you do slip into a depressed state, whatever difficulties you experience tend to become amplified, self-doubts for example, get amplified as with any sense about one's capability to move on in life. When people lose hope, they can also get very worried and anxious.

If there is a 'chemical imbalance' I would argue that it's the RESULT of the above and not the cause, the trouble is, is that it tends to feed on itself; by making you sluggish, tired, reclusive, fewer needs met, less motivation etc. more things to feel bad about and vice versa.

What I hate is the the conventional view of depression as a 'mental illness' that can be treated with medication. I think that view of it as an 'illness' as opposed to a natural emotional response that we're all vulnerable to is perverse.

The best way to sort depression out is really, to sort out the underlying problems, and of course have supportive people around. As for physical activity? I think it has it's place but is not a cure all, though can do its part to overcome the inertia that a depressed state can bring on.

It's not surprising that so many people in USA, UK etc. suffer from depression, if you look at the standards people are expected to live up to, and the fact that people don't talk about their emotions. I think that the biggest risk factor is a sense of isolation and alienation. That can deprive one of several fundamental emotional needs and can give one a sense of worthlessness and make one feel helplessness, but society doesn't see it this way, which is a shame.

[Jester]

What have you found to be the best way for coping with depression or a sense of helplessness?

Depression can be a tricky thing, but I have learned to overcome it.

First, I practive rigorous physical fitness 2 to 3 times per week when I am down in the dumps. The beta-endorphin release in the brain after a good workout has a soothing effect.

Second, I remove the depressive stimuli from my life when possible. That means I break up with the girl causing me the depression, I refrain from seeing my parents who drive me crazy, and I changes offices if need be.

Third, I ensure that I get out into the sunlight for some portion of the day. Sunlight triggers releases of neuro-chemicals that relieve depression. If that means I have to go to Miami for a week, so be it.

Forth, I'll treat myself to a deep tissue massage. The power of physical touch is profound. The touch of the skin and the de-knotting of the muscles is a huge way to get rid of depression.

Fifth, I go to the chiropractor for a spinal adjustment. These adjustments ensure that the brain is recieving the proper stimuli from the spinal cord and vise versa.

Sixth and final is I meditate for about 15 minutes a day when depressed. Meditation activates far recesses of the brain and it can help relieve depression.

Seventh, keep a postive outlook even if you have to fake it. Fake smile in the car, Tell yourself fake statements like you feel great, etc. Even if fake, positive outlook often turns the tide.

Good stuff, re-reading, thanks.