A whole year. That is scary. I mean, Guiness doesnt count does it? All right, I'll do it.

Guiness counts, my brother. Good luck and keep us posted or PM me.

The Ol' Lady is very supportive, and recognizes when I'm feeling down. She is an artist as well, and she gets depressed, but is better about it. I tend to have friends who are also manic, bi-polar, or generally messed up in the head. People I relate to.


I believe this is a large part of the problem. I had a depressed friend who talked about it a lot. So I would be supportive and discuss. But all that **** gets stuck in your head, basically started bringing me down. So from then on I made sure we never talked about it. I generally don't discuss any negative subjects in life. Instead, like most of my good friends, we just bullshit and joke, like little kids. Acting grown up is overrated. maybe I am promoting ignorance is bliss, but I just call it staying focussed on the simpler, enjoyable things in life.

also helping people can be quite therapeutic. try volunteer teaching some poor kids how to draw.

or you could always try an adrenaline rush like tipping a cow, should last you for days

Since we're talking about each-other's individual unfortunate cases with the serotonin-gobbling Depression, I'd just like to proudly state that my gf dumped my ass recently and I am as of yet to slip into the mind-numbing depression I once knew.

To me, this is like one of those "It's been 2 weeks since my last drink" things.

Isn't Australia like, 10 chicks per every guy?

I have very bad depression. Must have tried to kill myself when I was younger about eight times but never succeeded. Harder to do than you think.
I have different ways of coping. Some days it is so bad I can barely talk, move or get out of bad. It affects my relationships, work, even my jiu jitsu mma etc (when rolling when depressed I normally get slaughtered)
I am also a psychology student BTW. The best thing IMO is weightlifting and I have tried everything from religion to meditation to drugs etc. I have also tried therapy which has helped me a lot get over a difficult childhood. For some reason when I lift weights it releases chemicals in the brain (endorphins but I am not an expert on endicronology) that make me able to continue. Unfortunately when I am really depressed I cannot even go to the gym or do BW exercises so I use kettlebells.
Because of my depression I rarely drink. I also avoid gambling, etc etc
I personally would steer away from any meds. I am very anti-Prozac having seen first hand the bizarre effects they have. Its ok for serious cases and suicidal people but it is seriously over-subscribed. I have a few other mental health probs as well TBH

Isn't Australia like, 10 chicks per every guy?
I wish! Women are one of the best antidepressants around, I swear.

Or conversely, one of the best sources of the Blues.

I wish! Women are one of the best antidepressants around, I swear.

Or conversely, one of the best sources of the Blues.

Here here.

Depression sucks but since I upped training from a few hours a week to about twenty or twenty-five depending on school and work (and I got out of a really crappy relationship, took some time off and started a new one when I was good and ready), I don't have time to mope around and don't get sad. Don't get me wrong - stuff happens, but after like a year and a half of depression I said screw this crap. More sleep and exercise all around.



Look, okay, my point is - nothing takes the edge off like arm-barring your cat. I mean...what?

Switchblade- you staying clean for the holidays? Just remember, the holiday blues can lead to holiday booze- in AA/NA they call this time of year "Membership Drives" because of how many people that get bummed out, drunk or drugged, and O'D themselves into rehab. Guess what? I was one of them. Not to bum anyone out, but be careful.

I skimmed most of the thread so if I'm repeating anything, my bad.

To the OP:

I was diagnosed with "clinical depression" 8 years ago, and the therapist pulled the brilliant move of telling me I was in the "top 2% most depressed people in the country". Needless to say I shortly there after quit therapy. I'm not speaking against therapy, and it actually is helpful to a lot of people if you approach it honestly and get a good therapist, but mine was essentially an idiot.

There's a lot of speculation about what causes depression, and I can't really address the science behind any of it because I'm not a doctor, but I can tell you what has worked for me.

The simplest and largest step you can take is to stop feeling sorry for yourself. I don't know how exactly you approach your particular set of problems, and I don't presume to, but every single person I've ever met (including myself) who has used the word "depressed" in relation to themselves on some level is clinging on one level or another to feeling bad about their situation and either pitying themselves, hating themselves, or some combination of both. I know that's hard to swallow, it was for me especially, but it's absolutely true. Once you begin to change the way you look at your situation, everything else starts to make more sense.

Food:

One thing I can't stress enough is the importance of clean food. I know it's difficult to make positive changes in your life when a lot of the time you feel like you don't really give a **** about what happens to you but I know that for me food has played a huge role in my mood. Again I stress that I'm not a doctor, but this is what works for me. The biggest thing to take into consideration is that if you have all this crap in your system rapidly adjusting your blood sugar, in addition to stimulants (coffee, etc), it's hard to know how you actually feel when you're on an even keel.

- Refined sugar is pure poison. Next to alcohol, it is the single largest object in dietary habits that will **** up your energy, your mood, your gut, and your day.

- Alcohol, while on the subject, is also not something a person who is depressed should be drinking, and sometimes you shouldn't even be around it and people who are drinking it, as this tends to draw a contrast. "Why can these people have a good time and I can't, what's wrong with me?" etc etc.

- Coffee is not your friend. Neither is red bull....or whatever liquid **** Sobe is putting in a can these days.

- Fresh fruits + veggies are pure gold.

Habits:

Another big part of the equation is identifying habits you have that encourage your depression or are actually at the root of it, and it's often that both descriptors apply to a given habit.

For example, let's say you encounter a problem. Let's say it's a shortage of money. Is your first reaction to immediately go "****. Not again. Why me?" or to immediately begin thinking about all of the horrible things that could happen if you don't get the money you need, and all of the horrible things that would happen if you don't make that light bill....and so on and so on?

An incredibly important part of dealing with depression is watching the way you react to problems and adjusting your mentality accordingly. It takes time, and sometimes it's anything but easy, but whenever an issue comes up, if you start asking yourself different questions, like "Okay. How can I solve this?", "What do I want from this situation, and how do I go about getting it?" or if you start to think about how good it will feel to get past the problem, it totally changes the way you act in regards to the issue.

Excuses are another big item. "I'll just do it tomorrow". "I'm not going to show up. It wouldn't matter if I did anyway". This kind of thing sound familiar?

Illogical linking of problems is one more key factor. This is all a crappy example, but bear with me. Let's say some guy flips you the bird in traffic, then the thing you went out to buy is out of stock, then you hit a pothole on the way home, then there's freezing rain (or insert whatever weather condition you don't enjoy) everywhere. None of this is personal or linked in the least, but your mind tends to make it out that way. That stranger in traffic doesn't have to affect your day in the least, unless you choose to let the gesture he made to elicit a response give him what he wanted. The record you went shopping for isn't sold out because your life sucks, it's sold out because other people wanted to listen to it to. You hit a pot hole because it hasn't been repaired yet, not because there's some dark cloud hanging over your life. There's freezing rain not because life is trying to ruin your day, it's because the weather conditions were right for freezing rain.

Above all, consider that a lot of the things you take personally are not personal or aimed at you at all.

The hardest part of everything is generating momentum. Sometimes it's just a matter of toughing it out doing what you know is right even if you don't care about it at the time. Things seem hopeless and pointless, and will continue to until you generate enough leverage in a positive direction to offset that. Yes it takes time, and yes, it can be very hard, but it is possible and the results are tangible.

I was diagnosed with "clinical depression" 8 years ago, and the therapist pulled the brilliant move of telling me I was in the "top 2% most depressed people in the country".


Why is that funny to me?

New2BJJ, I've been cool up until last night at the jobs dinner party, I actually drank a warm 40 of Old E. To think I used to drink about 5 of those a day. Anyway, I'm back on my training program, I'd like to get my wind up and hit that TD in Concord. In general, things been good, thanks. You going to Concord?

Concord? I didn't even know about it. Probably not, but I'll see if I can sneak out on the family to get my ass kicked. EDIT- After looking through the things such as a release and amateur license, I'd have to be crazy to go in there. I'm sure there are 48 year olds that could hang, but sadly, I am just not one of them. Great, now I'm depressed as well. At least I'm not depressed with contusions, hematoma's and loose teeth. I simply can't heal like I used to. Have fun!

Naw, the Concord one doesnt require the release and license thing. Man, I'm 37 with a herniated disk, plus 40 pounds overweight, I'm still trying to go. If anything, I'll take it easy, but it'd be cool if you went. It's on the TD thread I believe.

Why is that funny to me?

Because it is. I wish I had the moment on camera. I laughed my ass off when a short while afterwards Office Space basically captured the same idea with the therapy scene.

Therapist - What about today? Is today the worst day of your life?
Peter - Yeah.
Therapist - Wow. That's messed up.

Salvia Divinorum sounds interesting, and is apparently legal here. I may try it out of curiosity if I come across any.

I was diagnosed as clinically depressed after I dropped out of high school for 10 months during a period of severe family troubles. I was surprised how quickly the psychiatrist offered me drugs, on the second or third appointment (at about 1-2 appointments per week). I declined and the offer was left open. Only after this were family appointments actually arranged.

I think psychiatrists and psychologists in general are too quick to prescribe drugs to treat mental issues.