Mental Health Depression MEGA Thread - DepressionTalk + Over 100 Links of Info

i find depression comes with bad diet, lack of exercise amongst personal factors. cutting out dairy products and eating raw vegan along with daily exercise have been done wonders for me in the past, although i've kinda fell off the boat lately
 
i find depression comes with bad diet, lack of exercise amongst personal factors. cutting out dairy products and eating raw vegan along with daily exercise have been done wonders for me in the past, although i've kinda fell off the boat lately

Well first off exercise will give you a 'natural high' (which really is just a rush of endorphins) -- it gets addicting, but in a good way. If you've not been exercising/working out lately, try to get back in your routine.

If you're finding it hard to get back into routine, try making up a weekly/monthly calender and stick to it.

Example: Monday - workout from 9am to 10am

You're right about food too; we sort of are what we eat, right? I've recently (in the past 3 months or so) lost about 20 pounds and I wasn't even over weight, just wanted to get healthier. Right now I'm a bit underweight since I lost more than I expected but I plan on getting back into weight lifting to take advantage of being underweight. I probably lost my weight in a bad way [lack of eating] but what happened, happened.

If you've been cutting back on your healthy eating habits, try to also make shopping for healthy foods part of your routine. Working out is one thing, eating healthy to replenish & rebuild your body after those workouts is another. They go hand in hand, and obviously protein is on the top of that list.

Anyway, good luck and I hope you get back into your rhythm.

-dp
 
whenever I rapid cycle, I get severely depressed - i was on 2500mg depakote , 1500mg lithium, 800mg serequel.

I will never fucking go back no matter how bad. Not those meds. But I want to stop some of the mistakes i make when I am waiting to justbe happy again man :/. I do stupid shit manic, real stupid shit if i dont ppl right around me.
 
whenever I rapid cycle, I get severely depressed - i was on 2500mg depakote , 1500mg lithium, 800mg serequel.

I will never fucking go back no matter how bad. Not those meds. But I want to stop some of the mistakes i make when I am waiting to justbe happy again man :/. I do stupid shit manic, real stupid shit if i dont ppl right around me.

Yeah seroquel can be nasty stuff -- I was put on around 1200mgs [to start off on!] when I went to detox a few years ago. I was so zombied out I fell off a bench and hit my head. Everyone there thought I relapsed and was on some sort of opiate... ended up having my room searched and stuff (I was clean, it was just the seroquel dosage).

Different drugs (legal/illegal) effect us all differently so I can't tell you what will work, and what wont. All I can say is I've been through it all; messing with doses and medications for many years while being horribly depressed and manic sometimes.

-dp
 
after six years of me feeding my ego, i'm finally going to try and get help for ADHD and depression. I now know i can't do it on my own, which was really hard for me to face. Counceling starts tuesday.
 
I haven't been truly happy since I started taking adderall & it seemed to kill my ability to feel pleasure. I take breaks but I'm not the same. I'm ashamed for breathing. I doubt everything I have to say.

Dxm was an escape. I can't stand myself for several reasons, some that I can't change yet, they're beyond my control. Dxm, here I come. I don't want to be inside my body.
 
Does anybody have depression related insomnia where they wake up often at night or too early and can't get enough sleep? Vivid dreams?
 
Does anybody have depression related insomnia where they wake up often at night or too early and can't get enough sleep? Vivid dreams?

i usually fall back asleep within a half an hour, but i have felt like that. I worry about everything and the depression makes me stay away because i feel like sleep won't help. Vivid dreams.. had one last night. Playing basketball in high school, where i absolutely hated 90% of the people there. I woke up depressed for the first time in a month, terrible feeling. That was at 6:30 am and i'm still awake at 8:30 even though i don't have to be up until 9:30.


i'm nervous for my first day of counceling. I don't know if he can write down all my problems within the hour. For those who have went, did you do a mediator thing? Like, where you meet someone then they put you with a councelor they thought would help you the best?
 
Yeah, sleep problems suck don't they. No, I've never had that kind of experience with counseling, but it sounds like a good idea. Definately give counseling and therapy a try before meds if your not taking any. Now I just see someone once a month for about an hour, so far it hasn't been too useful. Try to get actual behavioral therapy not just counseling, but it seems counseling around where I live aren't very knowledgeable about therapy.
good luck.
 
I feel like depression has slowly consumed me over the years, a hollow shell is all that remains.

It's the despair of life that crush's my soul, the overbearing hopelessness that i feel on a consistent basis with everyone and everything. Having just arrived back from a trip over-sea's.. coming back to a lifestyle i was happy to leave has absolutely destroyed me. It feels like the ultimate torment, you finally crawled out of a hole to chase an illusion you knew was only temporary and now that your back in the throws of reality, back down that hole.. the feelings of despair are amplified ten-fold.

I use to cope very well been alone, i preferred solitude over people. But these days it's the other-way around, too much solitude sends me into a very heavy depression.

One valuable lesson i did learn while been on holiday was, if i am constantly 'moving' towards a goal, whatever it may be it helps tremendously in keeping despair away. Of course it's very easy to do this while on holiday in a foreign country, i'm still yet to figure out how i can apply this to my life at home. Multi-tasking also seems to help alot as it keeps my mind busy, any form of idleness or mundane routine wrecks me hard.

I seem to require a massive amount of mental stimulation, otherwise i am overcome with boredom which quickly turns into depression.
 
So I had a think about it the other day and came to the realisation that I have been depressed pretty much for this entire year. At the end of last year I was feeling good, still struggling a bit with my drinking and a bit of depression here and there, but feeling very optimistic that 2011 wasn't going to be wasted on depression.

Now, before I know it, 8 months has passed and I'm more depressed that I have been in many years. I've just been gradually getting worse and worse over the course of the year, to the point where I am now completely and utterly disinterested in ANYTHING. I am barely doing any work at my job and only just doing the bare minimum of uni work that I can get away with. I've lost all interest in exercise, music, and socialising. I'm comfort eating every day and have put on more weight than I even want to be made aware of (not even going to dare to step on the scales!). Every day I see people's facebook status updates about how beautiful the world is, and how good a day they are having, and how happy they are etc etc. Why can't I feel like that?? I can't recall a single day where I felt happy the whole day. I have fleeting moments of happiness, but nothing sticks. I just want to feel content :(

Anyway, so today I finally did something about it. After lots and lots of research in to which anti-depressant I should go on, I have acquired a script for Wellbutrin from my doctor. I am really hopeful that this particular med can kick-start my brain back in to some state of normality without any of the horrible side-effects that I have experienced from SSRIs in the past.

Wish me luck everyone <3



How is everyone else in this thread doing??
 
n3ophy7e - I really hope that the Wellbutrin works for you. I've heard some pretty incredible things about it. Do you find that you're more anxious/depressed when you're drinking? Even in small amounts? I've been drinking alot of booze recently - it's just so convenient once you're resolved to stay away from opiates/benzos - and I'm beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with it, but it's the only time during the day when I don't want to off myself.

I'm what, like, 65 days clean from bupe? I can't take this shit for much longer!!
 
n3ophy7e - I really hope that the Wellbutrin works for you. I've heard some pretty incredible things about it. Do you find that you're more anxious/depressed when you're drinking? Even in small amounts?
Thanks mate :)
Yep, alcohol helps my depression and anxiety massively....when I am drinking ;) However over time my drinking habits have exacerbated my depression/anxiety. I'm an alcoholic, but my drinking is under control now therefore I'm okay to start the Wellbutrin. I've read up on so many different types of anti-depressants and I really think this is the one that can help me the most. Let's just hope my body/brain agrees with that.
I've been drinking alot of booze recently - it's just so convenient once you're resolved to stay away from opiates/benzos - and I'm beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with it, but it's the only time during the day when I don't want to off myself.

I'm what, like, 65 days clean from bupe? I can't take this shit for much longer!!
Man I hate to state the obvious but if you're developing a drinking habit then you've just swapped one addiction for another, and haven't really solved your addiction issues. I know that you know that though. Have you mentioned the drinking to your psych?? If not, I think you should. It's up to you though.

I know you feel like you're at your wits end and you can't take any more of this post-addiction depression, but you're actually doing really well and it really will get easier with the more time that passes. Please just hang in there <3
 
Hey n3o I hope it is helpful for you! I started Wellbutrin a couple of weeks ago too; after researching it seemed like the medication that would be best. Good luck :) <3
 
Lots of luck to you n3o! I've had a similar year, and have just been fighting to keep from backsliding too badly. Big changes are needed, but there's much inertia that must be overcome.
 
Thank you guys!! <3

Leg I didn't know you'd started Wellbutrin as well mate, how are you finding it?
I have to say, getting this doctor I saw to actually prescribe it to me was like getting blood out of a stone!! He was some old dottery GP who clearly had NO idea what Wellbutrin even is (it's called Zyban here in Aus and it's prescribed for quitting smoking, not depression), and was trying to prescribe me another SSRI after I specficially explained to him in great detail why I will never take an SSRI ever again. Lame 8)
Oh well, I got my script in the end :)

Dave have you got some of these big changes planned already? What kind of things are you referring to?
 
n3ophy7e - When you drink though, do you drink during the day? I've only been drinking at night and usually only after 8pm or so. Is alcohol like opiates/benzos in that you need to take it constantly to stay out of withdrawal? I mean, obviously you couldn't just take heroin at night time - you'd be sick during the day. So I don't know whether I'm essentially withdrawing during the daytime - maybe that has something to do with me being so fucked up.

I told my shrink about the booze and he said to stop drinking. I've only been drinking more. However - I feel dramatically less depressed since I stopped the Inderal (propranolol). I am (understandably) way more anxious, but I'm not as suicidal, or suicidal as constantly.

Therefore, take note everyone! Do NOT take Inderal if you have suffered depression! It totally fucked me up!!
 
Is alcohol like opiates/benzos in that you need to take it constantly to stay out of withdrawal?
It depends on how much you drink and for how long you've been a habitual drinker. If you've only been drinking the last few months or so, and only drinking in the evenings, even if you've been drinking every day it's unlikely that you'll suffer any physical withdrawals. But the psychological withdrawals and cravings would likely be an issue.

Your psych is spot-on mate, stop drinking, NOW. For people like you and me who are prone to depression and anxiety, alcohol is a sure-fure way to make ALL of our problems multiply by a hundred-fold!! Not good. Steer clear.
 
I guess I feel like it's somehow justified. Past few days I've been intensely productive; I've been doing music again, have nearly finished a law assignment like 2 weeks before it's due and have been constantly reading. So when it gets to around 8pm I'm like "aaahhhh well, nothing else to do...". Or am I just conning myself?
 
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