how do you deal with depression?

a reply to: violet

watching movies is a great way to relax and stop thinking about your troubles.

people say "dont avoid troubles, you are no better than drugies" i say bullsnot, they arnt dieing from cancer they dont know.

i watch a huge amount of tv shows and movies and it helps A LOT. im not ignoring my illness but im not happy just being incredibly depressed either. if it was legal and not expensive i might consider some strong drugs, but for now, movies and stuff works for me.

a reply to: Biigs

Totally agree with you on the movies and would add box sets.

I have suffered with depression for years and had it badly as a kid, but didn't know what it was and in those days it was hidden or not owned up to as seen as a weakness. It runs through the family and once I was told tht I 'see' to much and should not look so closely - how do you do that when its as clear as day.

I recently had an operation which left me in bed for weeks and then wheelchair which of course brought up the old beast. But I use any form of distraction and keep the distraction to the things I enjoy. I don't do stuff I hate unless I have geared myself up to it and I keep myself from floating over the abyss. Most people know if they have hit the abyss once and know the consequences, so you do have warning signs up in your head. Family and friends are brilliant but I get sad when I see it on one of my sons and take time off with him when it gets him.

I can only think that it has to be a chemical trigger for this disease, because as you go through life and see others hitting a bout of it, you cannot fail to notice it obviously comes when one is over-stressed - but it also comes when everything is fine and there is no reason - which is worse to have to deal with because you can't logically reason it and neither can others. Hope that helps fellow sufferers.

I was in hospital recently and went through the worst depression of my life. I had never been so sad. Every morning I was in tears contemplating some pretty terrible things. The doc put me on anti depressants and within a couple of weeks I was feeling a lot better. I didn't really want to go on them, but I'm glad I did. I know there is a lot of suspicion about anti depressants on ATS, but without them. I'm not sure I would be here today, so in a way they helped save my life. I guess it depends on how desperate you get and how low you go, but don't just knock them, because it's "big pharma".they could help you a lot and help you move on in life. No point in going through clinical depression, if there's a solution you can try. Nothing big or clever about trying to beat it just on your own.

a reply to: Shiloh7

i get it.

I wrote my first suicide note at 12.

Its not easy to deal with, like i said cancer is actually comforting in a weird way, if that kills me i wont have to do it myself and add some extra pain to my family, the only reason i never did it is because of my friends and family, at least cancer gives me a free out.

a reply to: Biigs

My heart goes out to you mate.

a reply to: Biigs

So sorry to hear you have cancer. That's truly rough. Wouldn't be able to cope with that myself. I had a stroke and left paralysed on one side. I thought I would never be able to deal with something like that but I am doing better than I thought I would. Got used to only having one hand to use and not walking, I'm not dying from it though. So not the same at all. After that I broke my hip, which was a huge setback to my recovery, then I somehow mustered up the strength to divorce my husband of 30 yrs. he wasn't helping me much and made it very clear he was too good to be with a girl in a wheelchair. I went through even worse depression through the divorce, but am doing so much better now.

Somehow we get through things.

The movies really helped me. It takes my mind off the thinking ritual. All I did was cry. Now i hardly cry. Yesterday I haad my first shower where I didn't do the thinking thing about all my woes. I was laughing at some movie clips I'd just watched on YouTube of Jim Carey in cable guy. Comedy helps, if you like comedy.

Of course the best thing is to be around others who support you, like family and good friends, if you have that. The best gift someone can give you is their time.

Hope you can find ways to cope with this.

My answer to OP.How I use to deal with it was with writing but now that I can't focus worth a flip and can't express my thoughts and feelings with words anymore (well I still write a little but nothing I think is any good and I'm the one who posted the im a mess thread btw).Anyways...Listening to music helps and exercising helps meoout A LOT.I enjoy martial arts and though I can't afford training atm I still do my own training which helps.Also I play a lot of soccer with my nephew brother n law n the teens in the neighborhood.Working helps especially since you have to stay busy with my job there's no sitting around.I also go for long and short walks which I've been doing for a long time and helps tremendously.So yeah staying active can do wonders trust me.

Not going to lie, it is going to be tough. But it comes right down to you. Your choice. What kind of quality of life do you want? That is the most important, and more than likely you are going to decide, "Better than it is right now." So you will have to break the routine of what you do, and find more of what makes you happy. Discover a new hobby, or rediscover an old one. Take up a sport, a class, an instrument, something to occupy that time where you let yourself sink into a pity party hole. Every person in this whole world gets thrown curveballs, upsets, heartbreaks and rough patches, and each person has to find a way to deal with it. Choose a good way. Get distracted and fall into something new! Move! Change! Before you know it, after you break the routine, you will find you crave more of different, and anything different will already be an improvement! Go get em!!

a reply to: Biigs

a reply to: jeanrose770

Hello there just thought I would reply cause I don't know if I'm gonna be dealing with depression much longer. If I do then Ill have a post to look back on. The thing is you have to win everyday and if you give in its all over. Dont know what happens when we kill ourselves. Everyone is different but all I'm saying is depression might kill me soon. You see its all about me, and its all about you. I'm over it all. If someone walked up to me and gave me 1 million dollars it wouldn't change my mind. I simply will not live anymore. I don't like it.

Hey Biigs.....just checking in on you! How is your progress fighting the cancer , and did you look up the baking soda cures? ...hope you're doing bette, and you're luck has turned for the better!